We were expecting the NASDAQ to have a good session today…but it finished the week with its best single day of the whole year! The index enjoyed several strong reports from tech giants after the bell yesterday, including Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL, +4.3% today), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT, +6.4%) and especially Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN, +13.2%). The NASDAQ used those performances as the foundation for a 2.2% surge to an all-time high of 6,701.3. With an advance of 1.1% over the past five days, it has just finished its fifth straight week in the green.
The S&P also reached a new record with today’s advance of 0.81% to 2581.1. The Dow lagged its counterparts in the session but still finished higher by 0.14% to 23,434.2. The S&P and Dow were up 0.2% and 0.5% for the week, respectively, marking 7-week winning streaks for each. The market also got some help from an unexpectedly strong third-quarter GDP of 3%, underscoring the economy’s resiliency amid a couple of devastating hurricanes.
Rallies are a great time to take some profits, which is what a couple of the portfolios did on Friday. TAZR Trader sold a position for a 50% profit, while Counterstrike had a pair of 20%+ winners. The former portfolio also bought today, as did Surprise Trader with earnings season continuing next week. Read about all these moves below:
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
TAZR Trader: Align Technology (ALGN) is a great long-term hold thanks to its Invisalign "smile straightener", which has become the industry standard in an increasingly competitive market. But sometimes, you've just got to take a huge gain when you can. With an impressive 57.4% surge in just a little over four months, Kevin decided to cash in those ALGN chips and start the weekend on a high note. "We got what we came here for," said the editor. (He will continue to hold ALGN in Healthcare Innovators.)
In other news, Kevin found a company on his screen that looks primed to move higher. SMART Global Holdings (SGH) is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) provider of electronic subsystems to OEMs that counts Brazil Mobile as one of its biggest customers. The 25-year old company had its IPO in May and has only reported twice…but it beat and raised both times. The best part is that it’s still trading under 10X EPS. The stock is beginning to get some institutional attention, which the editor believes will continue especially since it is poised for sales and earnings growth of 23.5% and 38.6%, respectively, for the current fiscal year (which began in September). Kevin added SGH on Friday with a 7% allocation. Read the complete commentary for more.
Counterstrike:The market's rally has convinced Jeremy to delay the buying he had planned for today...but the editor still made some news. He sold two positions on Friday for double-digit gains each. Firstly, VelocityShares 3X Long Crude Oil ETN (UWT) was bought earlier this month when crude was pulling back. But now it's surging again toward $54 and possibly on its way to $60. Jeremy's decision to go long on oil really paid off, as he sold UWT today for a 25.8% return.
Meanwhile, First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) got the blowout quarter that Jeremy was hoping for when he bought this solar modules manufacturer back on October 9 (which was coincidentally the same day he picked up UWT as well). To secure part of the spoils, the editor sold half of FSLR on Friday for a 22% profit. However, he feels this could be the start of a "massive" move higher, so he will hold onto half of the position to take advantage of more upside to come. The full write-up has more on these winners.
Surprise Trader: Early next month, video game company Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) will be going for its ninth straight positive surprise. Dave is betting that the company succeeds by adding a 12.5% allocation in the name. TTWO has amassed an average surprise of more than 107% in the past four quarters. Learn more about this new addition in the full write-up.
Have a Great Weekend,
Jim Giaquinto
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