Microsoft Challenges Fib 3.618 levelMicrosoft - NASDAQ:MSFT
Expectations were beat across the board today but what does the long term monthly chart tell us? All is revealed in the chart. This is a key moment for NASDAQ:MSFT and a pull back or break through to established new highs wouldn't surprise. I'm happy to wait for the confirmations outlined in the chart. That MACD cross though looks appealing.
Earnings Summary
- Profits jumped 20% to 20.1 b
- EPS: $2.69 / Exp $2.56
- Revenue: $56.19B / Exp $55.49B
- Azure (cloud) revenue up 26% / Exp 27%
Microsoft
Microsoft - Is The Top Already In?One of the key points to Microsoft is it is, in essence, a U.S. state-backed corporation, and one that is trading at more than $2.5 trillion market cap at present.
You're looking at a company that just set a new all time high while the overall market is not healthy and the macroeconomic fundamentals are actually bearish.
And so, we have to seriously ask ourselves if it's time to short God the top.
Microsoft's price action on the monthly is curious.
The price action is healthy and natural all the way from where it bounces to the top, and only becomes curiously strange when it gets to the top.
Why does a stock that bounces at the right place and forms a fully proper reversal pattern, which we see on the weekly:
Only sweep the All Time High?
Why doesn't it raid the ATH and run bigly larger like NVDIA did?
Well, the answer is actually quite clear when you overlay NVDA to MSFT:
In essence, NVDA at $480-450 is MSFT at $350. The difference in price action you see today is because NVDA was relatively weaker in the past, meaning MSFT was inordinately strong in the past.
Anything that reaches an extreme will reverse. If it reaches the extreme twice, it will reverse hard twice.
The geopolitical situation in the world is not healthy. There is a ton of sabre rattling between NATO and the Nation of China at the moment.
The western propaganda machine wants you to believe that Xi Jinping intends to invade Taiwan because he's very evil very super Mao Zedong++, but in reality it's more like the "International Rules Based Order" wants to use the fact that the Chinese Communist Party is rotten and unforgivable as a handle to depose Xi and have Taiwan invade the Mainland under the guise of international "aide".
Why this matters to you as a trader is because you're flirting with getting gapped down hard since Beijing daytime is New York night time.
If you want to be long right now you need to be hedged long volatility, or you're risking your life.
Moreover, Xi, in order to defend himself, his faction of Chinese nationalists, and China's 5,000 year history, can overthrow the CCP in a Gorbachev-style coup overnight, weaponizing the 24-year-long persecution and genocide of Falun Dafa by the faction belonging to former Chairman Jiang Zemin (it died this year).
The significance is major to traders because your beloved governments, banks, and corporations have stained their hands crimson flirting with the Jiang faction toadies in Shanghai (Babylon) in order to get all the benefits they desire.
Google the Neil Heywood story if you want to see a classic example of a British billionaire getting gibbed by the greatest evil of all time.
Much to do before the call's key points.
Before we continue, I examine the price action I expect to manifest in SPY (SPX Futures ETF) for the remainder of the month, which can serve as something of a compass for what lies ahead:
SPY - A Dip Is Coming. Maybe Buy It?
Back to MSFT:
This is a very hard setup to trade
Because the June high may have been a hard top, double and triple top or not (See TSLA July-September '22)
Lower lows lower highs indicates the dip is hard to buy
But the short may only take us to the $320 range.
Sweeping $300 is the key to a bullish continuation above the highs
Maintaining ~$280 is the key to continuing upwards at all.
Microsoft has a really notable catalyst in that its earnings are on July 25 postmarket, which means price action will manifest the morning of July 26, which just so happens to be when the next FOMC meeting is.
After July FOMC the next FOMC is deferred until September 20, 9 days short of quarter end, notable because of the notorious JPM Collar, which I discuss here:
SPX/ES - An Analysis Of The 'JPM Collar'
What I expect is we see a fairly violent correction on Microsoft back to the $300s before we can see any kind of further meaningful flirtation with a run over the $350 ATH.
But the June high may have been the top for the foreseeable future, as evidenced by the relationship between NVDA and MSFT.
Be careful. The time we have left for happy and normal days is so short you can almost count it on the fingers.
When things really emerge, Nasdaq 8,500 will be the least of your concerns, really.
Netflix - I Hope You Like Catching KnivesNetflix is that $200 billion company trading at $441.44 that everyone seem to have forgot about, even though it more than doubled in a year.
Personally, I think these streaming services are a colossal waste of your time and money. What you're watching is the intellectual equivalent of a Big Mac or a bag of potato chips, and permeated with the things of socialism and atheism.
And Netflix is really quite woke and some of the content is unforgivably degenerate.
You shouldn't look at warped mirrors and shouldn't cast your eyes on ugly things, or they'll twist your heart and your soul.
When it comes to the markets-at-large, I believe we're definitely going to see a correction, rather than a new all time high, which I detail in the two calls below:
Nasdaq NQ - A Fundamental and Technical Warning Signal
SPX/ES - An Analysis Of The 'JPM Collar'
If there's to be a new all time high, let's wait and see what Q4 has in store for us.
There's a lot of geopolitical risk in the markets right now. The War between the Russian Federation and NATO via Ukraine is a big one, and a bigger one is the situation in Mainland China with Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party.
More or less, I believe the globalists want to topple the Party to have their men from Taiwan go in and take control of China and depose Xi.
But I believe Xi is likely to topple the Party himself before that can happen.
Big gaps will come that day and things will be very hard because Wall Street won't be in any kind of a risk-on mood.
The 24-year persecution against Falun Dafa launched by former Chairman Jiang Zemin and the Shanghai toad faction is something Xi can weaponize to implicate the entire world.
Because to do business in Shanghai you've needed the Jiang Faction's approval. To get its approval, you've had to dirty your hands in the persecution and swear vows to the Flag of Blood.
And unfortunately, most of the world has wanted what the Party has. Read the story of British billionaire Neil Heywood, who decided to court Jiang's minion Bo Xilai.
Bo told Heywood that to prove his loyalty he had to divorce his wife. Heywood refused, and so Bo's wife poisoned him.
Heywood died in 2011.
