Market Summary:
As I mentioned in the MidWeek Video, I am writing a market commentary this weekend instead of a posting a video.

Overall, it was a fairly flat week, as the S&P 500 was up +0.21% on light volume for the week, and the Nasdaq Composite was up +0.69% on higher volume. I don’t mind the higher volume on the Nasdaq because it showed supportive action. In other words, the index started lower on the week, and finished in the upper end of its range. This is considered supportive price action and is explained further in the Seminar Videos section of the website (see the Accumulation and Distribution video).

We continue to be in step 2 of the 3 steps I discussed since mid-November. Step 1 was the incredible technical strength during the first half of November. Then, I mentioned to expect consolidation (either through price or through time) over the near-term. That’s exactly what the market has been doing over the past 3 weeks. In recent videos, I mentioned that we are likely getting close to the end of this consolidation, and to start preparing for step 3. Step 3 involves moving higher out of this recent range, and likely seeing continued strength into mid-January. It’s possible we could consolidate for one more week. It’s also possible that we could have a quick shakeout this week before moving higher. Either way, I stick to what I said after the follow through day on November 1, which was we’ve bottomed for the year, and any dips will be shallow and buyable.

I am currently 90% invested. If you are fully vested, hopefully you are in some strong stocks and strong ETFs. If you are looking to add exposure, as I mentioned coming into this week, now might be the time to look for safer entry points. Again, this is ONLY if you are looking to increase your investment levels and if this fits your overall investment plan. If you don’t have a plan, please continue to work on one and fine-tune a strategy that fits your risk tolerance.

This week, I sold my position in AVAV. I entered it around 122, had a cushion over earnings, but the stock didn’t react well to the earnings. I didn’t want to let a winner turn into a loser. I also reduced my position in NVO. I still like it longer-term but I have to respect the recent weakness. If it significantly breaks below its 10-week moving average this week, I will likely reduce it even more. I added to MSFT near its 21-day. I also started small positions in PANW, AYX, and ORCL.

As always, stick to the three main rules I discuss throughout my videos: 1) Focus on the strongest stocks and ETFs. 2) Get strong entry points. Don’t chase extended stocks and use the 21-EMA as your guide. 3) Manage your trades based on your timeframe. The main suggested stop is a Friday decisive close below the 10-week moving average. My absolute line in the sand (even for longer-term investors) is the 200-day MA. Thank you and good luck this week. The next MidWeek video will be posted on Tuesday, December 12th by 8PM EST.

