Topics covered:
1) 0:00 Announcements
2) 0:15 Market Commentary and Index Review (Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, and Russell 2000)
3) 7:50 FOCUS LIST: NVDA, MSFT, ORCL, ADBE, CELH, LLY, NOW, UBER
4) 11:45 Stock Review – Software: IGV (ETF), CRM, CDNS, SNPS, WDAY, APP, QLYS
5) 14:10 Stock Review – Semiconductors: SMH (ETF), AMAT, AVGO, LRCX, KLAC, MRVL
6) 15:40 Stock Review – Energy: XLE (ETF), XOP (ETF), WFRD, MPC, TDW, BKR
7) 17:10 Stock Review – Watch List/General Ideas/Commentary: CLS, EXTR, VRT, NVO, TSLA, NTRA, XBI (ETF), RVMD, AXSM, RCUS, KRYS, RYTM, ABOS, DECK, ONON, LULU, ITB (ETF)
8) 24:00 Conclusion/Summary

Market Summary:
During this pullback, I mentioned I would look for signs that the institutional selling was slowing down. We got that two weeks ago on Thursday, August 17th and Friday, August 18th. In addition, the major indexes were near their 21-week moving average, so we were setting up for a potential short-term bounce. We got that bounce this past week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but as I discussed in the MidWeek Video, the rebound occurred on light volume. We need signs that the institutions are coming back into the market with consistent accumulation and I would also like to see a follow through day (FTD). In Wednesday’s Video, I mentioned that Nvidia’s earnings could be the catalyst for a FTD, but to be patient and let the market prove itself. In other words, it’s tough to see the big institutions putting money to work during a slow summer week, and also unlikely to see them commit capital ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s Jackson Hole speech on Friday.

The result was a gap up on Thursday that was met with selling, as the major indexes saw resistance at their 50-day moving averages. It was a definitely a disappointing day for the bulls, but the volume was below average. The market was just telling us it’s still in corrective mode and not ready to resume its uptrend. On Friday, Powell said nothing new. He’s still watching the data and focused on fighting inflation. Some macro economists are saying this high interest rate environment will be restrictive for the consumer and many businesses. While I agree, I’m mainly focused on the companies that are flourishing in this difficult environment with strong earnings and sales growth and also showing great technical relative strength. Of course, I will take this day-by-day, but my conclusion is the same. Be patient as we get through this seasonally weak period, and give time for the market to prove itself. As I discuss in this video, I’m not going to get overly bearish because many sentiment measures are showing low bullish readings. Like I said in July, it won’t take much to get everyone all bearish again. Just be patient for what I’m expecting to be healthier conditions in the fourth quarter. Enjoy the remainder of your weekend and good luck this upcoming week!

Unusual Option Activity:
8/25/23 Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) with 54,000 October $173 puts bought at $2.48, adjusts the $174 puts down
8/25/23 Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) also with an opening seller of 2000 January 2025 $155 puts sold for $6.45
8/25/23 Rivian (RIVN) with 2100 Sept $19 puts sold to open at $0.68
8/25/23 Procter & Gamble (PG) with 1000 June $140 puts sold to open at $4
8/25/23 Roku (ROKU) with 900 June $105 calls bought at $9.10 offers
8/25/23 Schlumberger (SLB) opening sale of 1000 Oct $57.50 calls for $2.63
8/25/23 Marathon Petroleum (MPC) buyers of 1500 Oct $140 calls at $10.10
8/25/23 ConocoPhillips (COP) with 900 January 2025 $115 puts sold to open for $14.45
8/25/23 Enovix (ENVX) with over 3000 January $14 puts sold to open at $3.00
8/25/23 Enovix (ENVX) also 1800 Jan $14 calls bought for $2.65
8/25/23 Pfizer (PFE) seeing a large opening seller of 5300 March $37.50 calls at $2.18
8/25/23 Inspire Medical (INSP) with 1000 Sept $200/$185 put spreads bought for $2.25
8/25/23 Medtronic (MDT) with 10,000 Jan $87.50 calls bought into the close for $2.35 to $2.37
8/25/23 Allegro Microsystems (ALGM) with 4500 November $30 puts sell to open at $0.75 down to $0.71
8/25/23 Oracle (ORCL) seeing buyers for over 5000 Oct $125 calls at $2.25 to $2.40
8/24/23 Regional Banks ETF (KRE) large opening sale of 3500 December 2025 $39 puts for $4.31
8/24/23 Semiconductors ETF (SMH) opening sellers of 2000 Oct $154 calls at $5.70
8/24/23 Retail ETF (XRT) trade sells to open 7500 December $61 puts for $2.84
8/24/23 Lululemon (LULU) opening sale of 1000 Dec $390 calls at $25 down to $22.70
8/24/23 Uber (UBER) large buyers for over 5000 November $45 calls at $4.10, adjusting the Oct $50 calls
8/24/23 Starbucks (SBUX) seeing 1000 April $75 puts sell to open at $1.62
8/24/23 Public Storage (PSA) with 1580 Oct $250 puts sold to open for $2.00, adjusts Sept $260 short puts
8/24/23 Bristol Myers (BMY) opening seller 1000 January 2025 $60 puts for 4.90
8/24/23 Bristol Myers (BMY) buyers of 1000 Jan 2025 $60 calls for $7.90
8/24/23 Novo Nordisk (NVO) with 660 January $220 calls bought for $4.40 in a stock replacement
8/24/23 AstraZeneca (AZN) opening sales of 1500 Sept $68 puts for $1.04
8/24/23 89Bio (ETNB) seeing large buyers of 1300 January $20 calls for $1.35
8/24/23 Marvell Tech (MRVL) with 2500 Oct. 52.5 puts being sold to open down to 1.65
8/24/23 Marvell Tech (MRVL) reports tonight and seeing an opening sale for 3950 Sept 22nd $47 puts at $0.40
8/24/23 Google (GOOGL) with another 750 of the Dec 2025 $180 calls bought at $13.80
8/24/23 Unity Software (U) buyer 1500 Sep. 35/40 call spreads for 0.95
8/24/23 Salesforce (CRM) opening sale of 400 Feb $175 puts for $6.45 bids
8/24/23 Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) large early buyer of 51,000 Oct $176 puts for $2.47, adjusting $177 puts, likely ongoing hedge