Bo Xilai was ruined in Xi's Anti-corruption Campaign in 2013, stripped of all his assets, and sentenced to life in prison in a CCP dungeon.
Gambling with the Party is one foot in the grave and the other in prison. Live a virtuous life instead.
Moreover, they always say zoom out. Looking at Netflix on the yearly, it's hard to say you're not in the crosshairs of a savage trend reversal.
And you can see these daily bars far more clearly on the weekly chart:
There might be that fat gap above that you have your eye on, but you're dealing with a very long and very steep ramp in the first place, and this is in a stock which stayed away from a true gap between April and August of '22.
Another notable factor is that the FINRA short volume for Netflix, while still notably low, is the highest it's been in three months and posted its first green month since April and only its second of '23.
Short volume
This is quite notable in light of the fact that June was one of the best months for equities in a long time
Netflix doesn't have an ETF, except for a 3x levered ETF on the Mexico exchange. Insignificant except for it fell from 5 pesos to 5 pennies.
What's sad is even if it Netflix was to fall 50% in value the thing would still only be worth like 30 cents. % base levered ETFs will kill you.
So, here's the call.
Netflix printed a proper daily pivot in mid June (you'll have to look yourself because I can't zoom the chart in for the post) and has been flirting inside that range ever since.
If she makes a new high I suppose then it's time for more uppy and you can buy calls at the top and feel pretty good.
But if she breaks the $420 range the next area to watch is the June low, which Netflix printed on a green candle and on the first day of the month at $393
After that, things might happen and happen fast.
If bearish momentum and level breaking manifests, then where I believe it will return to is the $180 to $160 range.
For Netflix to have a chance to return above $500, it will have to hold the $162.71 bottom.
If you can catch that falling knife you'll feel pretty smart if you can hold the bag for a few months.
But if you try to go long before the bottom you'll cut your hands and cut your hands some more.
ES SPX Futures - Welcome to FOMCmageddonIn reading the title of this post, I'm sure you can tell what I want to say.
Since the new habit is to guffaw and lmao at any thesis that isn't bullish, because "we" all "know" US equities "always go up" and a new all time high is "in store," I'd like to point out the Nasdaq already shows signs of having topped.
That July 20, 2023 candle was some 2%+ in range and on absolutely no news.
And yet the SPX has not yet taken its equivalent intermediate term high.
The significance of the intermediate term highs that the Nasdaq took and the SPX is probably about to take is that they represent the March of 2022 failure swing.
Why does it matter? Because that swing and its destruction was the trumpet-backed announcement that the Coronavirus Disease 2019 stimmie QE bull run had come to an end.
And so coming back to raid it at a time when Big Jerome Powell openly told reporters at the last FOMC meeting that no rate cuts were scheduled AND that inflation would take years, not months, to come back to levels they regard as apropos, is a very dangerous situation.
The thing about tops and bottoms is that whoever calls them is always wrong, because you can only see a top or a bottom on hindsight.
In the interim, as they unfold, you can only anticipate that at a certain key price level, over a certain high or a certain low, that reversal patterns might manifest.
The geopolitical situation is very sharp. I note in a new call that oil is likely headed for a literal 3 handle this year.
Oil - A New Long Leg Down Soon Begins
And I note that the US Dollar Index is due for a rally to at least 108.
DXY - The US Petrdollar And The "Prigozhin Coup" In Russia
The cornerstone of the international chessboard is now, and always has been, Mainland China and its 5,000 year old country and culture, which has been ruined by the Chinese Communist Party over the course of its century of insanity.
What's going on in the equities market is heavily wedded to the "War With Taiwan" narrative being espoused by the propaganda machine, which I discuss in my call on Taiwan Semiconductor TSM, a company that I believe is a significant long hedge during a potential upcoming downtrend.
TSM - Taiwan, Your Semiconductor Long Hedge
So as for this week's call, I would like to note that, unlike the Nasdaq, the SPX has not raided its March '22 intermediate high.
This high at 4,631 happens to coincide with the new "JP Morgan Chase Collar," where one of the SIB's big funds sold calls at 4,665.
I discuss this collar below:
SPX/ES - An Analysis Of The 'JPM Collar'
Something to understand about the big banks' business model is this:
The first thing is that when they sell calls at a certain level, there is a buyer, and that buyer might be their clients.
Their clients may have paid the bank the standard 10% fee in exchange for providing the liquidity.
The reason the client would buy calls that JPM sells at a 10% premium is because they understand that the market will be made, in exchange, for those calls to be made worth more than they paid.
Those calls were purchased at the end of June when the indexes traded circa 4,400.
Why would JPM sell the calls and get themselves underwater? Because by September 29, Q3 end, they won't be underwater anymore, for one.
For two, they're hedged long and are making money on the way up on the hedge.
So they get to make money on the hedge, the calls ultimately expire worthless, and the client is happy because they got a big bag of cheap options at 4,400 to dump on the head of retail and Cathie Wood-style funds at 4,660.
And all of this is to say that the 4,631 failure swing/pivot is very likely to be raided, and it is likely to be raided on Wednesday, FOMC day.
During Monday's trade session, we will find out a lot about the intentions of the MMs.
I believe they will only raid the 4,544 level on Monday market open, making it a buying opportunity to sell 100 points higher.
However, if ES/SPX is to dump significantly to under 4,500 again, it stands to reason that the real target is the 4,800 ATH somewhere early in August.
But I think, for a lot of reasons, this is just so less likely.
Thus, SPX is likely to raid 4,544, which is to say the 4,550 psychological level, and trade over the 4,650 psychological level before Jerome Powell starts yapping.
This FOMC is really significant because there isn't another rate hike until September, the end of Q3.
So the trade is to long 4,540, sell it allllll at 4,650, and the target is under where JPM went long on puts and has been under water all month under 4,200 heading into the end of August and middle of September.
MSFT: Bearish Crab with Double MACD Bearish DivergenceMicrosoft has traded up to a 1.618 Fibonacci Extension and has formed a Bearish Crab with Double MACD Bearish Divergence, so long as $350 holds as resistance, I think it could go as low as about $295 to fill the gap below.
In the meantime, I have sold $350 multi-week calls.
