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Category: Stock Updates (Blogs)

Market Update: March 29

Posted on March 29, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

Last week, we stated that our primary count suggests that we have completed or are about to complete a 3rd wave down within a 5-wave structure, known as a C-wave. This week, the count has not changed; it is still valid and still in play.

As part of the 5-wave structure, we stated, “this will give way to a 4th wave corrective bounce,” which I believe we are in right now.

The below chart outlines this plan in blue. Regarding the corrective bounce, went on to say that “the structure of the upcoming bounce will be crucial for providing further clues as to the on-going direction of the market. If the correction is overlapping and symmetrical, it will support the 4th wave thesis.

 I’m expecting this to find resistance around the 2500-2600 before topping out. However, if we see heavy volume and a structure that is impulsive – i.e., 5-wave patterns – then it will support the thesis of a potential bottom. I want to see the 2750 level taken back before I will believe the bulls are in control.” 

So far, the market has met resistance and appears to be topping out exactly where we suggested it would – between 2500 – 2600.

As of now, my plan has not changed. I expect us the retest the lows and to slightly make newer lows. In the coming days/weeks, I will look for entries in this bear market between the 2250 – 2060 region.

Why I’m Cautious

That being said, I do want discuss why I’m hesitant to dive into equities this last week. One reason is that the 1800 range in SPX is still in play. It is represented by the red box, and would be an extended 5th wave drawdown. If the market breaks the 2065/2050 region with force, it becomes probable that we see this target.

If this count comes into play, the idea of a quick recession, which can see us at new highs by the year end becomes unlikely. Instead, the signals would indicate the potential for a more prolonged recession. As an investor, with this potential on the table, I am remaining cautious with my excess cash, until proven otherwise.

On the other hand, if we do bottom within the blue target range, which I am still expecting, I believe we could see the final 5th wave off the 2009 lows, which I have been talking about in many prior market updates. The target for this will be a multi-year bull market could take us beyond the initial 4000 target before we encounter a prolonged bear market. This is based on Elliott Wave theory, which I use to remove emotions from major market moves and to set up game plans.

On a fundamental level, if we see the economy open back up sooner rather than later and a potential vaccine or antiviral helps reduce spread, then we will likely see a sharp reversal in equities. Also, it can’t be overstated the record levels of liquidity dumped into the market by the Fed, which with improved sentiment and economic numbers, could create the environment for this renewed bull scenario to play out. This is also why I am hesitant to speculate on a bottom. If this plays out, the multi-year bull market, fueled by excess liquidity will more than make up for being late rather than early.

Further evidence we are in a 4th wave:

 Fourth waves are notorious for complex and confusing structures. The structure of what the 4th wave is presenting us is not different. It can be counted as a 5-waves up pattern off the low, which is typically bullish. However, at a closer look, it appears to be a more symmetrical, complex A,B,C pattern. Because of this ambiguity, I tend to turn towards other clues that can help verify our thesis.

Negative RSI Reversal

The negative RSI reversal pattern is when the price is making a lower high, as represented by the red arrow on the chart, and the RSI (and/or MACD) is making a higher high, as represented by the green arrows on the chart.

We clearly have this pattern playing on the daily chart. It suggests that the momentum under the price is fading. In other words, it is taking more buying pressure to make lower highs. This is not a good sign, and suggests a reversal is soon to occur.

Volume Patterns

Price can rise on weak volume, but in a true bottom and reversal, it is usually met with massive buying pressure, which shows up in very large volume spikes.

This volume, typical increases its trend as the uptrend returns. This is not what we are seeing today. In fact, the volume trend is decreasing and the only daily volume spikes are red.

 

Volatility

The above chart compares the S&P 500, in blue, to the rolling 20-day realized volatility, in yellow, and the VIX, in orange. The VIX measures the implied or expected volatility in the S&P 500 over the next 30 days. When it is high, it means that based on the options market, there is an expectation for elevated levels of movement (up or down) over the next 30 days.

Realized Volatility is a topic in and of itself; however, in essence, it’s the actual measurement of historical volatility over a given time period. I used the 20-day measurement to provide us with a visible trend.

You’ll notice that the realized volatility peaks after the market bottoms whenever volatility hits. It then rolls into a recovery. Now, look at where we are. We have yet to suggest a peak, let alone a roll. Nearly every time, when the market has bottomed, we’d see this measurement already rolling.

The VIX is also at an extremely high reading. Anything above 30 has historically been considered high, and a warning to investors. Above 50 is typically considered extreme, and suggests speculation for anyone trying to initiate long term buy and hold positions.

Today we are above 60, and in an uncanny fashion, have stayed above 50 for one of the longest periods on record. This is not normal, and until the VIX can begin to settle at lower levels, it is unlikely that we find a meaningful bottom.

Bear Market Rallies

On Tuesday, the Dow gained 11.5% in a single day from extremely oversold conditions. This move was followed by two additional days of gains, inciting the FOMO crowd to think the bottom was in. The financial news media fanned this feeling by announcing that this was the fourth largest single day percentage gain in the Dow’s history.

What they failed to mention was the context in which the greatest single percentages occur:

The chart shows the greatest single day moves going back to the 20s. The one thing they all have in common is they occurred within major downtrends in a bear market. A week prior, Marketwatch put out an article that outlined the number of > 5% rallies and > 10% rallies within the past bear markets, like in 1973 and 2008, as well as deep corrections, like 2012 and 2016.

The results are shocking. Large swings are common when both realized and implied volatility are high. However, until the market breaks its bear market downtrend, coupled with additional indicators, these moves should be treated like small gains in a larger downward trend.

Our Goal

We believe that the best gains come from holding great companies involved in significant tech trends for an extended period. One of the benefits of deep and thorough knowledge about these trends and companies is that the analysis allows you to hold these companies for the long-term with conviction.

This conviction is the key ingredient, and one of the greatest values we believe this service offers. Most tech stocks are volatile, and can have multiple +50% drawdowns on the long road to becoming multi-baggers. We use technical analysis to simply manage this risk and seek out favorable entries.

Please keep in mind that with the right price, our plan is to hold without stops, hedge and add in weakness, and only sell when the story changes. We are excited about the prices we are starting to see, and are looking to make long-term allocations in this market when one of two things occurs:

(1) Prices get so low that we are OK with any remaining downside in the bear market. The targets that I outlined focus on these prices. In bear markets, we get a flush of sentiment and a rejection of hope that stocks will ever recover again.

