From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

Welcome to The 2 to 100 Club.

In this scan, we look to identify the strongest growth stocks as they climb the market-cap ladder from small- to mid- to large- and, ultimately, to mega cap status (over $200B).

Once they graduate from small-cap to mid-cap status (over $2B), they come on our radar. Likewise, when they surpass the roughly $30B mark, they roll off our list.

But the scan doesn't just end there.

We only want to look at the strongest growth industries in the market, as that is typically where these potential 50-baggers come from.

Some of the best performers in recent decades – stocks like Priceline, Amazon, Netflix, Salesforce, and myriad others – would have been on this list at some point during their journey to becoming the market behemoths they are today.

When you look at the stocks in our table, you'll notice we're only focused on Technology and Growth industry groups such as Software, Semiconductors, Online...

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. No new positions today.
2. Rolled GLD position to March options.
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

Technology stocks have been quite the laggard for some time. In fact, the Large-cap Technology Index ($XLK) is actually down since mid-July.

Sector Rotation is the lifeblood of a bull market. How many times have you heard me say that?

And this cycle is no different. They used to tell me that it was only the Tech stocks that were driving this bull market, and nothing else what's working.

Here we are with the S&P500 hitting new all-time highs literally every single month, and Technology stocks are actually down since July.

It's been the epic rotation into Consumer Discretionary that has helped drive this market higher. 

Yesterday I hosted a...

The S&P 500 closed less than 1% from a new all-time high in the 1st market session under the new Trump administration.

It was a great day for the bulls.

In addition to the broad rally, investors dove into the latest financial results from massive corporations like Charles Schwab, DR Horton, and 3M.

*click the image to enlarge it

Prologis $PLD, a leading industrial warehouse REIT, had the best earnings reaction and rallied over 7% with a reaction score of 3.43. PLD reported mixed top and bottom-line results, but the market did not care about that. It was all about the positive guidance for 2025.

The company is trying to grow its presence in the data center and energy industries, and the market is rewarding them for their efforts. 

DR Horton $DHI, the largest homebuilder, beat its top and bottom-line expectations but fell over 2.50% with a reaction score of -2.29. This poor reaction was primarily due to the negative gross margin guidance for 2025.

The homebuilders have been in the penalty box as an industry group, and DHI hasn't been...

Today’s standout insider activity comes from Kevin Johnson, a director at Goldman Sachs Group $GS.

Johnson made a bold statement of confidence by purchasing 2,400 GS shares, a total investment of $1.4 million. 

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from January 21, 2025:

EcoR1 Capital also made a significant move, filing a Form 4 for Zymeworks Inc $ZYME that shows a purchase of $1,963,538.

Finally, Valinor Management filed a 13D for Nextdecade Corp $NEXT, reporting an increase in its ownership stake from 5.28% to 5.70%.

Today's number is... 50%

Market breadth had been weak... However, it has significantly improved over the last week, with 50% of S&P 500 stocks reaching a 20-day new high.

However, this recent surge in 20-day new highs wasn't quite enough to trigger my favorite breadth thrust regime.

Here’s the chart:

(right-click and open image in new tab to zoom in)

Let's break down what it shows:

• The black candlesticks in the top panel is the S&P 500 index price.
• The black line in the bottom panel shows the percentage of S&P 500 stocks at 20-day highs.
• The red line in the bottom panel is the trigger for a breadth thrust.
• The gray shading highlights when in a breadth thrust regime.

The...

It's another week of green for large and growth factors, with the Large Cap Growth ETF $IWF at the top of the table.

Zooming out, the trend is still favoring large caps over small caps. This is shown below as a ratio. There's no signs this trend is shifting yet.

We're at an important inflection point with a new administration, which can mark key reversals across investment themes.

For a deeper look at our thoughts about the new Trump administration and how it could impact markets, watch our Inauguration Day Special livestream replay by clicking here.

Ethereum has been a disaster.

Relative to the benchmark in crypto (Bitcoin), Ethereum has trended straight down for the last two and a half years.

If the ETHBTC ratio was a chart of a company's stock versus the S&P 500, shareholders would question the CEO's ability to deliver value.

And I think this trend of Ethereum underperforming continues.

UNLESS, the Ethereum / Solana ratio can get back above these lows.

Thinking out loud, you know what would be absolutely hilarious?

If this was in the fact the bottom.

Just like how energy bottomed and commodities finally began outperforming stocks when Crude went negative, imagine if this trend of Solana outperformance ended on the President launching a Solana memecoin.

Honestly, it makes sense symbolically.

I just need to see this trend reverse. And in order for that to happen, the ETHSOL ratio needs to reclaim these lows.

And until it does, I think there are better opportunities in crypto outside Ethereum.

But it’s not just crypto where opportunities are appearing. Retail stocks are catching my attention, and there’s no one better to break it all down than JC...

Infrastructure companies play a key role in supporting the global economy and are at the forefront of some serious mega trends. 

These companies literally build and service our everyday lives. 

After 17 years of no progress, the iShares Global Infrastructure ETF $IGF is now challenging its pre-financial crisis highs as buyers work to complete a massive base.

This ETF holds a well-diversified basket of stocks, offering exposure across three primary sectors: utilities (40.4%), industrials—including transportation (38.6%), and energy (21%).

If IGF can break above its former highs around $52, the path of least resistance points higher, paving the way for a fresh leg up in these groups of stocks.

Alfonso

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, no stranger to headline-grabbing stock moves, is back in the spotlight with her latest Periodic Transaction Report—and it’s a big one.