MICROSOFT Huge MACD Bearish Cross ahead of earnings. Still buy?Microsoft (MSFT) has been trading within a Channel Up pattern since the March 13 Low, with the 1D MA50 (blue trend-line) supporting all the way, having made no contact with the price at all. You can see that on the chart on the right (1D time-frame).
On the bigger picture, the 1W time-frame (chart on the left), the stock closed last week's 1W candle on a very discouraging Bearish Pin Bar, which is a candle formed on technical trend reversals from bullish to bearish. In addition the 1W RSI remains overbought above 70.00, despite dropping from the even higher levels of May 30.
Perhaps the strongest alarming indicator at the moment showing that the market may have hit a temporary top is the emerging Bearish Cross on the 1W MACD. Since 2020, we have seen that formation another 7 times, with 6 of them delivering a Lower Low. As a result when the 1W MACD Bearish Cross is completed, it will be more probable to see a correction, not necessarily an earth shuttering one.
But back to the 1D time-frame (chart on the right) if that happens, we will wait for a candle close below the 1D MA50 and sell, targeting the 1D MA200 (orange trend-line) on a projected contact at $300. Until this happens though, the Channel Up is on full effect and we are targeting the Internal Higher Highs trend-line at $380.
In the meantime, observe the 1D RSI, which is trading inside a Rectangle for the past 6 months and has offered accurate buy signals at its bottom and sell signals at its top.
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$MSFT #Microsoft Earning PlayNASDAQ:MSFT #Microsoft Earning Play if you have been long NASDAQ:MSFT like we have it is prudent to take profits or if you are in the business of shorting stocks this is an excellent shorting opportunity. Know your target before you make the trade. There is a Double Top where you can stop out if it closes above the double top on a weekly basis.
MICROSOFT'S Fiscal 2023 Q4 Results: Assessing Growth and....Microsoft's Fiscal 2023 Q4 Results: Assessing Growth and Profitability
Investors are eagerly anticipating Microsoft's fiscal 2023 fourth-quarter results, set to be unveiled on July 25. The upcoming report holds significance as it is expected to include the company's outlook for fiscal year 2024, making it a crucial event for evaluating Microsoft's growth opportunities, profitability, and cash demand trends.
When considering Microsoft as an investment, three key factors set it apart from others.
Diverse Business:
Microsoft's strength lies in its diverse business offerings. Unlike companies that focus on specific industries or technologies, Microsoft provides exposure to various growth niches, including enterprise cloud services, AI, productivity software, and more. Owning Microsoft allows investors to capitalize on multiple expansion opportunities under one brand, thereby reducing the risks associated with heavy reliance on a single sector.
High Profitability:
Despite some fluctuations in financial metrics since the peak of the pandemic in 2021 and early 2022, Microsoft remains one of the most efficient generators of cash and profits in the market. In the last quarter, the company achieved an impressive 15% year-over-year increase in operating income, resulting in $22.4 billion in profit on $53 billion in sales. This high level of profitability reinforces Microsoft's position as a robust and stable investment option.
As the report is released, investors should focus on these essential growth indicators and look beyond short-term sales volatility to assess Microsoft's long-term potential. The company's diverse business and strong profitability make it an attractive investment opportunity for those seeking stability and growth in their portfolio.
Pricey Stock:
In terms of valuation, Microsoft is considered a pricey stock, with investors having to pay a premium for its valuable assets. Presently, Microsoft stock is valued at over 12 times its annual sales, comparable to the faster-growing Palo Alto Networks. However, in comparison, Apple offers a relatively better bargain with a valuation of 8 times its sales, while Amazon is even cheaper at less than 3 times its sales.
While there is a possibility that Microsoft's valuation may decrease in the coming quarters, particularly if the company reports disappointing sales results in late July or forecasts challenges in the upcoming operational year, the more likely scenario is that the business will continue to gain market share in various significant global tech industries. Additionally, any cyclical downturn in its operating system segment or consumer tech devices division is expected to be short-lived.
Considering Microsoft's bright long-term outlook, industry-leading profit margins, ample cash flow, and rising dividend payments, it emerges as an incredibly attractive stock to consider adding to your portfolio. For tech stock investors who prefer a less risky approach in a fast-moving industry, Microsoft provides an excellent opportunity to gain exposure to major trends while investing in one of the most valuable companies in the world.
Microsoft Long Alltime High hit Earnings New 52-week highs this week, powered by the Dow which, on Friday, extended its streak of positive days to ten — something the blue chip index has not done in almost six years. The Dow has been powered by, among other things, a slew of corporate financial results, particularly from the banks, which showed not only improved profitability, but also strong guidance for the next quarter and full year.
I have explained 2 bullish scenarios,1 bearish(worse case).
Bullish:
higher highs higher lows
poc uprising
volume increasing
capital flow rising
In case the Take profits hit, and we have increased volume, I will ride the trend.
I will only take profit 10% of the microsoft portfolio and let the profit run.
Exit :Stop loss or trend change signal
The mid and long term horizon is bullish. If any Profit taking level reaches, and trend continuation is signalizing that the uptrend will be continued, I will increase agressively my positions and take only 10% profits of each position.I will let the prfoits run.
This trade setup is only for trend followers and on daily TF.
MSFT Microsoft Options Ahead of Earnings ! Growth Thesis !If you haven`t bought MSFT when they Bought 49% Stake in OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT:
Or sold on their warning to investors:
Then analyzing the options chain and chart patterns of MSFT Microsoft prior to the earnings report this week,
I would consider purchasing the 345usd strike price Calls with
an expiration date of 2024-1-19,
for a premium of approximately $28.95.
If these options prove to be profitable prior to the earnings release, I would sell at least half of them.
The investment by Microsoft in OpenAI signifies a significant boost to their artificial intelligence capabilities. OpenAI's advanced technologies and expertise in AI research and development could potentially enhance the capabilities of Microsoft's Bing search engine. With access to powerful AI algorithms and resources, Bing may be able to offer more personalized and accurate search results, thereby attracting users who seek a more refined search experience.
Microsoft has been making strategic moves to expand its presence in various sectors, including cloud computing and enterprise services. By integrating Bing into its ecosystem of products and services, Microsoft can leverage its existing user base and partnerships to promote Bing as a viable alternative to Google.