Anyone who invested during the 2002 and 2009 bottom knows the feeling. This simply has not happened, which means that either this bear market is an anomaly, and new highs are in our near future, or that we have more of volatility in our future that will ultimately flush out the remaining sentiment.

(2) The economy corrects, providing encouraging data that a real expansion can occur. In this case, the bull market will be in its infancy and prices will be higher than they are at the bottom; however, there will be an element of safety with higher probabilities that the market will continue to grow with a new expansion of the business cycle.

It can’t be stated enough that bull markets create wealth, not bear markets. The primary focus of most legendary money managers is to conserve assets. It is much more difficult to rebuild than it is to preserve and deploy into safety. In other words, losses work geometrically against you. For example, and asset that goes down 50% will require a 100% gain to break even. If an asset goes down 80%, it requires a 400% gain to break even. We posted about this on the forum in regards to Boeing.

The advantage of protecting gains is why we spoke regularly about how our focus was to ride the remaining momentum of the bull market with reasonable stops to protect us from the downside. If you followed our stops and entries that we outlined in real time on the forum, as well as on the market updates, you should be sitting on nice gains and minimal losses.

We take our subscribers and your readership very seriously, and lean towards being conservative instead of reckless. Hence, the S&P 500 levels we are watching tend to be in the middle rather than within an extreme on either side.

Amazon, Facebook, and Google experienced multiple large drawdowns and required both conviction and risk management. This is what we hope to impart through our own strategies of using stops and proper position sizing. We do believe that we are in an environment that has the potential to offer us fantastic values for leaders in the next tech cycle.

Stock Updates

 

Nvidia (NVDA)

Nvidia, unlike many of the tech names we cover, does not appear to be in a fourth wave correction. It appears to be in a larger degree A,B,C structure. This is supported by the structure of the decline as well as the symmetry.

On the B-wave, noted in pink, the (a) wave is the same length as the (c) wave. While price is struggling to break out at this key level, the internals are weakening, suggesting another leg down.

The yellow band is the primary support in play. Below this level, and we could see a rather large suck out. With that said, I’ve raised my target to the lower end of the yellow band at $173.

 

Roku (ROKU)

Stepping back from Roku, it is clearly trading as a large degree ending diagonal – five sets of 3-wave patterns within a trend channel. When Roku hit its low, it tagged the lower end of the channel, which is enough to meet the 3-wave move down. This makes up the 4th wave in this pattern.

This means that we will either get a spill over on the next retest, of we are setting up for a 5-wave impulse into the final 5th wave pattern. The internals and volume are weak, which supports a retest. Regardless, I’ve raised my target to $70, which will account for both scenarios. We will likely add in increments in case Roku breaks down out of this pattern prematurely.

 

Shopify (SHOP)

I’ve also raised my target for Shopify to $285. Shopify, like Nvidia, is trading in a larger degree A,B,C pattern, which will put us in the early C-wave down.

These moves are typically symmetrical, which would target the $245 region. However, I can’t rule out that the retest of the lows may hold, which would set us up for a 5-wave move to new highs. For this reason, I’ve raised the upper range of the price target to $285. Like with Roku, we will likely layer slowly into a new position at these levels

 

Slack (WORK)

Slack is also in a corrective pattern. I believe it’s in an A,B,C pattern and not its final 4th wave down. This means, like with Nvidia and Shopify, we should see a C-wave down into the green target box. The volume and internals are suggesting the same. We’ve raised our target to the $17 range, and will look to add to our position around these levels.

 

Uber (UBER)

We closed our short on Uber for a nice gain last week, as stated. It has rallied on weak volume and weak internal momentum, which is suggesting another bout of price fatigue.

There are two scenarios at play: (1) we are in a fourth wave, which will take us back to the lows; (2) we are in an A,B,C pattern. In which case, we completed the A wave, and are in the process of topping out in the B-wave. If this is correct, the C-wave is projected to take us beyond the recent lows.

Above $35 should be a stop for anyone who wants to speculate another round of weakness for Uber. We announced on the forum that we purchased puts in both Uber and Lyft on this strength, which are dated through May.

Posted in Market Updates, Stock Updates (Blogs)Leave a Comment on Market Update: March 29

Lowered Guidance in Ad-Tech

Posted on March 25, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

This week, Twitter and Facebook lowered guidance stating weakening demand from advertisers. This is important for Pinterest, The Trade Desk, Telaria and/or Rubicon and Roku.

I had stated on the forum to a few readers that Twitter’s lowered guidance doesn’t sit well with me. I was waiting to see if another company would come forward and Facebook did the next day to say the same; ad revenue is weakening. 

Facebook is a bellwether for advertising. Although I don’t like their tracking methods, they have a global reach with 2 billion users, so they have a good read on advertiser demand. 

I’m estimating Twitter could lose about 10-15% of revenue from previous guidance despite monetizable daily active users (mDAU) being up 23% Guidance was around $825 to $885 million and the company stated they would be slightly down YoY with the year-ago quarter at $786 million. We know Twitter had strong growth in Q4 at 21% YoY mDAU which correlated to 11% increase in revenue. 

Facebook was less transparent about revenue numbers yet did state their usage is incredibly high while they’ve  “seen a weakening in our ads business in countries taking aggressive actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

This means demand in advertising is not correlating to eyeballs and mobile usage. This will the first time that has happened since the iPhone was launched. However, this did happen to Google search during the 2008 financial crisis – although growth was not negative, the worst of it was 2% revenue growth in Q2 2009. 

Keep in mind, this happened quickly as January and most of February were stable months. The other thing that doesn’t sit well with me is the usage in this situation is hitting record highs due to quarantines. In Italy, Facebook’s app usage is up 70%. This disconnect between usage and revenue was not the case in 2008/2009. 

We don’t cover Twitter and Facebook specifically on our premium site but we do cover many other ad-tech names.

I think they are all at risk right now of lowered ad demand. If we take at face value what is being communicated, these smaller companies could take a hit on both sides; their operations could be maxed from more usage while ad demand is also down. 

Knox is working on new stops for Pinterest, Roku, The Trade Desk and Telaria for anyone still in these positions. He will cover RUBI for anyone in this stock, as well. 

