Below is the 9th ASC Mastermind  Lab. In this video, I'm joined by Grant Hawkridge, one of our analysts at All Star Charts and a specialist in understanding market sentiment. 

How do we know when investors are "bullish" or "bearish"? Price, for one. But there are also several key indicators that we use to measure investor sentiment in addition to price alone. And understanding these indicators, how they work, and when to use them, is critical in getting a complete picture of the market. 

Enjoy this Mastermind Lab. 

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

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

Let’s dig in!

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...

With the most speculative and beaten-down areas taking on new leadership roles, it’s tough to imagine China will sit out this rally.

Just about two months ago, Chinese indexes and individual stocks registered some of their best performances ever on a short-term basis.

We call these signals momentum thrusts, often marking the initiation of new uptrends. 

And a new uptrend is exactly what we think is coming for China following the recent corrective action. 

We’re going to outline a handful of trade ideas for this theme today and you can pick and choose and position size accordingly based on how much exposure you want. 

As for me, I’m putting on full positions for all of them and planning to add more China exposure soon.

We like the idea of gaining...

Did it feel as good for you as it did for me?

The stock market is on fire and everyone is making money.

But are we making enough money, considering just how good things have been?

Let me rewind for a second. Do you remember all the promises about a recession that was definitely coming? The yield curve. The money printing. Trump is literally Hitler???

We were even told that we would get a credit crisis of some kind. Maybe even another black Monday...

But all we got instead was one of the greatest years for the stock market in American history.

Here's a chart from our pals over at Goldman Sachs showing this year's performance compared to all the other years over the past century.

It's hard to find a better year for investors:

And this is a good lesson for all of us, myself included.

Even though we've been pounding the table this entire bull market to buy stocks and be as aggressive as possible, it's a nice reminder that we should absolutely focus on price behavior, particularly when sentiment is this far removed from reality.

While stocks have been putting up historic returns, the gloom...

When it comes to how we approach markets, the first thing we want to do is identify which type of market environment we're in.

Then, and only then, can we decide which tools and strategies are best for that type of environment.

We did that today during our LIVE Breakout Multiplier Event. Watch the Replay here.

For example, your bear market strategies are probably not going to be great during a bull market. Your trend following strategies are probably not going to work too well in rangebound markets. Your...

The most notable insider transaction today is revealed in a Form 4 filing by John F. Barry, CEO of Prospect Capital Corporation $PSEC.

Barry revealed an additional purchase of PSEC shares with a total value of $4.7 million.

After a 50% drawdown in recent years, PSEC pays a sky-high 11.4% dividend. The company announced its first cut since 2017 just a few weeks ago, causing a 20% selloff in the stock. 

PSEC has established a tradable low and rebounded in the weeks since, and now the CEO is stepping in with $13 million in share purchases.

It sure looks like brighter days are ahead for this battered financial stock.

Another CEO on today's list is Gregory S. Daily of i3 Verticals $IIIV. The chief executive just reported a purchase of 88,544 shares worth $2.1 million, underscoring significant confidence in...

Today's number is... 22.8%

Yesterday, the S&P 500 reached another all-time high. 

So far in 2024, the index has spent 22.8% of its trading days at record highs.

This is the kind of data we expect to see in a bull market!

Here’s the chart:

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

Let's break down what the chart shows:

The blue bars represent the percentage of time the S&P 500 has spent at all-time highs each year.

The Takeaway: Looking back at history, when the stock market hits all-time highs, it often goes on to reach even more all-time highs.

With the S&P 500 achieving yet another all-time high, it’s clear that 2024 is shaping up to be an impressive year, bringing the total number of highs to 52.

As of now, the index has achieved all-time highs 22.8% of the time, making it the sixth highest year on record, with one month still remaining. - The best years on record were 1954 and 1995, each achieving a high of 30.6%.

Additionally...

Transportation stocks are finally catching a serious bid—providing a necessary ingredient to  support the current bull market rally.

If you go back and do the work, you’ll find it's tough for the stock market to sustain an uptrend without some rotation into underperforming areas.

Transports fit the bill perfectly as they've gone nowhere for four years. But now, the landscape has changed. 

Forgotten groups like transports are waking up and participating higher, adding fuel to the broader market.

The iShares US Transportation ETF $IYT is breaking out of a massive base to new all-time highs.

The path of least resistance is now higher for this key procyclical index.

Transports finally breaking out above the prior cycle highs gives bulls one of the key missing puzzle pieces they’ve been looking for.

This bull market is finally firing...

After a tough year, solar stocks might finally be catching some rays of hope.

In just the last two weeks, we’ve seen multiple insiders step in and report significant purchases in some of the top solar names.