In recent years, Google has faced scrutiny over data privacy concerns and antitrust issues, which could create an opportunity for Bing to gain traction among users seeking more privacy-focused alternatives. Additionally, Microsoft has been actively investing in marketing and advertising efforts to raise awareness about Bing and improve its market positioning.
While Google currently holds a dominant position in the search engine market, the landscape is dynamic and subject to change. If Microsoft successfully leverages its partnership with OpenAI to enhance Bing's capabilities, coupled with strategic marketing initiatives, it could potentially chip away at Google's market share over time.
The implementation, by Microsoft, of a chatbot like ChatGPT, powered by OpenAI's advanced natural language processing capabilities, could indeed provide an opportunity for consumers to find the cheapest price online for the same product. In an era where price comparison and cost-saving measures are highly valued by customers, this feature could be a valuable asset for Bing.
Amazon's reputation for having expensive and overvalued prices has been a topic of discussion among consumers. While Amazon provides a wide range of products and convenient shopping experiences, some users have expressed concerns about the pricing competitiveness on the platform. This presents an opening for Bing to attract cost-conscious consumers who are actively seeking better deals.
The concern over the origin of products, particularly those manufactured in China, has gained attention in recent years. Some consumers prefer to avoid purchasing Chinese-made products due to quality, safety, or political reasons. If Bing can provide a search experience that allows users to filter or identify the origin of products more effectively, it could cater to a segment of consumers who prioritize alternative sourcing.
I think MSFT will be one of the winners of the AI race.
Looking forward to read your opinion about it.
MSFT suppressed by the 3.000 level of the golden sectionMSFT suppressed by the 3.000 level of the golden section
This chart shows the weekly candle chart of Microsoft stock in the past two years. The graph overlays the low point at the end of October 2022 against the golden section. As shown in the figure, Microsoft's stock has reached another new high this week, breaking through the highest point at the end of 2021! But the weekly pattern of Microsoft stock this week is a long shadow line, with the highest point precisely suppressed by the 3.000 level of the golden section in the figure! Based on last week's weekly pattern, Microsoft's stock market is likely to enter a contraction triangle consolidation state in the future!
SPX/ES - An Analysis Of The 'JPM Collar'Over the last two quarters, financial social media has cared a lot about the "JPM Collar," a series of very large options trades that JP Morgan uses in one of the funds it offers its clients.
The theory for speculators is that the JPM collar will be used to constrict the market within a certain range. But as for how that plays out, it's hard for a trader to anticipate, especially amid the daily chop.
The levels are on the chart and you can reference them yourself. Below is a print of monthly bars, which is easier to see since I have to compress the TradingView chart to make the bars work:
If you're not familiar options, the general idea is this:
These options blocks expire September 29
JPM will lose a lot of money if price is over 4,665 or starts to approach 4,665, especially if it happens right away
JPM will lose a lot of money if price goes under 3,550, especially if it happens right away
JPM will lose a lot of money if price goes under 4,215, especially if it happens right away
But a nuance of being long 4,215 calls is that if price is significantly over 4,215 by September, they will make a lot of money on their calls.
Geopolitical Risks
Before we begin, I'll warn you, as I do in every post, that the geopolitical situation is tense. NATO is at war with the Russian Federation inside of Ukraine and the International Rules Based Order is always talking about "de-risking, but not decoupling" from Mainland China under President Xi Jinping.
The risk for markets is, short of a situation where a tectonic/geothermal event surprises everyone and causes the crash of crashes, is that Xi gets up one night and throws away the Chinese Communist Party.
Since Beijing business hours are New York night, you'll wake up to quite the gap down that will be hard to recover from, for the Chinese Communist Party and former Chairman Jiang Zemin and its cronies are guilty of the 24-year-long persecution and genocide against Falun Dafa's 100 million practitioners.
The Call
The most most notable thing about price action is as June closed, range equilibrium between the June high and the October low is exactly 4,000.00 points.
Something else I stumbled upon when preparing for this post is that when comparing the Dow, Nasdaq, and SPX futures monthly bars, the three have completely converged.
This is the first time since the **2022 top** that this has happened.
You can see it on the weekly as well
There used to be quite the delta, which allowed for stock picking and trading. If you ask me, what three memelines coming together all at once means is that the markets reached peak overbought, and genuine "overbought" isn't something you can see with an indicator.
The daily shows this really only manifested in June.
There are some problems with more uppy, as I explain in my calls below on the VIX, which needs to go up so that whales can go back to collecting free money selling volatility:
VIX - The 72-Handle Prelude
(But note that under the current conditions being summer and we're not that bearish right now, we may only see VIX 50)
And the fact that the Nasdaq is just so far away from its trendline that going more parabolic is hard to believe.
Nasdaq NQ - A Fundamental and Technical Warning Signal
I don't normally call exact areas, but I put a white box with a dolphin because I think price is going there, and will do so fast, like, mid-August fast.
That box means 3,778~.
This means JPM will be green on out of the money calls, red on its own calls, and red on the 3,550 puts.
But JPM doesn't lose money to begin with because they're hedged and will be compensating for the drawdown in other ways, like the alpha they'll generate from going big block long in the dumps under 4,000.
The other advantage is it will trap bears who think it's finally the apocalypse they've long been awaiting for the ponzi to go to zero, and they'll buy puts and buy puts even though the iVol is insane from VIX being over 50.
Once the craziness is done, the markets will recover, and whoever sold will probably by trapped.
So, be careful out there. Wall Street's best laid plans can be blown to pieces in an hour by Heaven, for men are no better than mice in this boundless Cosmos.
Nasdaq - The Great Bear TrapIn recent analysis on the state of the markets, I note that the notion that we're "in a bull market" is actually really dangerous, and how, if you really want to see healthy markets into the future, you don't want to see a new all time high print yet, because we're just too far over the trend:
Nasdaq NQ - A Fundamental and Technical Warning Signal
Moreover, Q2 just finished strong, and with a new quarter, comes a new deployment of the algorithms. The infamous "JPM Collar" is something I discussed in a recent post:
SPX/ES - An Analysis Of The 'JPM Collar'
Namely that I believe it forecasts a serious correction in the markets. But at the same time, it has until September to even start, really.