We can’t tell you exactly how the market will respond or what will happen to ad-tech revenue. But we do want to keep you apprised of any information we come across and the support levels to watch. 

Best case scenario: these stocks follow the movements of the broader market

Worst case scenario: these stocks see more volatility than the broader market as Wall Street is still unsure about many of these names

Regardless, I can’t stress enough using risk management and being patient. This is not an easy situation to navigate.

To be completely transparent, I was very surprised to see the lowered guidance as I thought the increased usage would keep ad-tech insulated for at least a quarter or so. 

Although we don’t have information from these other companies as to the impact, I have to take at face value what’s being communicated about advertiser demand. You’re also all well aware these companies are more volatile than Facebook or Twitter.  

One thing about the machine trading we are seeing in the market right now is that machines aren’t able to correlate a news headline on Facebook or Twitter through NLP and connect this to the stocks mentioned above. So, that gives any of our readers in these positions time to regroup.

We are trying to be active on the forum as things progress across the board. Here is the update I posted yesterday after Twitter lowered guidance but before Facebook lowered guidance. It sums up my thoughts on this. 

“I was a bit surprised by Twitter’s lowered guidance today and to see an ad-tech company already say they will miss Q1. That means ad demand fell off fairly quickly and/or drove bids down quickly as we were halfway through Q1 before this happened. Mobile usage and OTT usage is up but Twitter is the first to cast doubts on where ad spend is right now. SF and NYC have only been quarantined about a week, so I didn’t expect to see an ad company to lower guidance that quickly. If any others come out to lower guidance, then we know this will be a more complicated situation than usage and eyeballs correlating to higher ad spend. 

On a similar note, I know some people got FOMO today with Roku, but now we are hearing ads could be shaky. There is no way to really gauge the impact right now of businesses being shut down, to be honest.

Anyone who is super confident on exactly how the coronavirus will impact the tech industry is not taking into account the many variables (that) fuel growth. That may be hard to believe with the green we saw today on the NASDAQ compared to the DOW and S&P500. I think Zoom Video and Twitter are trying to be cautious and realistic in the face of potential “buy the dip” and FOMO buying.

Post-coronavirus, I have strong convictions on our stock list. We may adjust for any consumer 5G and I will add AMD to the list. I’m looking over Docusign right now, as well. But very few changes. 

This is a long post to say that I am relying quite a bit on TA at the moment as the recovery in tech and the recovery in the economy is anyone’s guess right now. I’m favoring patience across the board.”

Posted in Earnings Report, Performance Updates, Portfolio, Stock Updates (Blogs)Leave a Comment on Lowered Guidance in Ad-Tech

Market Update: March 22

Posted on March 22, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

Over the week, we moved away from providing broad market analysis and focused more on providing updated target entries for our shopping list of stocks. Please reference the Top Stocks List under the spreadsheet section of the site, as well as the forum for updated charts.

If you are new to the site, a few places to start in regards to the information below:

Blog Update on Target Entries

S&P 500 Levels We Are Targeting

Fundamental Analysis and Convictions

So far, we have updated entries for 16 names and plan to provide the remainder in the week ahead.

As of today, we are still holding onto our long-term positions in Microsoft, Alibaba, Nvidia and Roku. We are also holding our position in Zoom, which we are now holding without a stop, and just began building a small position in Slack when it traded in the $16 range (updated on the forum).

Our shorts, Uber and Lyft, traded above the 8-day EMA on Friday. they both closed the day below the 8-day EMA, so it was an intra-day move. However, as a discipline, I always, without question, follow my exit plan when I set it. Since the exit plan was to sell when the 8-day EMA was breached, I will buy to cover these positions on Monday for 2 really nice gains. As of the close on Friday, we are sitting on a 38% gain in Lyft and a 29% gain in Uber, which have acted as fantastic hedges for our long positions.

I believe the extreme gains we saw in these two positions over the last 2 days were simply short covering. Both these positions have very high short interest, which can make for violent corrective moves up when the shorts cover. We believe there is more downside to be had in both these positions, so we will look to add in any further corrective moves.

With shorts especially, we always follow exit plans as any gain in a short can turn into a loss very quickly.

With a long-term-time frame in mind, we have a very positive outlook. This is the type of market that you build lifetime positions with cost basis we will may not see again. However, our personal opinion and preference is to wait for our target entries and target SP 500 levels because we believe there is more downside in our future. The evidence for this opinion and belief is laid out below. We also discuss the “what if we are wrong” scenario.

 

Broad Market Valuations

Price-to-Sales (P/S) ratio is a metric we’ve talked about before when referring to market valuations. Using Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratios to gauge the value of the market, especially in the era of large buy-back programs, is not as accurate as using a metric like sales. Top line revenue, like free cash flow, cannot be distorted. The problem with using free cash flow to gauge the market is that not all promising companies are positive free cash flow, yet the common denominator is they all make sales. 

That being said, the Price-to-Sales Ratio (P/S) of the S&P 500 was at an all-time-high in December 2019 at 2.32. For reference, anything over 1.55 has historically been considered expensive while anything below has been considered a value. Last December’s P/S ratio exceeded both the dot.com peak and the 1929 peak when ratios were just above 2.2.

The market is currently 30% from this all-time peak; however, the current P/S ratio is still hovering around 1.66, notably above the 1.55 historical mean. So, even after a 30% drawdown, we are still relatively expensive.

It’s hard to grasp just how overvalued equities were at their recent peak. Looking at the below image by Crescat Capital puts this into perspective.

The U.S. Market Cap/GDP ratio is one of Warren Buffet’s favorite metrics for gauging value in the market. It is calculated by dividing the total stock market by the gross domestic product. 

After a 33% drawdown, when we briefly breached the 2018 December low, the market traded around the valuations we saw at the 2007 peak. Today, after a slight corrective bounce, we are trading above this level.

Historically, in bear markets, stock valuations move from overvalued to undervalued. So far, according to two important measurements for market valuations, we have gone from very overvalued to slightly overvalued.

 

Intermarket Analysis

A few weeks ago, we analyzed the more economically sensitive sectors of the economy to see what they were telling us about the potential severity of the drawdown. At the time, these sectors were completely in a bear market or almost in a bear market, while the S&P 500 was still in correction territory. They were leading the market down a few weeks ago and I believe they continue to lead the markets down today. In other words, these sectors suggest more downside.

