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...

Thanks to everyone who joined us for today's Hot Corner Insider Weekly Strategy Session.

Enough raging against the machine. In the 2 weeks since Liberation Day we've seen the stated rate of tariffs change at least 5 times. Just last weekend we saw a seemingly tech-saving exclusion on chips first announced then denied then largely just dismissed as more noise. From a 4% gap higher in the futures to a tepid Monday morning rally which has now given in to the endless pressure we've seen on the Consumer plays we've seen all year.

We're approaching acceptance. There's no one walking through that door to save companies relying on the kindness/ sanity of this administration. Earlier this week I pointed to Best Buy and Nike as two companies that should go higher on a deal. Both are now trading below the Friday close, down ~30% YTD and unable to hold a bid for more than a moment:

Recession is just an economic term. It's most useful in studying periods of history after the fact in search of clues as to timing the natural ebbs and flows of what used to be called the Economic Cycle but for the last 15 years is more accurately thought of as occasional world-threatening catastrophes and the stimulus that follows.

Downturns Cull the Herd when it...

Ok, the stock market has bounced. Now what?

Well, now that the bounce feels like it's running out of a little steam, it's time to scan the universe of stocks that have been underperforming and had tepid bounces (at best) during this week's counter-trend rally.

Today's stock is one of the laggards in the semiconductors space.

Last week, I floated a thought: I wouldn’t be surprised if we soon saw an executive order banning short selling coming out of the White House:

Well, it hasn’t happened—at least not in the official, legislative sense. But today my friend Howard Lindzon tweeted something that really hit the nerve I was feeling:

This begs the question: Has Trump essentially implemented a “shadow ban” on short selling, just by threatening to tweet?

Think about it.

We’ve seen this movie before. In 2008, during the depths of the Great Financial Crisis, regulators issued a temporary ban on short selling for 799 financial stocks. It was a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding and restore confidence in the system. But the results were questionable at best. Liquidity dried up. Volatility spiked. And many argued that the move did more harm than good by signaling panic.

Other countries have tried similar moves over the years—especially during periods of extreme stress. France, Italy, Spain, and South Korea all...

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

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

Let’s dig in!

The big banks have been raking in billions of dollars each quarter from net interest income.

And despite the market's anticipation of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year, they expect this to continue for the foreseeable future.

Here's what the CFO of Bank of America, Alastair Borthwick, had to say about it:

"Net interest income is affected by a variety of factors, including rates, the shape of the yield curve, and deposit activity. Currently, if we were to receive one 25 basis point cut per quarter, as the forwards indicate, NII would grow through the rest of 2025 to around $15.5 billion to $15.7 billion by Q4 of this year."

It's a fantastic time to be a bank...

Let's talk about what else happened with their reports.

*Click the image to enlarge it

Bank of America had the best earnings reaction and reported a double beat with a muted reaction score of 2.21. 

The company reported revenues of $27.37B, versus the $26.98B estimate, and earnings per share of $0.90, versus the $0.82 estimate. 

...

Middle‑of‑the‑week filings served up new leadership buys in discount retail and food distribution. We also saw a billionaire’s continued support for a sports franchise.

📌 Dollar Tree $DLTR

New CFO Stewart Glendinning put $1.24 million to work—always notable when the numbers person buys at market.

📌 Atlanta Braves $BATRA

Director John C. Malone added another $2.14 million, taking a fresh swing at the opening of a new season.

📌 Calavo Growers $CVGW

CEO Lee Cole filed a Form 4 with a purchase of $499,991, a nearly half‑million‑dollar vote of confidence in the avocado king.

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from April 16, 2025:

Click the table to enlarge it.

📌 PBF Energy $PBF

Billionaire Carlos Slim’s Control Empresarial added $216,558, extending its steady accumulation.

Today's number is... 16

My sentiment composite hits a fresh 16-month high. 

Here’s the chart:

Let's break down what the chart shows:

• The black line in the top panel represents the price of the S&P 500 index.
• The black line in the bottom panel represents my sentiment composite, which includes six different sentiment data points: AAII Bull Bear Spread, II Bull Bear Spread, NAAIM, CBOE Volatility Index, Equity Put Call Ratio 5-Day, and Put Call Ratio 10-Day.

The Takeaway: We are currently seeing more bears than bulls enter the market, as my sentiment composite has reached a new 16-month high. It's remarkable how price action can influence sentiment. Just six months ago, we were experiencing optimism, but now the environment for investors has turned much more pessimistic.

While I acknowledge that this sentiment composite is not perfect, it does provide a useful perspective on what investors are thinking at the moment. 

The way I use sentiment is to determine whether it acts as a potential tailwind...

Last week, we pointed out how Consumer Staples – a classic defensive sector – had surged in response to the market selloff. That’s typical behavior during periods of volatility, and we noted that it would actually be a constructive sign if that strength didn’t hold.

Well… it didn’t.

With that behind us, the question shifts from will we bounce? to how far can this bounce go?

One sector we're watching closely for clues is Financials ($XLF). It broke down hard – and now it's coming back to retest all that broken support.

This is a crucial moment.

Historically, after sharp corrections like the one we just saw, markets tend to move sideways for months. They need time to digest the move.

If we’re going to ignore that playbook and rip straight back to all-time highs, it would be… unusual.

More likely? We’re at a logical level for sellers to step in, put a lid on this rally in financials, and drag us into that choppy, frustrating range we’ve come to expect after major market resets.

As of the time I'm writing this (1pm MT), the VIX has been trading back below 30:

While this doesn't mean the coast is clear and the bull market is set to resume, it does signal the extreme fear that exploded last week has subsided as market participants have had time to digest all the headlines and manage risks.