And it's dangerous to be long right now because the VIX is so low and we've been in a bullish impulse inside of bearish market conditions for so long, which I note below
VIX - The 72-Handle Prelude
You can see the first manifestation of this principle has begun in both the VIX, and the UVIX 2x leveraged bull ETF:
You might look at that and think "lol it gave all its gains back" but this is actually what you want to see if it's going to run a bit.
I also have open calls for Tesla, which are short term, albeit significantly, bearish.
Tesla - What To Expect Until September?
And an open call on Netflix where I actually believe it will retrace to the $170s during the next major correction.
Netflix - I Hope You Like Catching Knives
So where we're at with Nasdaq futures is that it made lower highs while the SPX made higher highs:
The divergence is noise for the short term, but if you ask me, it means that in the long term, if we see a dump, and then a bounce, that Nasdaq will actually take out the high while SPX will be a laggard.
What Friday's price action showed is that both SPX and Nasdaq have begun to dump. If you ask me, this is because before we can go higher, we must go lower.
Sells have to be matched with buys and buys have to be matched with sells, after all.
And at this point, we haven't seen any downside in the markets since March. It's too extreme.
Two important areas of note is we have the daily pivot around 14,800 and the gap around 14,500.
Both of these are places that I expect to see attempts at bounces that will not come to fruition. Because you need to give people a chance to buy the dip and then for them to get stopped out.
I believe that the reason things will dump, and they may dump violently, and fast, is to crank the VIX and have all the permabears finally see their "opportunity" emerge to get short for "the crash."
Only for markets to bounce through the end of August while everyone with money is at the sea side and VIX dies a slow death back to a 9-handle while volatility gets sold off for free money again.
By then, nobody will want to be short anymore. Everyone will have capitulated. Then the fireworks can start, and early bears will miss the move, much to their consternation.
So, I believe that Nasdaq and tech stocks give the opportunity to short through the next few weeks.
On Wednesday, we have CPI, which has not mattered in months, but may matter a lot now while the markets pretend to care about whether the Fed hikes rates again.
Then we have FOMC on July 25 and a Nasdaq 100 "rebalance" on the 24th.
A recovery through the end of July and all the way through the end of August is a very likely scenario.
Until then, I believe we will see violent and significant downside, and it finally gives an opportunity trade puts and bear ETFs until you see really significant bullish movement in price at key levels, and then look for longs.
But the next time it's time to go long, it's only a scalp.
After Q3, the remainder of 2023 and the early part of 2024 is likely to be quite dangerous.
There are more important things in life than making money. Make sure you take good care of yourselves and your family and friends.
Make sure you make up for your regrets as soon as possible, lest you find yourself with no further chances to set right what was set wrong.
FTC Appeals to Block Microsoft Activision MergerI am providing a crucial update regarding the recent news of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) decision to appeal against the proposed merger between Microsoft and Activision. This development has significant implications for the tech industry, particularly for those who have invested or are considering investing in Microsoft stock.
The FTC's decision to appeal the merger indicates that regulatory authorities are scrutinizing the potential consequences of this consolidation. While mergers and acquisitions can often lead to positive outcomes, such as improved products and services, it is essential to approach this situation cautiously, considering the potential risks and uncertainties ahead.
As tech traders, it is crucial to carefully evaluate the potential impact of this appeal on Microsoft's stock performance. The uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the appeal, coupled with potential delays or even the possibility of the merger being blocked, could significantly influence the company's stock value in the short to medium term.
Therefore, I strongly advise you to exercise prudence and consider holding off on buying Microsoft stock until further clarity emerges regarding the outcome of the FTC's appeal. By doing so, you can better protect your investment and mitigate potential risks associated with this merger.
It is important to understand this is not financial advice but rather an alert to the potential implications of the FTC's appeal on Microsoft's stock performance. As always, I encourage you to consult your financial advisor or conduct thorough research before making investment decisions.
In conclusion, the FTC's decision to appeal the Microsoft-Activision merger has introduced an element of uncertainty into the market. By adopting a cautious approach and refraining from immediate stock purchases, you can better position yourself to make informed investment choices once more clarity on the situation emerges.
MICROSOFT Remains a buy as long as the 1day MA50 holds.Microsoft / MSFT turned sideways inside the 4 month Channel Up after it hit the 350 Resistance (and All Time High) and got rejected.
The price is now approaching the bottom of the Channel Up and the 1day MA50.
The 1day MA50 has been supporting since January 26th.
As long as it holds, buy and target 360.
If the price closes a 1day candle under it, sell and target 315.
A closing under the 1day MA100, can initiate a bearish reversal.
Notice: the 1day RSI is holding its Rising Support, keeping the momentum bullish.
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MICROSOFT remains bullish as long as the MA50 (1d) holdsMicrosoft is having a technical pull back inside the Channel Up that started at the beginning of the year.
It is testing the first Support level, the Rising Support line inside the Channel, with the second level being the MA50 (1d).
As long as it holds, the trend remains bullish.
Trading Plan:
1. Buy above the MA50 (1d).
2. Sell if a (1d) candle closes under the MA50.
Targets:
1. 360.00.
2. 305.00 (expected contact with the MA100 1d).
MSFT Microsoft's ChatGPT VS AMZN Amazon and GOOGL GoogleIf you haven`t bought MSFT here:
Then you should know that in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, Microsoft's strategic acquisition of a 49% stake in OpenAI, the developer of the powerful language model ChatGPT, has positioned the tech giant to potentially challenge market leaders Google (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN). With ChatGPT's advanced natural language processing capabilities, Microsoft is poised to capitalize on the growing demand for intelligent conversational interfaces and revolutionize the way users interact with search engines and online shopping platforms.
Revolutionizing Search and E-Commerce:
One significant advantage of ChatGPT is its potential to transform the search landscape. Users seeking specific information or products can engage in natural language conversations with the chatbot, refining their search queries and receiving highly relevant results. This conversational search experience, powered by ChatGPT's contextual understanding, could entice users to migrate from traditional search engines to Bing, fostering market share growth for Microsoft.