Every one of these sectors closed below the 2015 high around 2133. They are above the 2016 low, which is around 1800. These sectors, especially the regional banks and financial sectors, are suggesting an unwinding that has been long overdue.

Prior to the 2020 peak, the global debt was at a record high of $250 Trillion, which is over 3x the level of Global GDP. Like in most cycles, as they age, the quality of the debt deteriorates. The U.S. financial sector’s exposure to this debt is still in question and this why the sector continues to lead the market down.

 

Technical Damage

The amount of technical damage done to the market is extensive. This chart will be a regular update as we progress in either direction. The chart below also outlines what will need to happen in order to squash this bear market from a technical perspective.

So far, the market has failed to retest 1 of the 2 bear market trend lines in red. There are important moving averages, Fibonacci retrace levels, numerous open gaps, and prior peaks, all of which will act as strong resistance. Until we make a higher high and lower low and begin to take back some of these levels, I will be suspicious of any rally.

The below chart outlines the two scenarios that I am tracking for a likely path.

Scenario 1:

Scenario 1 is outlined in blue. The blue count is the count I am leaning towards as most probable. It suggests that the 3rd wave (within the C-wave) has bottomed or is close to bottoming. This will give way to a corrective 4th wave bounce, and then a final 5th wave down to the 2100 region.

Scenario 2:

Scenario 2 is outlined in red. The red count suggests that the 3rd wave will further extend into the 2200 region. If the economically sensitive sectors we are tracking break through the 2016 level, and this 3rd wave keeps extending, then we could see this market trade down to the 1800 level support level.

 

Regarding a bottom:

In order for the bulls to convince me that they taking back control of this market, I will want to see them take back the 2750 level on the S&P 500.  For me, below this level, and the pressure is down, which puts the above scenarios in play.

 

Some Good News – Positive Divergences

Beth is covering the speed of the bear market for MarketWatch this week. Since February 20th, the market has gone straight down with minor interruptions. In fact, March of 2020 holds the record for how quickest bear market in history at only 16 days starting on February 19th. The second fastest bear market to occur was the notorious 1929 followed by the escalator drop of 1987.

When calculating how quickly the 2020 market dropped 30%, the juxtaposition of our current situation is even more severe. The bear market of March of 2020 took 19 days to drop 30%, followed by 1987 and 1929, tied for second at 55 days to reach 30% drawdown. The other notorious black swans, the dot-com bust and the 2008 crisis, took almost a full year to retreat 30%.

The good news is that the market structure suggests that we are due for a large degree wave-4 bounce, and the MACD as well as the VIX are supporting this.

Note the MACD in the prior chart regarding the 2 potential scenarios we’re tracking. As the market is making lower lows, the MACD is coiling upwards. This is the type of positive divergence we see when we are approaching a bottom of sorts. This plays into the larger degree wave-4 that I am anticipating.

The VIX refers to the ticker symbol for the CBOE Volatility Index, and has become a popular measure of the stock market’s expectation of volatility based on S&P 500 index options. In other words, it measures the amount of implied or expected volatility in the market.

So, as the market makes new lows, the VIX would typically make new highs because lower prices bring about more fear.

If you look at the above chart, in the final hour of trading, the market began to trend down and closed just above the all-time low for this bear market. However, the VIX also trended down. This is saying that the VIX is seeing a reduction of future volatility, while price is going down. This is a divergence we usually see towards a bottom or the bottom of a bear market.

It’s worth noting, that during the 2008 bear market, the VIX oscillated between the 70 to 50 range four times between October and November of 2008, before finally beginning to slowly trend back down. Basically, the VIX is still in a very elevated state and until it begins to settle down to much lower levels, we will likely not find a meaningful bottom.

 

What if we are Wrong?

As we stated on the forum to a few readers, this market presents two equal risks to every investor:

-Invest too early and see losses as the market attempts to price in a recession

-Invest too late and miss exceptional pricing (we are already at prices that nobody would have dreamed of a month ago).

Which risk are you most comfortable with? Only you can answer that. We are simply telling you what our plan is based on technical analysis that helps guide the positions we chose from deep-drive research.

I’d like to point out, we are not perma-bears or perma-bulls. We don’t comment a lot on the coronavirus because we are not doctors or health experts. We are sometimes on Twitter but are often too busy with research to tweet frequently.

We believe balanced research is an important strength. We have no desire to be right about calling a market. You won’t hear us pumping our positions during a historic selloff because we feel that it’s irresponsible to say “buy now” when our cost basis is low and we are not buying ourselves.

Instead, once the market broke key support, we worked overtime to find the S&P 500 levels we thought were most probable (and our personal target). We also published technical stops to help protect our readers’ gains. This was based on well over 100 hours of research (closer to 200 hours of research) over the past month on various technical charts and identifying stops and new entries for all of our positions. Our goal is to make money for our readers and to build the best portfolio possible in today’s market.  

Where the market decides to bottom is really anyone’s educated guess. Our targets take into account the potential for the blue and red counts I outlined above. These will be the levels that we will begin to build long-term positions. We plan to continue to hedge these long positions in case we are early.

We are not financial advisors. We use technical analysis to help create emotionless game plans, guide potential entries and manage risk. But, ultimately, you are the main arbiter of your investment decisions.

If your time frame is 5+ years and you can weather a potential 20% drawdown from current levels, then you will likely be glad that you bought at current prices.

There are numerous examples of roughly 30% drawdowns in past pandemic scares that showed a quick V-shape recovery. The level of fear in the market is palpable, and we are starting to see divergences amongst the MACD and the VIX, suggesting a bottom of sorts could be forming.  

Also, there is not much reference for the amount of liquidity being flooded into the market. On the flip side, this could act as a back stop to further economic deterioration.

However, if you believe this indicates THE bottom, it’s worth comparing today to the 2008 recession. During 2007-2009, we saw a 55% drawdown in stocks. However, during that time frame only the financial sector needed a bailout, now the list of sectors that needs a bailout is growing by the week. Also, airplanes were flying, Vegas was open, small business weren’t forced to close, there was no mandatory stay indoors policy and pro sports were still active as well as schools. No one knows the extent of the economic damage this pandemic will cause to the economy because we have never seen such a widespread halting of economic activity in an economy infused with record levels of debt.