While it’s too soon to call a bottom, this cluster of insider activity sends a strong signal that buyers are creeping back into the solar industry.

It’s not just who’s buying—it’s how and when. This lines up perfectly with the broader market environment, where the best setups have been in cycle laggards—and solar is definitely one of them.

In the coming days and weeks, we’ll watch for the technicals to confirm all this bullish insider buying.

For most solar stocks, it’s just a matter of holding the recent lows. Considering the sizable short interests in a lot of these names, we could get some material rebound rallies in the...

In today's Flow Show, I flew solo. But have no fear, I have a great idea to work with that was brought to me by the All Star Options community and endorsed by the analysts here at All Star Charts.

You can watch the full episode here:

Earlier in the day, Steve and I were together on a live twitter/X spaces and we were talking about the strength we're seeing in the payments space. Not just the Visas and Mastercards, but the Paypals, Venmos, and Squares.

Universally, we liked the $SQ chart. And my ASO community likes it too.

So here's the weekly $SQ chart that I shared in the show:

There's a lot of room for price action to go to retrace to all-time highs. But we don't need it to get there to earn a nice profit. If we only get halfway there, we can still win big.

Here's the Play:

I like buying $SQ June 125 calls for an approximately $4.50 net debit. With options volatility relatively cheap in this name, these calls are rather affordable in volatility terms.

During the show, I considered possibly selling some nearer-term calls against this position to lower my cost basis, but I've since decided...

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

1. New position in ARKK.
2. No adjustments are needed today.
3. Closed ITB for a profit.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

A funny thing happened after Donald Trump won the U.S. Election by a landslide....

Everyone just assumed it would be bad for Solar stocks.

And it was, for a moment anyway...

But when everyone just assumes a specific outcome, and everyone is already positioned for that, we love to take the other side as that positioning unwinds.

Remember, it's not the fundamentals that drive asset prices. It's positioning, and the unwinds in extreme positioning that moves asset prices the most violently.

The latest example of this market anomaly is in Solar. Notice how during this sell-off, Momentum never reached oversold conditions. 

Oversold conditions are characteristics of downtrends. 

Momentum is suggesting that Solar is NOT in one of those...

And when you look at the largest component of the Solar Index, the set up is so clean. 

$FSLR has retraced slightly more than 61.8% of the entire rally this year...

If First Solar can recover here and get back into the 200s, then the squeeze is on.

And when you have a setup like this, the goal is to make as much money as possible.

"Get while the...

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. 

The most notable insider transaction today is revealed in a Form 4 filing by James Mikolaichik, the new CFO and Treasurer of United Parks & Resorts $PRKS. 

Mikolaichik purchased 34,000 shares at $57.29 per, a total investment of $1.94 million.

CFOs are the insiders to watch – they know the numbers, from revenue trends to cost structures. 

James Mikolaichik is no exception. With a proven track record in the travel and leisure industry as CFO at MyEyeDr. and Diamond Resorts, he brings the kind of expertise that catches our attention.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from November 25, 2024:

In another Form 4, the CEO of Prospect Capital Corporation $PSEC revealed a purchase of $4.6 million.

Last but not least, director Joan Amble acquired 2,000 shares of Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation $BAH, for a total amount of $294,260.

Today's number is... six

With only a few days left in November, let’s dive into some S&P 500 December seasonality. 

When looking back over the last six elections, December has shown a positive return. Will this trend continue in 2024?

Here’s the chart:

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

Let's break down what the chart shows:

The green bars indicate a positive return for December in an election year.

The red bars indicate a negative return for December in an election year.

The Takeaway: Stocks often perform well as the year comes to a close, and it wouldn't be surprising if buying pressure continues for the remainder of the year.

Since 1952, the S&P 500 has experienced positive returns in 15 out of the 18 Decembers during an election year.

That’s 83% of the time! - The highest reading of any month.

Zooming in on the past two decades, the last six elections have all resulted in positive returns in December.

On average, December during an...

Have you heard about the new mega trend in golf?

The game of golf is growing faster than any other sport around the globe.

Interest in golf surged during the pandemic and its popularity has continued to gain momentum in the years since. 

There are now over 65 million on-course golfers around the world, up 44% from 2016.

And golf is different from other sports. There is a deep consumer economy growing around it. There is always something new to pay for, from clubs to balls, to the latest apparel. 

It is a money pit of a hobby. Trust me on this one.

It is a consumerism story. It’s a demographics story. It is an emerging Asia story. 

All the good stuff in one.

And my favorite vehicle to play it is a monopoly story.

Here’s Acushnet Holdings $GOLF breaking out to new all-time highs.

Acushnet is the holding company for dominant golf brands such as Titleist and Footjoy.

Over a third of company sales come from selling golf balls. That’s right. This is a golf ball business, first and...