In the realm of e-commerce, the integration of ChatGPT holds tremendous potential. Users could leverage the chatbot to interactively explore product options, compare prices, and access personalized recommendations. By providing a seamless and intelligent shopping experience, Microsoft can challenge Amazon's dominance, especially if concerns over pricing and product origin come into play. Microsoft's commitment to transparency and user control over data privacy may also resonate with consumers who prioritize these factors in their online shopping decisions.
If I had to buy some options, that would be the following Calls:
2024-1-19 expiration date
$350 strike price
$21.85 premium
Looking forward to read your opinion about it!
Peeking into Super SevensIn our previous paper , we outlined how investors can use CME's Micro S&P 500 Futures to hedge beta exposure and extract pure alpha.
The paper referenced that the Super Sevens stocks (Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla) will continue to outperform the broader S&P 500 index. Not only do these stocks benefit from passive investing and ESG investing, these firms also have solid fundamentals to back up their gargantuan valuations.
Each of the firms in the Super Sevens offer unique value drivers. Each firm is a market leader in its space and has demonstrated resilient earnings capacity and solid growth potential. Still, each also has its own set of risks. Notably, with the Super Sevens the value drivers outweigh the potential risks.
AMAZON
VALUE DRIVERS
• Blistering profits from AWS offering with dominant market share of 33%.
• Market dominance in e-commerce and solid supply chain network.
• Successful new categories: Kindle (publishing), Alexa (voice assistant), and Prime (video streaming).
POTENTIAL RISKS
• Heavy reliance on AWS for profits. Slowing growth in AWS due to slowdown in corporate IT spending.
• Low profit margins in e-commerce business. Slowing growth due to lower consumer spending.
• Rising competition in cloud services and e-commerce.
ANALYST PRICE TARGETS
• Across 54 analysts providing a 12-month price target, 42 (77%) having a strong buy rating, 7 (13%) of them have a buy rating, 4 (7%) suggest a hold, while just 1 (2%) has a strong sell rating.
• Average 12-month price target stands at 137, with a maximum of 220 and a minimum of 85.
TECHNICAL SIGNALS
• Technical signals point to momentum deeply in favour of Amazon shares. Oscillators point to buy and Moving averages point to a strong buy.
• In aggregate, technical signals point to a buy.
APPLE
VALUE DRIVERS
• Product category definers. Dominant and still growing iPhone demand.
• Solid eco-system which is extremely hard to displace.
• Control over both software and hardware enables specialized tailored improvements.
• Sticky services such as App store, Apple Pay, and potentially Apple BNPL.
POTENTIAL RISKS
• Apple is heavily reliant on external fabricators exposing it to supply-chain bottlenecks.
• Heavily dependent on iPhone sales.
• Rising dependence on future growth in unexplored new categories.
ANALYST PRICE TARGETS
• Across 42 analysts providing a 12-month price target, 22 (52%) having a strong buy rating, 6 (14%) of them have a buy rating, 13 (31%) suggest a hold, while just 1 (2%) has a strong sell rating.
• Average 12-month price target stands at 187, with a maximum of 220 and a minimum of 140.
TECHNICAL SIGNALS
• Technical signals point to solid momentum favouring long position in Apple shares. Oscillators point to buy and Moving averages point to a strong buy.
• In aggregate, technical signals point to a strong buy despite Apple trading at near its all-time-high.
GOOGLE
VALUE DRIVERS
• Google is the dominant search engine (86% market share).
• Phenomenally successful and effective ad-targeting capabilities.
• Heavy investments in future innovation enabling leapfrog into new verticals such as Android, Waymo (FSD & Maps).
• Successful early acquisitions such as YouTube, Android, Applied Semantics & DoubleClick (AdSense), Nest (Home Automation).
POTENTIAL RISKS
• Massive reliance on ad revenues via search for profits. Slowing ad spend as firms cut back on spending.
• Non-trivial dependence on cloud revenue for growth exposes them. Slowing cloud revenue growth due to lower corporate IT spending.
• Failure to expand into new domains such as social media, wearable tech, and gaming.
ANALYST PRICE TARGETS
• Across 52 analysts providing a 12-month price target, 40 (77%) having a strong buy rating, 7 (13%) of them have a buy rating, while 5 (10%) suggest a hold. None of the analysts have a sell rating.
• Average 12-month price target stands at 131, with a maximum of 190 and a minimum of 100.
TECHNICAL SIGNALS
• Technical signals point to decent momentum favouring Google shares but prices are at tiny risk of oscillating downwards. Oscillators point to neutral while Moving averages point to a strong buy.
• In aggregate, technical signals point to a buy.
META
VALUE DRIVERS
• Market monopoly on social media with high penetration across global markets on multiple platforms.
• Flagship Facebook platform continues to see growth with 2.9 billion monthly active users (MAU).
• Successful acquisitions have provided them with a wide suite of social media platforms – WhatsApp (2 billion MAU) and Instagram (2 billion MAU).
• Successful developer tools (Graph, Hydra, React) have allowed them to build useful SDK (Software Development Kit). Potential sources of enterprise revenue from these.
POTENTIAL RISKS
• Increasing competition from TikTok.
• Privacy concerns have a direct revenue impact e.g., Apple’s new privacy policies.
• Falling market share for flagship Facebook in advanced economies.
• High reliance on ad-sales. Slowing ad sales as firms cut back on spending.
• Shaky bet on the Metaverse which is starting to fade.
ANALYST PRICE TARGETS
• Across 60 analysts providing a 12-month price target, 39 (65%) having a strong buy rating, 7 (12%) of them have a buy rating, 10 (17%) suggest a hold, 1 (2%) sell rating, and 3 (5%) has a strong sell rating.
• Average 12-month price target stands at 281, with a maximum of 350 and a minimum of 100.
TECHNICAL SIGNALS
• Technical signals point to decent momentum favouring Meta shares. Oscillators signal neutral indicating a tiny risk of shares shedding gains while Moving averages point to a strong buy.
• In aggregate, technical signals point to a buy.
MICROSOFT
VALUE DRIVERS
• Sheer dominance of Windows (74% market share) & MS Office.
• Deep roots in MS Office enables the firm to straddle across consumers & enterprise.
• Diversified software offerings - cloud (Azure), gaming (Xbox), enterprise (Windows Server and SQL), search (Bing), productivity (Office), collaboration (Teams), and AI (through Open AI's ChatGPT).