Investors have been trained to buy the dip for 11 years. This strategy paid off handsomely for over a decade, and after 2018’s V-shaped recovery, there’s still a belief that we will see another such recovery. This scenario is possible, but I do not believe it is probable.

The structure of the upcoming bounce will be crucial for providing further clues on the on-going direction of the market. If the correction is overlapping and symmetrical, it will support the 4th wave thesis. I’m expecting this to find resistance around the 2500-2600 before topping out. However, if we see heavy volume and a structure that is impulsive – i.e., 5-wave patterns – then it will support the thesis of a potential bottom.

I want to see the 2750 level taken back before I will believe the bulls are in control. We need resistance to be taken back and an uptrend to form before I’m willing to support the idea that a bottom is in place.  

 

Position Updates

Please reference the Top Stocks List under the spreadsheet section of the site for updates on target entries. Please also reference the forum and the chat rooms for charts. Chat rooms are organized by stock ticker.

Posted in Market Updates, Stock Updates (Blogs)Leave a Comment on Market Update: March 22

Target Entries

Posted on March 16, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

We’ve laid out our broader market thesis over the past few weeks and are now turning our attention to individual target entries. Identifying broader market levels first was an important step as the market is reacting to these levels. We noticed that Goldman Sachs published something similar today.

If the market breaks 2340, we will likely see the market trade down in the 2100 region. This is the primary target that we diligently identified over the past few weeks. 

We mentioned that Knox follows an analyst who uses the same discipline and is calling for 1800. However, at some point, we have to be satisfied and not time the bottom. This is a personal choice.

Our positions will be 70% built in the target entries we are publishing this week. We will keep 30% on hand to either allocate at another leg lower or when we see a renewed uptrend.

Please note: We do expect there to be corrective bounce(s), which is the fourth of five waves in this C-wave down. The momentum indicators are at unusually low levels. They will need to reset for the next leg lower. What this means is some investors might get bullish too early from seeing some green on the indexes. Until the VIX settles below 20 and we see normal days (i.e. 100 bps to 500 bps), it’s unlikely that a bottom is in place. 

Target Entries:

The market is moving fast and we want to get information out to you as quickly as possible. We will be updating target entries for (3) stocks per day from our Top Stocks list in column J of the spreadsheet.

You can access the Top Stocks List here.You can access the Top Stocks List here.

Please check the Top Stocks list for daily updates on our target entries. Today we updated target entries (column J) for Roku, The Trade Desk and Slack. 

Here are some bullet points about these target entries:

  • Column J will not change as it’s based on the broader market thesis that we have worked diligently towards building over 2-3 weeks.
  • Our game plan is outlined in Column K to help provide additional information into the technicals we are monitoring for entry.
  • Knox will be posting charts and additional TA on the forum for anyone who has questions or wants more TA information.
  • We will do a summary of the target entries this weekend.
  • We don’t want to overwhelm your inbox with blog updates while also getting the information out asap – therefore, please check for daily updates on the spreadsheet. 

Top Stocks List:

We will be updating this monthly around the first of the month. Our convictions on the fundamentals have not changed. The only stock we foresee adding right now is AMD. We are evaluating other semiconductors and will update you accordingly. Docusign (on our watch list) is also a potential. Notably, Beth is not ready to initiate on Micron as the memory market is looking sluggish this year. Those earnings are coming up soon. If this changes after earnings, we will let you know.

You’ll get the AMD PDF report tomorrow. 

We do understand that there was a bigger seller in Roku today. This does not change our conviction. 

Thank you for your readership!

Posted in Broad Market Today, Market Updates, Stock Updates (Blogs)Leave a Comment on Target Entries

Market Update: March 15

Posted on March 15, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

Throughout last week, we laid out ranges in the S&P 500 where we will be potential buyers again. The update on March 10th discussed the sudden move and why we are viewing any bounce as an opportunity to build hedges and raise cash in positions where we seek a lower cost basis.

There were two scenarios provided given the sudden market drop last week:

(1) we’d have a deep correction or shallow bear market that would find a bottom between 2645 – 2520 with a potential spillover to 2500.

(2) or, we’re in for a bigger bear market that can find a bottom between 2340 – 2100.

I want to note that the market cut through the 2600 region with little hesitation and closed sub-2500 last Thursday. The overnight action in the futures market found a bottom in the 2400s before a much-needed corrective bounce that happened on Friday.

With realized volatility approaching record highs, many back-to-back ~9% days, and price unable to find support at key levels, this helps put into focus the scope of the bear market we are likely in. Within three weeks, the has market erased the gains that it took us 1.3 years to build. In short, we haven’t seen drops and rebounds of this magnitude since 2008.

With that said, this will be our last market update until next week as we now turn towards updating our conviction list with target entries. We followed our stops on many positions and are now working towards re-entry using the broader market as our guide. The story did not change on the stocks we’ve covered on the Top Stocks list. The conviction levels have also not changed, with the exception of Zoom – we are raising conviction from 8 to 9, even in light of its current valuation.

How I designed my risk management strategy

I personally got licensed in late 2007 and began my carrier in finance just in time for the great recession. In late 2008, I took over the Bay Area territory for my company and began developing relationships with countless financial advisors, RIAs and various CIOs regarding portfolio analysis as well as the implementation of passive ETF strategies within a portfolio.

Back then, ETFs were new and passive investing was not well utilized in portfolio management. This helped me get in front of many professional investment portfolios and strategies. Buy and hold is the ultimate goal. However, in rare cases where there are +50% drawdowns, like in 2008, I have found risk management to be crucial for the portfolios I personally handled during those years. 

With this came my use of creating plans based on the broader market, back up plans, using stops, hedges and position sizing and other tools. I’ve regularly and openly discussed these to navigate volatility while investing with a long-term time frame.

As we have been doing from the day we launched, we will also cover targets for stocks where we have a low-cost basis already. We believe we are one of the only sites that continually covers pricing. We do not simply publish “buy recommendations” or a buy list. We hope this extra effort is worth its weight during this bear market. 

Daily Chart

For any readers who are interested in how I came up with the 2100-2340 scenario, I’ve included some charts below. They use a combination of Elliott Wave counts going back nearly a century, with Fibonacci ratios and standard technical analysis.