The former Speaker of the House is making bold plays in some of the hottest sectors, doubling down on AI, and other growth trends, while dumping shares in Apple.

Here’s an update of her filing from Friday:

Pelosi recently sold 31,600 shares of Apple $AAPL, with a transaction value of roughly $8 million.

While she has been bullish on Apple in the past, this marks a notable reduction in her exposure. We know that she acquired about half the shares she just sold via call options back in May 2022. She made more than 80% on them.

So, Nancy is bearish Apple. But, we don’t follow her for her insider sales, we follow the Pelosi portfolio because it has been early to some of the best trends in growth investing. The Pelosi’s were early to NVDA. She has...

In today's Flow Show, Steve Strazza and I discuss what feels like the birth of a new leg higher for this ongoing, but recently struggling bull market.

And while I was lamenting the performance of $AAPL lately, Steve showed me the mirror opposite: $AMZN.

Watch this video to see how we arrived at today's trade, and see the details below: 

Here's the Play:

I like buying an $AMZN June 250/300 Bull Call Spread for an approximately $9.65 net debit. This means I'll buy the June 250 calls and sell an equal amount of the 300 calls. And this debit I pay today represents the most I can lose if I'm dead wrong:

Amazon has earnings coming up on Thursday, February 6th. I'm mindful of this, in fact, I think it could be the catalyst that shoots this stock higher. But if I'm wrong, my risks are defined to the debit I paid.

For risk management purposes, I'll exit this spread if either one of the following conditions is met:

1. $AMZN sees a closing price below $215 at any time during my hold. Or,

2. The value of this spread...

In today’s Daily Digest, we’ll review the following:

1. No new positions today.
2. Rolled TLT position to March options.
3. Exited KRE position.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

To wrap up the first week of the 2025 earnings season, we heard from 7 S&P 500 components.

The largest oil & gas equipment & services company, Schlumberger, was the biggest winner.

One of the largest truckers, J.B. Hunt, was the biggest loser.

Let's talk about what happened.

*click the image to enlarge it

As you can see, there wasn't a clear theme to Friday's earnings reactions. Some roared higher, others were muted, and a couple got beat down.

Fastenal $FAST missed its top and bottom line expectations but rallied nearly 2%. Despite the poor results, the market rewarded the stock for raising its quarterly dividend by 10%.

State Street $STT beat expectations but was slammed for its weak net interest income guidance, which the management team expects to be flat in 2025.

Now, let's talk about a few earnings reactions that stood out to us.

J.B. Hunt has suffered some of its worst earnings reactions ever over the last 6 quarters. 

This has been in part...

The replay of last night's LIVE video Conference Call is now available for Premium Members of ASC Research. 

Click here to sign up and catch up on the replay, download the 100+ charts and review each of the new trade ideas.

It's really something fascinating to witness.

Both retail investors and the professionals are scared shitless, in the middle of a bull market!

We just saw the...

Rep. Nancy Pelosi is back on our list after filing a Periodic Transaction Report detailing transactions in multiple stocks.

The former Speaker of the House reported the following moves:

Nvidia $NVDA:

• Exercised $500K-$1M in call options with $12 strike, expiring 12/20/24.
• Bought $250K-$500K in call options with $80 strike, expiring 1/16/26.

Palo Alto Networks $PANW:

• Purchased $1M-$5M in call options with $100 strike, expiring 12/20/24.

Alphabet Inc $GOOGL:

• Purchased $250K-$500K in call options with $150 strike, expiring 1/16/26.

Amazon.com Inc $AMZN:

• Purchased $250K-$500K in call options with $150 strike, expiring 1/16/26.

Tempus AI Inc $TEM:

• Purchased $50K-$100K in call options with $20 strike, expiring 1/16/26.

Today's number is... 12.5

The 1-week rate of change in Investors Intelligence bears has spiked to 12.5%.

Here’s the chart:

(right-click and open image in new tab to zoom in)

Let's break down what it shows:

• The blue line in the top panel represents the price of the S&P 500 index.
• The green bars in the bottom panel show the 1-week change in Investors Intelligence (II) of more bears.
• The red bars in the bottom panel show the 1-week change in Investors Intelligence (II) of less bears.

The Takeaway: Last week, I noted that more bears were beginning to enter the market. We have now experienced a further surge in bear activity, with...

From the Desk of Steve Strazza @Sstrazza

When investing in the stock market, we always want to approach it as "a market of stocks."

Regardless of the environment, there are always stocks showing leadership and trending higher.

We may have to look harder to identify them depending on current market conditions. But there are always stocks that are going up.

The same can be said for weak stocks. Regardless of the environment, there are always stocks that are going down, too. 

We already have multiple scans focusing on stocks making all-time highs, such as Hall of Famers, Minor Leaguers, and the 2 to 100 Club.

We filter these universes for stocks that are exhibiting the best momentum and relative strength characteristics. 

Clearly, we spend a lot of time identifying and writing about leading stocks every week, via multiple reports.

...

There is a selection of international ETFs that have been consistently green over the trailing quarter.

China is one of them.

After accelerating higher, the iShares China Large Cap ETF $FXI has been consolidating its gains. However, what captures our attention is that the ETF has failed to break down and is now back above support. This is positive to see.

A big element the market is pricing in here is how a Trump administration will impact the Chinese economy. At 2pm ET today, JC is hosting an Inauguration livestream to discuss Trump's effect on the markets.

You can click here to tune in.