• Active M&A activity to acquire assets - LinkedIn, OpenAI, GitHub, Skype, Mojang, Nokia, Activision-Blizzard (Pending).
• Besides Windows, Microsoft controls dev frameworks such as .Net further strengthening their grasp on SW dev.
POTENTIAL RISKS
• Limited success in hardware offerings unlike Apple.
• Multiple major acquisitions have fizzled – Skype and Nokia.
• Limited adoption in enterprise software.
ANALYST PRICE TARGETS
• Across 51 analysts providing a 12-month price target, 37 (73%) having a strong buy rating, 6 (12%) of them have a buy rating, 7 (14%) suggest a hold, while just 1 (2%) has a strong sell rating.
• Average 12-month price target stands at 345, with a maximum of 450 and a minimum of 232.
TECHNICAL SIGNALS
• Technical signals point to decent momentum favouring Microsoft shares. Oscillators are at neutral while Moving averages signal a strong buy.
• In aggregate, technical signals point to a strong buy.
NVIDIA
VALUE DRIVERS
• Market dominance in discrete GPU’s (80%).
• Early mover in AI hardware which gives them a lead over the competition.
• Raytracing, DLSS, Neural Network cores.
• Nvidia’s CUDA is the primary choice for training ML models.
• Market dominance in high-growth data centre graphics hardware (95%) and super-computing hardware.
• Successful enterprise partnerships – car manufacturers using Nvidia software.
• Emerging tech such as AI and VR require more graphics intensive processing driving demand for Nvidia’s products.
POTENTIAL RISKS
• Hardware-focused business model exposes it to supply-chain risks and bottlenecks.
• Extremely high P/E of 225 dependent upon expectations of future growth in AI.
• Losing market share in discrete GPUs and enterprise GPUs to AMD and Intel.
ANALYST PRICE TARGETS
• Across 50 analysts providing a 12-month price target, 36 (72%) having a strong buy rating, 6 (12%) of them have a buy rating, 7 (14%) suggest a hold, while just 1 (2%) has a sell rating.
• Average 12-month price target stands at 444, with a maximum of 600 and a minimum of 175.
TECHNICAL SIGNALS
• Technical signals point to solid momentum favouring long position Nvidia shares. Oscillators point to buy and Moving averages point to a strong buy.
• In aggregate, technical signals point to a strong buy despite Nvidia relentless and unrivalled price ascent.
TESLA
VALUE DRIVERS
• Early mover in EV’s with dominant market share in US (62%).
• Dedicated and loyal customer base.
• Vertical integration of EV value chain allows it to reduce reliance on external suppliers.
• Early investment in large factories that will allow them to scale output more efficiently.
• Huge and monetizable supercharger network by opening it up to other EV makers.
• Subscription model for software enables revenue generation after product sale.
• Long term vision has allowed Tesla to create entirely new products such as supercharger network, battery banks, home power backup and solar roofs.
• Tesla’s planned Robotaxi and entry into car insurance can be hugely disruptive.
POTENTIAL RISKS
• Increasing competition from automobile majors as well as Chinese EV firms.
• Tesla’s brand is deeply entangled with Musk’s reputation.
• Dependence on government incentives to make Tesla affordable.
• Continued access to battery metal minerals.
• Ongoing and unresolved production scaling challenges.
ANALYST PRICE TARGETS
• Across 46 analysts providing a 12-month price target, 18 (39%) having a strong buy rating, 5 (11%) of them have a buy rating, 17 (37%) suggest a hold, 1 (2%) has a sell rating, and a 5 (11%) hold a strong sell rating.
• Average 12-month price target stands at 201, with a maximum of 335 and a minimum of 71.
TECHNICAL SIGNALS
• Technical signals point to solid momentum favouring Tesla. Oscillators point to buy and Moving averages point to a strong buy.
• In aggregate, technical signals point to a strong buy.
SUMMARY
The Super Sevens are well positioned to continue outperforming the wider market. As mentioned in our previous paper , investors can use a beta hedge to nullify the effects of the broader market (S&P 500) and extract pure alpha from the growth of the Super Sevens.
MARKET DATA
CME Real-time Market Data helps identify trading set-ups and express market views better. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
DISCLAIMER
This case study is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.
Trading or investment ideas cited here are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management or trading under the market scenarios being discussed. Please read the FULL DISCLAIMER the link to which is provided in our profile description.
Harvesting Alpha with Beta HedgingImagine this. Dark skies, earth tremors and thunder roars. Shelter is top priority. Size matters in a crisis. When the tsunami strikes and lightning splits the sky, investors shudder in fear; But the super seven stand tall, shielding investors from the fury.
Dramatic metaphors aside, we truly live in unprecedented times. Risk lurks everywhere.
List is endless. Unstable geopolitics. Sticky inflation. Recession expectations. Unprecedented deepening of yield curve inversion. Unfinished regional banking crisis. Weak manufacturing. Tightening financial conditions. Extremely divisive global politics, to just name a few.
Despite severe headwinds, US equity markets are roaring. YTD, S&P is up +15% and Nasdaq is up +32%.
At the start of 2023, the consensus was for US equities to be in doldrums dragged down by recession. Halfway through the year, markets are at the cusp of one of the best first half for US equity markets in twenty years.
This is among the narrowest and top-heavy rally ever. Only a sliver of stocks - precisely seven of them - defines this optimism. This paper will refer to these as the Super Sevens.
These are the biggest members of the S&P 500 index. Super Sevens are Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla.
This paper argues that the Super Sevens will deliver above market returns in the short term as investors seek safe haven from a vast array of macro risks.
The paper articulates a case study to demonstrate the use of beta hedging to extract alpha from holding long positions in Super Sevens and hedging them against sharp reversals using CME Micro E-Mini S&P 500 index futures ("CME Micro S&P 500 Futures").
THE RISE AND RISE OF SUPER SEVENS
Super Sevens have an outsized impact as S&P 500 is a market weighted index.
Merely five of these seven form 25% of the S&P 500 market capitalisation. At $2.9 trillion in market capitalisation, Apple is greater than all of UK’s top 100 listed companies put together.