I believe we are in a C-wave down. The C-wave is a 5-wave pattern pointing down. It is characterized as a powerful move that shifts sentiment to an extreme, which is exactly what we are seeing. Towards the end of a C-wave, sentiment typically hits a hopeless state, and without a game plan, investors tend to make the wrong decision at the worst time. Investors collectively feel panic in unison, watching the same situation unfold, and it leads to moments of capitulation, usually right before the market reverses. We want to do the opposite and use technical analysis to remove the emotion. If you followed our stops and hedges, you should be sitting on a nice pile of cash as well as having some long volatility plays to counter the losses on the long side.

From what we know about 5-wave structures, I estimate that we are in the final stages of the 3rd wave, and are likely in the corrective move of the 4th wave, which means we have the final 5th wave down to go.

One of the technical analysts who I respect and uses similar tools thinks we could see a termination as low as 1800 over the next few months. My count is calling for 2100 as the deeper bear market bottom. I’m not sure I will push it this far for target re-entries. Either way, we will spell out our targets for each stock around this time next week.

Hourly Chart

The above chart is meant to show 2 basic things: (1) how the downtrend, so far, is following the expected 5-wave pattern down; (2) the amount of resistance overhead, which makes a standard V-shape recovery unlikely.

If you feel like you have missed out on the bottom, please note the level of resistance above the current price. There are numerous unfilled gaps, two bear market trend lines, multiple simple moving averages and the 3140 peak – all while facing unchartered territory of a virus pandemic.

Where We Go from Here

The major risk to the coronavirus, as it pertains to the markets, is a lack of consumer spending. Will the extreme measures of canceled schools, postponed professional sports, Disneyland closures, etcetera last for three weeks or eight weeks or something completely unpredictable. The spiral effect of consumer spending matters here.

The second risk is quantifying the exposure the financial sector has right now to the buildup of risky debts in the system, which is why the financial sector ETF (XLF) is leading the charge down at 25%, and the regional bank ETF (KRE) is down around 37%. If and when this scenario plays out is anyone’s guess.

To put a stop to this bear market, we will need to see the market close first above 2950 and then 3150 to note a new uptrend in place. However, the bear market cannot fully be squashed until we make new highs at 3400. I find this less likely than my bigger bear thesis, at this time.  

 

Position Updates

If you look at the Top Stocks List we published about ten days ago, you’ll see a column with stops. We followed those stops and logged gains on Chainlink at +44%, Shopify at +35%, Trade Desk at +32%, Telaria at +26%, BOINGO +9%, ALTERYX +9%, ELASTIC +5%, WORK +2%. We took losses on DATADOG -2%, BITCOIN -4%, Dynatrace at -9%, Inseego at -16% and a second position on Roku at -23%.

We do have some longer-term buy and hold positions that are unshakeable no matter how deep a selloff. These are Nvidia, Alibaba, Roku and Microsoft (we also provided stops for anyone looking to establish positions in these stocks within the last 6 months. We have been building positions for years in these positions, which is why we are willing to weather the drawdown with them). Subsequently, these are the stocks that Beth first covered prior to launching the site on Seeking Alpha. We were able to get a low-cost basis because of the Q4 2018 pullback.

Also, we are still holding Zoom (ZM). With the widespread use of Zoom into the global community through this outbreak, we have decided to both: 1) raise our conviction level on Zoom from 8 to 9, and hold our current position without stops. We are prepared to weather any drawdown that may come from panic selling due to our hedges, and will add to this position on any potential weakness. If you are uncomfortable holding without stops, please continue to use our recommended stops on the spreadsheet.

Zoom now joins a few other stocks that we hold without stops and have high conviction on: Nvidia, Roku, Microsoft and Alibaba. We fully expect many stocks on our list to join the “no stops, buy and hold” club in our portfolio after this bear market offers stellar long-term valuations.

We view this bear market/steep correction as a gift and will be re-entering any positions we stopped out of. As I mentioned above, our task over the next week is to evaluate each stock and publish a target re-entry for our readers. We expect that the broader market analysis we’ve diligently worked and laid out for you during this tumultuous market to be a good base for creating re-entry points. Without having done this work, re-entry would be complete guesswork rather than based on probabilities.

 

Lyft (LYFT)

So far, we are around 30% up on our Lyft short since discussing the hedge. We discussed waiting for a bounce to add. On that bounce, we initiated a short around $34 and so far, it’s been a remarkable hedge. We added more on Friday’s corrective bounce, which we disclosed on the form under Hedges, and we expect a bounce in the coming days/weeks as the price works off oversold conditions.

If Lyft crosses the 8-EMA, we will exit the short. We will look for re-entry when the market tops out, or breaks back below the 8-day EMA, which is currently sitting around the $30.

For all hedges we have a predefined exit such as using an EMA crossover, 25% trailing stop, a notable candlestick pattern, etc.

For these hedges, we will use the 8-day EMA as our stop going forward or a 25% trailing stop, whichever comes first.

 

Uber (UBER)

Our Uber short is up about 24% since our entry. We added more in the Friday rally, and will look to add more as the market tops out. You’ve heard me talk about symmetry on corrections. The symmetry on Uber is remarkable so far. The length of the first wave down (A), so far, is the exact length of the 3rd wave down (C).

Notice how the price closes right at the 100% extension of the A wave for 2 days in a row. If this level breaks, expect the 1.272 extension to come into play around $19-$19.50. We will use the 8-day EMA as our stop going forward or a 25% trailing stop, whichever comes first.

 

Slack (WORK)

We stopped out of Slack when it broke the $24.25 stop out price. We logged a fractional gain and are looking for re-entry. Considering that the structure now suggests that we are in an A,B,C  corrective pattern, the C-wave should target around $14. This is the 100% extension of the A wave.

The strong hammer pattern coupled with the fact that smart money is buying and the RSI is oversold, suggests a retest of the $24-$25 region. For any longs on today’s low, I’d watch for these levels. A fail there would suggest a potential retest of Friday’s low, at which point, I will look to re-enter.

The $16 price target will be the area I will look to build a new position.

 

Roku (ROKU)

Roku is a buy and hold position that we own with a cost basis of $29.88. This portion of our portfolio is being held without any stops.

However, we are always looking to add more in weakness. We like Roku and we like that it gets beaten up because it provides for new entries. Beth strongly believes once this company turns profitable, it will enter a new stage from volatile/speculative (market’s opinion) to a market darling. She’s laid out why she likes Roku in great detail across PDFs, blogs, etc – mainly hinging on Roku’s ownership of the operating system, device and ad exchange plus the mega trend of Connected TV ads.

