Topics covered:
1) 0:00 Announcements
2) 0:24 Market Commentary and Index Review (Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, and Russell 2000)
3) 8:30 Stock Review – Medical Products: ALGN, SWAV, INMD, ISRG, DXCM, TNDM, PODD
4) 11:20 Stock Review – Software: BILL, TEAM, ZS, DDOG, ASAN, CRWD
5) 13:20 Stock Review – Semiconductors: SMH (ETF), NVDA, MXL, KLIC, ASML
6) 14:20 Stock Review – Watch List/General Ideas/Commentary: ALNY, WING, NKTX, SE, ALB, LTHM, RDWR
7) 16:30 Conclusion/Summary

Market Summary:
As I mentioned in the past few videos, the biggest negative right now is the seasonal weakness. August and September are traditionally two of the weaker and more volatile months of the year, as the news shifts from fundamentals to other nonsense that can cause increased volatility. My conclusion has been to stay defensive. By defensive, I mean reducing the number of positions you own, reducing position size, minimizing new buys, and stopping yourself out when a position decisively turns against you. This last point I discuss in more detail in this video.

I would like to repeat, I am cautious right now but not bearish. The Nasdaq Composite is sitting right on its 50-day moving average. Rather than guessing whether it will bounce off this level or break down from here, I prefer to lean defensive until we get a clearer picture. I’m always looking for a potentially SUSTAINED uptrend and I recommend patience and defense until conditions improve. As always, know your timeframe and make decisions based on your own investment objectives. If you have a longer-term timeframe, you will likely have to deal with some volatility over the next 4-6 weeks.

One last point. I realize this environment has been very frustrating for growth traders, especially since growth topped earlier this year in February. Please remember to protect your confidence. Keep your head up, don’t give up, keep a strong list of stocks (which I do my best to provide in these videos), and be patient until conditions for growth improve. Again, don’t get too negative. There are simply times to get defensive until we get a clearer picture, and now is one of them. Good luck for the remainder of the week.

Unusual Option Activity
8/18/21 Microsoft (MSFT) buyer of 1000 March $315 calls at $11.95 offer to open
8/18/21 Upstart Holdings (UPST) with 440 October $210 calls bought from $28.50 to $31.10
8/18/21 Mastercard (MA) buyers of 1900 September $375 calls at $5.20 looking to add to open interest
8/18/21 BioHaven (BHVN) with 585 Oct $120 calls bought for $13.60, 345 Jan $115 calls for $22.10, and 360 Dec $115 calls for $20.5
8/18/21 Livent (LTHM) with over 2,850 September $25 calls bought today up to $1.50
8/18/21 Snap (SNAP) with another 2,300 October $75 calls being bought for $4.35 to $4.45
8/18/21 Veeva Systems (VEEV) with 400 March $410 calls bought today $6.20 to $6.30 to open ahead of 9-1 earnings
8/18/21 Palo Alto Networks (PANW) with 325 December $370 puts sold to open for $30.50
8/18/21 Apple (AAPL) block of 5000 October 1st (W) $148 puts sold to open $4.80 this afternoon
8/17/21 Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) 5000 October 386/$338 bull risk reversals at a $2.10 credit, willing to own QQQ back near June breakout level
8/17/21 Microsoft (MSFT) seeing November $315 calls active with buyers $4.50 to $4.75 trading over 30,000
8/17/21 Google (GOOGL) with 3300 November $3000 calls opening for $14.5M
8/17/21 Shockwave Medical (SWAV) buyer of 750 October $200 calls for $11.80, adjusting some Aug. calls out
8/17/21 Inovalon (INOV) buyer of 5,000 September $35 calls for $3.65 as the August $30 calls close and adjust out
8/17/21 CrowdStrike (CRWD) with 2000 September 3rd (W) $240 calls opening up to $8.78
8/17/21 Snap (SNAP) with 8000 November $75 calls opening this afternoon $6.25+
8/17/21 Zillow (Z) with 700 June 2022 $75 puts sold to open for $9.45
8/17/21 Goldman Sachs (GS) with 450 January 2023 $360 puts sold to open today for $36.10 to $36.05
8/17/21 Cortexyme (CRTX) with 200 October $100 calls bought for $13.90 to $14
8/17/21 Cortexyme (CRTX) also 200 October $95 puts sold to open today $19.50
8/17/21 Sea Limited (SE) 1300 September $350 calls open $4.05 offer
8/17/21 Cassava Sciences (SAVA) buyers at the Aug. 27th (W) expiration again today with 400 of the $111 calls opening from $12 to $13.70
8/16/21 Palo Alto (PANW) buyers late day of 1000 September $410 calls $3.50 to $3.70, earnings 8-23
8/16/21 Bill.com (BILL) with 1500 September $200 calls opening $14.67 as $210 calls adjust back
8/16/21 Apple (AAPL) IV rising this afternoon with 4,850 October 1st (W) $150 calls bought $5.05 to $5.35
8/16/21 Diamondback Energy (FANG) with 10,000 January 2023 $80/$110 call spreads bought for $7.70
8/16/21 Pfizer (PFE) OTM low Delta bull flow continues with 17,000 November $60 calls bought this morning near $0.43
8/16/21 Cassava Sciences (SAVA) with 1000 August 27th (W) $116 calls opening for $12.05, adjusting back the $120 calls bought 8/12
8/16/21 Cassava Sciences (SAVA) also with 445 November $100 calls bought $39.40 to $41
8/16/21 DataDog (DDOG) with 900 Sept. $140 calls bought $3.60/$3.70
8/16/21 Upstart Holdings (UPST) with 200 January 2023 $300 calls bought up to $51.50
8/16/21 Novartis (NVS) buyer for 2000 January $100 calls $2.10 to $2.20 and stock pops to day highs
8/16/21 S&P 500 ETF (SPY) into morning weakness with buyers active for 4750 Sep. 24th (W) $444 calls for around $3M
8/16/21 Salesforce (CRM) seeing 1060 Sep. 24th (W) $250 calls open, around $900K, captures earnings later this month
8/16/21 Atlassian (TEAM) 1800 September $350 calls are bought $6.30 to $7.70
8/16/21 DexCom (DXCM) with 2,850 September $440 puts sold to open this morning from $3.80 to $3.51
8/16/21 Apple (AAPL) nearly 20,000 Aug. 27th (W) $152.50 calls bought $0.80+ in opening 10 minutes
8/16/21 Micron (MU) appears another 5000 September 2022 $60 puts selling to open near $5.95
8/16/21 Okta (OKTA) with 1000 January 2023 $250 calls opening $41.05
8/13/21 Apple (AAPL) buyers of 1000 September 2023 $185 calls for $13.40 to $13.75
8/13/21 Unity Software (U) buyer of 3000 September $145 calls for $2.10, adjusting higher the $135 calls
8/13/21 Advance Micro (AMD) late buyers of 3000 November $130 calls for $4.85