Unusual Option Activity:
12/8/23 Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) with 6000 Dec 29th $394 calls buying at $4 to $4.50, adjusting the Dec 15th $386 calls into year end
12/8/23 Real Estate ETF (IYR) with 2000 Jan 5th $88 calls sell to open $0.81
12/8/23 S&P SmallCap 600 ETF (IJR) seeing 5000 Jan $102 calls buying at $1.95 as the Dec $99 calls adjust up
12/8/23 S&P 500 ETF (SPY) buyers of 2700 Jan 5th $461 calls at $4.22.
12/8/23 S&P 500 ETF (SPY) also opening sellers of 3000 Feb $436 puts at $3.80
12/8/23 Retail ETF (XRT) seeing 7500 March $67 calls sell to open at $3.37
12/8/23 Biotech ETF (XBI) seeing a large long term bull buying 1500 Jan 2026 $100 calls for $9.05
12/8/23 Semiconductor ETF (SMH) with 3300 June $185 calls bought at $4.54
12/8/23 Pepsi (PEP) large buy of 1100 Feb $160 puts at $2.30
12/8/23 Uber (UBER) with 1600 Jan 2025 $80 calls bought $5.20 offer
12/8/23 Uber (UBER) also 1500 of the $57.5 puts bought $6.35 offers
12/8/23 Chevron (CVX) block of 10,000 June $115 puts sold to open $1.70
12/8/23 Exxon (XOM) with 895 Jan. 26th (W) $96 calls bought ITM 5.75 offers
12/8/23 Madrigal Pharma (MDGL) put sellers active again with 540 January $210 into weakness
12/8/23 Madrigal Pharma (MDGL) also a buyer 200 January 2025 $210 calls at $69.50
12/8/23 Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) buyer of 430 March $23 calls at $2.85
12/8/23 Otis Worldwide (OTIS) buyer of 1200 Jan $85 calls at $3.72, adjusting Dec calls
12/8/23 Google (GOOG) with 3200 June $125 puts selling to open 5.10 to 5.05
12/8/23 ServiceNow (NOW) opening seller 800 May $510 puts for 6.80
12/8/23 Elastic (ESTC) seeing buyers of 250 June $115/$155 call spreads for $13.30
12/8/23 Advanced Micro (AMD) opening sale 1000 June 2025 $150 puts $34.60 as $100 strike adjusted
12/8/23 Palantir (PLTR) buyer of 1000 June $18 calls for $4.30
12/7/23 Homebuilders ETF (ITB) buyer of 1687 April $75 ITM calls at $18.26, adjusting some weekly Dec 8th calls
12/7/23 S&P 500 ETF (SPY) large opening seller of 9662 January 2025 $430 puts at $16.89, over $16.5M
12/7/23 Airlines ETF (JETS) seeing 10,000 January 26th $19 calls bought at $0.51 as the Dec 29th calls adjust
12/7/23 McDonalds (MCD) buyers 350 Sept $310 calls $9.75 offer
12/7/23 Celsius Holdings (CELH) opening sale 1000 January 2026 $58.33 puts for $18.25 ITM
12/7/23 Tesla (TSLA) opening seller of 2750 Jan 26th $245 puts at $17.75, adjusting the Jan 19th $245 short puts
12/7/23 Airbnb (ABNB) with 1000 Dec. 29th (W) $140/$150 call spreads bought for $3.78
12/7/23 DraftKings (DKNG) spread bought 2500 Dec. 22nd (W) $35.50 calls $1.19 and sold 3750 of the $38 calls $0.36
12/7/23 Novo Nordisk (NVO) buyer 1200 March $105/$115 call spreads for $2.04
12/7/23 AbbVie (ABBV) opening seller of 10,000 Feb $155 calls at $2.28
12/7/23 Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP) with 1000 March $100 calls sold to open $3.50 to $3.40
12/7/23 Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP) also 600 January 72.50 puts sold to open 8.72
12/7/23 Marvell Tech (MRVL) big buyers coming for 2650 March $52.50 calls $4.65
12/7/23 Advanced Micro (AMD) with 900 July $150 calls sold to open $7.50 to $7.40
12/7/23 Microsoft (MSFT) opening seller of 5000 Dec 29th $365 puts at $5.25 to $5
12/7/23 Apple (AAPL) with 5000 June 2025 $205 calls sold to open $24.15 to $24.10
12/7/23 Google (GOOG) opening seller 1100 January $141 puts ITM for $4.80
12/7/23 Google (GOOG) also with 4500 June $132.50 puts sell to open here at $7.08
12/6/23 Uranium ETF (URA) buyer 10,000 Jan $32 calls $0.45 as Dec. 30 adjust
12/6/23 S&P SmallCap 600 ETF (IJR) rare trade buying 2000 Jan $101 calls at $2.55 as the Dec $98 calls adjust
12/6/23 Tesla (TSLA) size buyers in May $325 calls 4500X $9.79 to $10.55
12/6/23 WingStop (WING) seeing 480 June $180 puts sell to open $4.90
12/6/23 Pinduoduo (PDD) buyer 1500 March $170 calls $4.20
12/6/23 DraftKings (DKNG) with 1500 ITM Dec 22nd (W) $33 calls bought $3.85
12/6/23 Chevron (CVX) seeing 3000 February $150/$130 bull risk reversals open
12/6/23 MongoDB (MDB) opening seller 1000 January $340 puts 3.95 into post-earnings sell-off
12/6/23 Texas Instruments (TXN) with 15,000 Feb $175 calls sell to open at $1.31 and $1.30
12/6/23 Microsoft (MSFT) with 5200 Dec 29th $370 puts sell to open at $6.75
12/6/23 Apple (AAPL) massive late day opening seller of 10,000 Dec 2024 $190 puts at $13.70 to $13.80
12/6/23 S&P 500 ETF (SPY) opening sellers of 4500 Dec 22nd $459 puts for $5.40 to $5.20, willing to be long at current levels into Xmas week
12/4/23 Acumen Pharmaceuticals (ABOS) unusual opening seller of 4499 July $5 ITM puts for $2.45. Often a bullish signal for biotech’s. Today released a presentation with plasma biomarker data from the Company’s Phase 1 INTERCEPT-AD trial update. ABOS is a $156M micro-cap bio that is engaged in developing a disease-modifying approach to target underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The Company is focused on advancing a targeted immunotherapy drug candidate, ACU193, and establishing proof of mechanism in early AD patients. The Company’s ACU193 is a humanized monoclonal antibody that selectively targets the anti-amyloid-beta oligomer (AbOs), has demonstrated functional and protective effects in in-vitro assays, and has demonstrated in-vivo safety and pharmacologic activity in multiple animal species including transgenic models for AD.