The above chart outlines our recent plan for adding to Roku. This new position we held with a stop around $86. We layered in at $125, $115, and again at $100 with a stop just under $86. The stop was triggered and we sold this new position on Roku for a loss.

We are looking for re-entries, and suspect that we will be range bound in the coming week. Notice the shooting star pattern as well as the hammer pattern. This suggests strong volume at $86 and $74. I wouldn’t be shocked if Roku struggles to break out of this range.

Next week will be telling. One thing is certain, on the daily chart, the MACD is making new lows and the histogram has not moved up. Buying Roku in the $70 range is a phenomenal value; the broader market is likely not done yet with its sell-off per our TA above, hence we are back on the sidelines for our new position.

 

Datadog (DDOG)

Datadog blew through our stop at $39.60 on a large gap at the open of the market. We sold just under the stop due to the heavy volume, and ended up logging a 2% loss. The reason we chose this stop is because it was the absolute lowest level DDOG could drop while still maintain an impulsive 5-wave structure. Below this level and it sets up an entirely new structure, which we believe puts us in a C-wave down.

It’s worth noting that DDOG is very oversold and the MACD, at new lows, is straying to turn up. For anyone attempting to speculate on a bottom, this would be a good level to try. We are believers in this company and will look for a re-entry.

In fact, when the market broke down into the 2500 region, we announced that we are putting money to work. This is one of the positions we bought around $32. This was a speculative play to attempt to catch the shallow bear scenario we outlined. We will look to add more and will update you on target entry next week.

 

Pinterest (PINS)

We recently attempted to buy Pinterest above its all-time lows, with a stop just below that level. We stopped out with a 2% loss, once PINS made an all-time low below $17.39, and missed out on a large amount of the current downside. The question is – how much lower can PINS go?

The RSI is confirming a bear market, and is also suggesting a continued bounce for now. However, the Accumulation/Distribution indicator does not show that the Smart Money is buying PINS at this level. If Pins breaks below $13, then we can expect the selling to resume. However, if PINS can break back above the $19 region, it will invalidate my current expectation, and be strong evidence that the bottom is in.

 

Bitcoin (BTC)

 The above chart shows the long-term path we are tracking in Bitcoin. When looked at from a logarithmic scale, and not a price scale, it really puts into perspective the pattern as well as the bubble that caught the popular attention. The long-term trend is something we want to catch, and though the weekly risk management may be frustrating, it’s necessary when dealing with such a new and volatile asset like Bitcoin.

The micro chart is where this will play out for now. In short, we have 5-waves up, which is now building another 5-waves up on a slightly larger scale. Remember, when 5-waves builds into larger 5-wave patterns, the more bullish the structure becomes. If the price can break back above $5800 and hold, then break back above $6100, this will support the green count. If we break back down below $4300, it supports the red count.

The problem with these counts is that they both stretch the rules of Elliott Wave theory. They are both valid, but also both rare structures. Trading this 4th wave has been frustrating, to say the least. However, once we get a confirmed bottom and a renewed uptrend, any losses incurred can give way to gains. Until the price makes a decision, I will stay on then sidelines. Please keep in mind that below $4300 puts $1600 in play.

 

Chainlink (LINKUSD)

Please note: Chainlink is a crypto not listed on the public markets.

LINK broke through our stop and also the floor underneath the impulse we have been tracking. In breaking below the peak of wave-1, it broke a fundamental rule in Elliot Wave and completely invalidates 5-wave structure we have been tracking since the last bottom around $1.65.

This changes the structure into a likely leading diagonal, which suggests that Link has farther to go in order to complete the 4th pattern. We will look for a re-entry when the pattern gets close to completion.

Chainlink requires strict risk management, so opening and closing positions with strict adherence to stops. If you’re not comfortable with this, it’s not the right choice. We have opened and closed our position about four times since August with reasonable gains between 30-50% gains. I am active on the forum with this but it does require more active management.

Posted in Bitcoin, Chainlink, Market Updates, Stock Updates (Blogs)Leave a Comment on Market Update: March 15

Market Update: March 1st

Posted on March 1, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

From peak to trough, last week saw a correction that traced 15.86% while at the same time breaking the pivot support at 3000 level.

As of now, the 2880-2600 region is crucial, and will be the area in which this correction bottoms or turns into something bigger. Whether we are in the early stages of a bear market or we have struck some kind of bottom, we can expect an attempt a reflexive bounce in the coming days/weeks.

The market needs to work-off levels of oversold conditions, and it will be in this bounce that I will look to increase my hedges and potentially raise more cash.

Obviously, we are not market prognosticators, rather we try to prepare for all scenarios. In fact, as I wrote this today the futures were down 1.3% and are now up 0.5%.

Here’s a glimpse of what COVID-19 has done to China, so far:

One of the major global supply chains has been disrupted. Adding more liquidity in the system via rate cuts will not fully address a supply chain problem. The February/March data will not help the markets, as the global economy slows due to the uncertainty around pandemic fears. So, any attempt at adding to long positions should be done with caution.

On the other hand, I want to point out the number of buyers we found in the NASDAQ at the 200-day SMA.

The above chart shows the Nasdaq. Look at the level of buying that stepped with a spike of green volume at the 200-day MA (noted by the black line). This is a great sign for bulls and should signal, at minimum, a temporary bottom, while we work off overbought conditions.

So, I’d like to offer some perspective on our positions, which have held up quite well considering the blood in the streets. We want to offer you some scenarios that offer good risk/reward trades with an exit strategy that protects your capital.

We aren’t financial advisors. Instead, we are actively seeking the best tech stocks at the best prices.

Elastic (ESTC)

We spotted the same setup in Elastic as we saw in Zoom when it was below $70. In Elliott Wave, it’s known as a 1-2, i-ii setup, which we see just before a powerful wave 3 takes over. On the forum, we pointed this setup out, and put a stop just under $63.50 on the closing price. The stock closed at $63.80, then earnings propelled ESTC 18% in a market that was down around 3-4%.

The bad news is that the probability of this setup holding is not favorable, per my count. We saw negative divergences within the RSI, MACD and MACD Histogram, suggesting the momentum is just not behind the move. Also, the Accumulation/Deceleration line, which measures if the price move is supported with volume and if that volume is “smart money,” also diverged.

