Snowflake Inc $SNOW is absolutely on fire, breaking out of its coil with authority these past two days.

This is exactly the kind of explosive resolution we hoped for when we entered our position. Volatility was tight. Now, it’s expanding in our favor. This one is working perfectly according to plan.

Our 11/15 $130 calls hit a high price of $5.15 today. Depending on what you paid, you might have a double on your hands.
 

Tech stocks are taking charge as we kick off the fourth quarter, and I think it’s time to press the gas and prepare for a year-end rally.

When I review our portfolio of open positions I think we have a good mix, and I particularly like how overweight tech we are.

In fact, I think our most promising positions right now are the speculative tech names that we piled into over the past few weeks. I’m talking about Peloton, Robinhood, Snow, and ARKK.

HOOD and SNOW are the only ones working for us so far, but I think this is about to change.

Let’s take a look at the price action in ARKK and discuss why.

When we got long this one, it was coiling in a pennant just above some key VWAPs. 

Last week, ARKK appeared to resolve this coil to the downside as it tumbled to new multi-week lows.

But what has happened since is inconsistent with a pattern resolution… or more specifically, a pattern failure.

There has been no follow-through at all. ARKK is still in the same place it was when it broke down last week.

So, maybe this wasn’t...

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

1. New position in XRT (Retailers).
2. No adjustments are needed today.
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

The most notable insider activity on today's list comes via a Form 4 filing by Liberty 77 Fund.

The private equity fund, which manages approximately $2.95 billion in assets, reported a purchase of $1.2 million in Lions Gate Entertainment Corp $LGF.

Many times these transactions make sense only to buyers in the context of their investing or trading strategies.

With regard to LGF, for example, as technicians we prefer to wait until the chart looks more promising to us. This is not the case right now.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from October 9, 2024:

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...

As I've discussed recently, earnings season is quickly approaching. And with it comes risks and opportunities.

For today's trade, I'm going to leverage elevated options premiums in a nearby expiration to get a better net cost on the real call options I'd like to own.

And I'm taking advantage of a recent pullback to get in at attractive prices and a nearby exit if I'm wrong.

Below is the 5th ASC Mastermind Lab Course. These are special videos that will be made available throughout the duration of the 12-week course featuring conversations with professionals from across Wall Street discussing topics in their expertise. 

In our last Mastermind Lab, I spoke with Steve Strazza about momentum thrusts. This time, I wanted to talk with a portfolio manager who uses momentum as part of his strategy. Enter Dan Russo, Portfolio Manager at Potomac Fund. 

Dan broke down for us a simple way of implementing momentum into your portfolio management, how he protects against drawdowns while using momentum, and what he sees as the biggest challenges of using momentum. 

Enjoy my conversation with Dan Russo.

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

1. New position in SMH (Semiconductors).
2. No adjustments are needed today.
3. No exits since the last report.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

Bitcoin Dominance just hit new multi-year highs this week.

In other words, the market-cap of bitcoin as a percentage of total crypto market-cap is the highest it's been in years.

What this means is that the value of Bitcoin today (~ $1.2 Trillion) represents 58% of the value of all the Cryptocurrencies in the world (~ $2.1 Trillion).

And the trend here of Bitcoin continuing to eat into market share continues to move up and to the right:

Meanwhile, Microstrategy is hitting new highs relative to Bitcoin since it first started buying Bitcoin back in the Fall of 2020.

Microstrategy is the 5th largest owner of Bitcoin, holding about 1/4 of the position of Bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto. 

Just to clear up any confusion, I am absolutely NOT Satoshi. I know it would be a lot cooler if I was. But I am not. Sorry to disappoint. 

Now, what I love most about the Microstrategy $MSTR hitting new highs relative to BTC, and also hitting new All-time highs on an absolute basis, is that the "fundamental" guys can't wrap their heads around the premium that $MSTR trades relative to its total ownership of BTC.

People tell me that...

The most notable insider activity on today's list comes via a 13D filing by Baker Bros Advisors.

The hedge fund increased its ownership stake in Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals $KNSA from 6.94% to 7.70%.

Baker Bros' top holdings include BeiGene, Incyte, and Acadia Pharmaceuticals. These three positions represent roughly 50% of its portfolio.

We keep a close eye on what Baker Bros is up to -- the firm is better than anyone when it comes to biotech investing. It has a knack for spotting early-stage winners and sticking with them. 

Its increased stake in KNSA means Baker Bros thinks this one will be a winner in the future. 

We agree.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from October 8, 2024:

Crypto is shaping up.

As such I'm taking more trades.

Here are three crypto stocks I like.

In bull markets, you gotta go for it. 

Tops fail, continuation patterns resolve higher, and a growing list of stocks complete reversals. This is what bull markets are made of.

It’s also what’s happening now. 

So, I’m looking to add exposure to the best setups.

Over the years, I’ve developed a system for this. It’s more of a portfolio sleeve than anything.

I call them kickers. I think of these trades like the cherry on top of a perfect carvel sundae. You don’t need it, but it makes it that much sweeter.

Let’s talk about what I’m talking about…

Robinhood completed a textbook trend reversal earlier this year. It hit a target or two, and then it started ranging.

In my long-term account, I’m longing common stock as soon as I see a valid reversal. This happened in February and is shown on the chart...

Let's all raise our glasses for a toast to the outperformers of this bull market.

Ok, now let's get to work finding stocks setting up that will likely catch the next wave of rotating capital flows.

Today's trade is in a name that is slowly becoming a fixture at just about every eating establishment near me, and likely you too.

Here's a one-year chart of Toast Inc, $TOST:

By itself, this is a chart I Iike to buy. But Strazza shares a longer-term chart in the video above that displays the opportunity better.

$TOST is just now showing signs of breaking out of a multi-year base.

But when there is overhead supply to contend with, the breakouts aren't always as clean as we'd like them to be. So we will take advantage of options premiums at out-of-the-money strikes to help keep our cost of participation limited.

Here's the Play:

I like buying a $TOST March 30/40 Bull Call Spread for approximately $2.50 net debit. This means I'll be long the 30 calls and short an equal amount of the 40 calls. The most I can lose is the premium I pay today. And that could be a real possibility if we get a...

Technology stocks have been underperforming for the last three months.

However, when I dive beneath the surface looking for relative strength, software stocks catch my attention.

Here you have the Software ETF $IGV on the cusp of breaking out of a massive base.

IGV soared higher, tacking on 2.14% today as it pierced through the upper bounds of this range.

If and when we get some upside follow-through, the breakout will be valid and the path of least resistance will be higher. We think this happens in the coming days and weeks.

Under this scenario, we should anticipate upside resolutions from individual software names. A lot of them look very similar to IGV right now.

Palantir Technologies $PLTR is one of my favorites setups in the space.

How could it not be? It's been the best one.

The notorious government contractor is just breaking out above its IPO high from 2021.

It has a lot of room to run.

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

1. New position in KRE (regional banks).
2. No adjustments are needed today.
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

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.