If that were not enough, Apple's market capitalisation alone is greater than the aggregate market capitalisation of all the firms in the Russell 2000 index.
Nvidia has been soaring on hopes of AI driven productivity gains. On blow out revenue guidance, it has rallied $640 billion in market cap YTD. That increment alone is larger than the combined market cap of JP Morgan & Bank of America the two largest banks in the US.
The heatmap summarises analyst targets & technical signals on pathway for prices ahead:
In part 2 of this paper, Mint will cover the detailed analyst price forecasts, technical signals and summary narratives covering value drives and intrinsic risk factors.
WHAT DRIVES INVESTOR CONCENTRATION INTO THE SUPER SEVENS?
As reported in the Financial Times last week, two broad market trends appear to have fed into this investor concentration.
First, Passive investing. When funds merely deliver the performance of an index by replicating its composition, the higher the index weights, the more these passive funds buy into these names.
Second, ESG investing. Rising push towards ESG has forced investment into tech and away from carbon-heavy sectors such as energy.
Collectively, this has resulted in all types of investors – active, passive, momentum, ESG- all going after the same names.
Question is, what happens now? Will the broader market catch up with the Super Sevens? Or will the Super Sevens suffer a sharp pullback?
That depends on the broader US economy. Will it have a hard landing, soft landing, or no landing at all?
Given market expectations of (a) resilient earnings capacity, and (b) solid growth potential among Super Sevens, we expect that in the near to mid-term the Super Sevens will continue to outperform the broader market.
In ordinary times, investors could have simply established long positions in Super Sevens and wait to reap their harvests. However, we live in unprecedented times.
WE LIVE IN TRULY UNPRECEDENTED TIMES
Risks abound but no signs of it in equity markets. Historically, geopolitical instability, tightening financial conditions, and a deeply inverted curve could have led to crushing returns in the US equity markets. Not this time though.
Peak concentration
As mentioned earlier, bullishness in equity markets can be vastly attributed to just the Super Sevens. These seven have delivered crushing returns rising between 40% and 192% YTD. The S&P 500 index is market cap weighted. Super Sevens represent the largest companies in the index by market cap and their stellar performance has an outsized impact on the index.
Is this a bull run or a bear market clouded by over optimism among Super Sevens?
Deeply inverted yield curve
In simple words, it costs far more to borrow for the near term (2 year) relative to the borrowing for long term (10-year). The US Treasury yield curves have been inverted for more than a year now. The difference between the 2-Year and 10-Year treasuries is at its widest level since the early 1980s.
Inversion in yield curve has historically been a credible signal of recession ahead. When bonds with near term duration yield higher rates than those with longer-dated expiries, this precedes trouble in the economy.
Recession. What recession?
This period might go into the record books for the most long-awaited recession that is yet to come. For the last 12 months, experts have been calling for recession to show up in 3 months.
While manufacturing sector seems feeble, labour market remains solid. Corporate balance sheets are robust. Consumer finances and consumer confidence are in good health.
The VIX remains sanguine while the only fear indicator that appears unsettled is the MOVE index which indicates volatility in the bond markets. After having spiked earlier in the year, the MOVE is starting to soften as well.
BETA HEDGING FOR PURE ALPHA
In times of turbulence, risk management is not an afterthought but a necessity.
Hedge delivers the edge. When there are ample arguments to be made for bullish and bearish markets, taking a directional position can be precarious.
This paper posits Super Sevens holdings be hedged with CME Micro S&P 500 Futures. Hedging single stocks is nuanced. The stocks and the index do not always move in tandem. A given stock may be more volatile or less volatile relative to the benchmark. Beta is the sensitivity of the stock price relative to a benchmark.
Beta is computed from daily returns over a defined historical period. Stocks with high Beta move a lot more than the underlying index. Stocks that move narrowly relative to its underlying benchmark exhibits low Beta.
Beta hedging involves adjusting the notional value of a stock price based on its beta. Using beta-adjusted notional, hedging then involves taking an offsetting position in an index derivative contract to match the notional value.
TradingView publishes beta values computed based on daily returns over the last 12 months. The following table illustrates the beta-adjusted notional for the Super Sevens based on the last traded prices as of close of market on June 16th.
Beta hedging using CME Micro S&P 500 Futures enables investors to precisely scale their portfolio exposures to the index. A small contract size enables investors to manage risks with finer granularity.
CME allows conversion of micro futures into a classic E-mini futures position, and vice versa. Round the clock liquidity combined with tight spreads and sizeable open interest across the two front contract months, investors can enter and exit the market at ease.
BETA-HEDGED TRADE SET UP
In unprecedented times like today, markets may continue to rally or come crashing. To harness pure alpha, this paper posits a spread with long positions in Super Sevens hedged by a short position in CME Micro S&P 500 Futures expiring in September 2023.
This trade set-up gains when (a) Super Sevens rise faster than the S&P 500, or (b) Super Sevens suffers drop in value but falls lesser relative to S&P 500, or (c) Super Sevens gain while S&P 500 falls.
This trade setup loses when (a) Super Seven falls faster than S&P 500, or (b) S&P 500 rises faster than Super Seven, or (c) S&P 500 rises while Super Sevens pullback
Each CME Micro S&P 500 Futures has a multiplier of USD 5. The September contract settled on June 16th at 4453.75 implying a notional value of USD 22,269 (4453.75 * USD 5).
Effective beta hedge requires that notional of the hedging trade is equivalent to the beta-adjusted notional value of single stock. Given the beta-adjusted notional value of USD 2,561 for single shares in Super Sevens and the notional value for each lot of CME Micro S&P 500 Futures at USD 22,269, the spread trade requires:
a. A long position in 26 shares each across all the Super Sevens translating to a beta-adjusted notional of USD 66,576.
b. Hedged by a short position with 3 lots of CME Micro S&P 500 Futures which provides a notional exposure of USD 66,807.
The following table illustrates the hypothetical P&L of this spread trade under various scenarios:
MARKET DATA
CME Real-time Market Data helps identify trading set-ups and express market views better. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
DISCLAIMER
This case study is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.
Trading or investment ideas cited here are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management or trading under the market scenarios being discussed. Please read the FULL DISCLAIMER the link to which is provided in our profile description.