In today's Flow Show, I flew solo and I laid out the latest on the put spread selling campaign I've been executing in $QQQ options since last Wednesday.

I discuss why I implemented the campaign, how it's going so far, and what the next steps are in managing these trades now that $VIX is back below 30:

Sean McLaughlin | Chief Options Strategist, All Star Charts

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. 

Clearly, we spend a lot of time identifying and writing about leading stocks every week, via multiple reports.

...

Welp, there it is. The dreaded "Death Cross."

I'm mostly just teasing.

I was asked in the All Star Options chat room this afternoon what I thought about this? My answer was that I don't put much stock in an indicator like this. In my selective memory, I feel like I've seen ominous headlines about "death crosses" in the past and they most amounted to much ado about nothing, ultimately.

But again, this might be selective memory.

Here's what's changing my mind... my guy Grant Hawkridge published an interesting piece about this topic today. In it, he says:

"Some people may place limited emphasis on the Death Cross pattern because it is often considered a lagging indicator. However, historical data suggests that if the short-term moving average remains below the long-term moving average, it could pose challenges for stocks moving forward.

I have done the math, and the results are bearish for the stock market…

On average, the S&P 500 has poor performance over the next 1 to 3 months. 

Is this the kind of environment where we want to invest our capital? The impact on stocks in the near future...

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

1. New Position in ITB (US Home Construction).
2. No adjustments are needed today.
3. Closed XLY at Profit Target.
4. Current status of open campaigns.
5. Volatility Snapshot.

Let’s dig in!

A "tell" is an observable, consistent, unwitting behavior in reaction to a known stimulus. Which is a fancy way of stating something you already understand intuitively. 

Examples: You try on a new, hot outfit to model for your partner. You twirl before them, asking for an opinion. The love of your life looks you over squinches up their nose almost, but not quite imperceptibly. "You look amazing, babe" they offer with what is intended to be a sincere tone but is in the same tone they use to compliment your mom. This is the love of your life. The words mean nothing compared to the signals given off by the Tells of tone and expression. You change.

Example Two (The Point): Three stocks, all dominant in their respective corners of the consumer world, all beaten down mercilessly. All three had what should have been, could have been and in a better tape would have been bullish catalysts over the weekend.

Best Buy, Dicks and Nike are all down over 20% in the last 2 months. They are companies of varying quality in terms of execution but Supply Chain positioning but they dominate consumer segments which have been beaten like Government Mules over the ever-changing...

When there's market volatility, brokers and exchanges thrive.

And that's exactly what we're seeing right now.

Goldman Sachs $GS just reported their Q1 2025 results, and they were incredible.

Their equities segment grew to $4.19B, which is an astounding 27% year-over-year increase.

CEO David Solomon said in the conference call, "Clients are active and people are shifting positions." 

This is putting money in Goldman's pockets.

Let's talk about what else happened with Monday's earnings reactions.

*Click the image to enlarge it

Goldman Sachs $GS had the best earnings reaction and reported a double beat with a muted reaction score of 0.09. 

The company reported revenues of $15.06B, versus the $14.77B estimate, and earnings per share of $14.12, versus the $12.32 estimate. 

M&T Bank $MTB had the worst earnings reaction and reported a double miss with a reaction score of -0.79. 

The company reported revenues of $2.31B, versus the $2.34B estimate, and earnings per share of $3.32, versus the $3.40 estimate....

The standout story from today’s list is the buying spree by Rep. Jefferson Shreve of Indiana.

Rep. Shreve went big, snapping up a massive number of shares across several stocks.

Here's the breakdown:

• Advanced Micro Devices $AMD
• Blackrock $BLK
• Block Inc $XYZ
• Unitedhealth Group $UNH
• Wells Fargo & Co $WFC
• McDonald's Corp $MCD
• Newmont Corp $NEM
• Target Corp $TGT
• Goldman Sachs $GS
• Home Depot Inc $HD
• Johnson & Johnson $JNJ
• Broadcom Inc $AVGO
• Apple Inc $AAPL

Here’s The Hot Corner, with data from April 14, 2025:

Click the table to enlarge it.

Liberty 77 Fund L.P. dropped $6.99 million for Lions Gate $LGF.A, the biggest single Form 4 buy of the day, indicating continued...

The Dow Jones Industrial Average $DIA has migrated to the top of the list in the aftermath of the recent market crash.

The Dow, like so many other key indexes, have held the retest of their 2021 highs.

This suggests a strong level of support, indicating that the worst of the correction is likely behind us. While the market often consolidates or moves sideways after such events, this appears to be a constructive bottom - one we can build on with cautious optimism.

Today's number is... 50%

More than 50% of stocks listed on the NYSE reached 52-week lows last week.

Here’s the chart:

Let's break down what the chart shows:

• The black line in the top panel is the S&P 500 index price.
• The red lines in the bottom panel show the percentage of NYSE stocks making 52-Week New Lows.

The Takeaway: The stock market can only decline with an expansion in the new lows list, it's simple math… and you know what… The number of stocks making new lows expanded to its fourth-highest level over the past 17 years.

That's expansion!

No two ways about it…

Last week, among the 2,862 stocks listed on the NYSE, 1,475 made new 52-week lows…

That's over half of the stocks that are listed on the NYSE exchange! 

These are not levels you see during a bull market.

Moving forward from here, the Bulls must first stop stocks from declining. They have been trying to put something together, but have yet to show any type of back-to-back follow-through just yet. 

Is there...