I am holding a stop just under $69.25 to protect the gains we got for this move.

Roku (ROKU)

Roku has provided us with clear support levels. The first was at $125, which held for some time. Now, we are trading within the $115-$112 region, which Roku is now struggling to maintain. The recent buying pressure to push it back into the range was weak, and the “smart money,” which typically positions in the final hours of a day, is not buying right now.

The MACD failed at the 0 line, and is now in a clear decline below the range that held price within the tight descending wedge pattern for many months.

My stop for Roku is just under $86, and I’ll move my stops up if we get a bounce here.

It’s also worth pointing out the valuation of Roku at these levels compared to its runway. We believe, even in a a global recession, Roku’s business model is primed for growth. However, the stock market can have moments of being extremely mispriced, especially with misunderstood tech. It is for this reason that I have a stop in place for any new positions.

Nvidia (NVDA)

Nvidia found heavy buying at the $244 support region I pointed out in the last market update, which also coincides with the 55-day EMA. This also coincides with the middle of the target box we were watching. For us to have a bottom in place, the $244 region will be the battle ground going forward.

Even in light of the drawdown we saw in the market last week, where the vast majority of stocks in the market are trading at or below their 200-day moving average, Nvidia held the 55-day EMA with the MACD staying above the 0 line.

For anyone looking for a reasonable risk/reward entry for Nvidia, one scenario is to consider is entering at current prices, with a stop just under $241. This is a good setup to play any upside, while protecting from any further downside that may play out. Like with other positions, move your stops up as price increases.

Qualcomm (QCOM)

Qualcomm’s internals, as shown by the MACD, are showing that the selling halted and began to turn up well below the 0 line, with the histogram confirming this. The 38.2% retrace level, which is highlighted in blue on the chart around $73-$72 found buyers to step in and halt the decline.

However, it’s worth pointing out that QCOM stalled just below the 200-day MA, which is the psychological barrier that separates a downtrend from an uptrend. I would want to see it take back this region, which I expect it will, based on how over sold it is now, as a sign that, at minimum, a relief rally is underway. For anyone looking to go long, I’d hold a stop just under this level. A good stop would be $72.50.

Alibaba (BABA)

Alibaba is showing a lot of strength at the $200 region. For anyone who has been following us since we first covered BABA on our premium site, when it was trading around $180, you’ll remember that the $200 region was a tough hurdle for BABA to break above. Now that the price cleared this zone on the way up, that region is acting as strong support.

The internals are showing an easing of the selling momentum at this region. The MACD histogram is showing positive divergence, as the price is beginning to turn up below the 0 line. The Accumulation/Deceleration index is actually going up as the price is going down, which means that the “smart money” is buying into this decline.

For anyone looking to go long BABA, current levels with a stop at $197 would be a reasonable risk/reward setup. We believe in the long-term business model of BABA. If the coronavirus beats the stock down, we think that will be a gift.

This is a company to own for the long haul; however, the stop will protect us from another leg down in the correction if we get it before a bounce.

Zoom (ZM)

Zoom has been a fantastic position to hold during the sell off. In fact, while the market is down about 13%, Zoom is up about 3%. However, notice the very large Bearish Engulfing Candle that engulfed most of the move since the correction began. This is not a good sign for Zoom. This specific candlestick pattern usually precedes a change in trend, whether this change is the beginning of a failed impulse, which we’ve been tracking since wave-1, or it’s the wave-4 pullback we have been waiting for, only time will tell.

I have provided 2 stops: (1) the tight stop would be just under $94; (2) the wide stop would be just under the AVWAP, which is just under $84.

The Trade Desk (TTD)

It’s worth pointing out just how strong the Trade Desk has performed during this correction. As of now, it is only down about 10%. It found a swarm of buyers at the 200-day MA. After earnings, it quickly took back it’s 55-day EMA, and also the 10-day EMA.

The MACD is still under the 0 line with the histogram beginning to turn up, which is signaling bottom of sorts. Also, the Accumulation/Distribution line is making new highs before the price. There is a good chance that TTD makes new highs in any relief rally we get.

For any longs, I would watch the 55-day EMA as support and even as a stop, which is around the $275-$270 region as I write.

Dynatrace (DT)

Dynatrace has retraced to the upper region of our target box and found strong support around the $30 region, which is highlighted in blue on the chart. This also overlaps with the 55-day EMA in blue on the chart. The Internals are suggesting that at current levels we have not seen an exhaustion of selling.

For any longs at this region, I’d suggest a tight stop around $29.40 just in case we break this support. We have raised our stop to this point to protect our gains. Below here and we will likely see the $27.50 region come into play pretty quickly.

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RSA Overview: OKTA, Splunk and F5 Networks

Posted on February 29, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

Just to be clear: this is not the shopping list of top stocks. That’s on the way! This is an overview of the cybersecurity industry and cybersecurity growth stocks.

RSA is a popular cybersecurity conference with around 45,000 attendees. It’s a good source of information on public companies who overlap between data, cloud and security. This particular conference has quite a few executives attend compared to other cybersecurity conferences, where developers or hackers attend.

Here is a sample list of companies that were at RSA:

Akamai, Crowdstrike, LogMeIn, Equinox, Elastic, Fortinet, Mimecast, Palo Alto Networks, FireEye, OpenSSL Software Foundation, SWIFT, Tenable, Checkpoint Software, Juniper Networks, Zscaler, Okta, Microsoft, Arista Networks, Box, CyberArk, Cyberbit, F5 Networks, Oracle, Secureworks, Splunk, VMWare

I met with quite a few of these companies and want to give my premium subscribers any intel that I found this week.

This is in no particular order …

1. Cybersecurity is crowded; platform consolidation will occur …

You won’t see me recommend a cybersecurity company very often under premium analysis due to vendor saturation. I’ve been to RSA and BlackHat on and off for the past few years (since 2015) and there are so many companies that it’s nearly nauseating.

Here’s a snapshot of the cybersecurity vendor landscape from 2018:

For instance, you may have noticed that I haven’t talked much about Zscaler or Crowdstrike. This is because cybersecurity is very vendor-heavy. If you do invest in a cybersecurity company, then rely on Gartner’s Magic Quadrant to help sift through the various products. Gartner does a particularly good job with cybersecurity. Okta, for instance, is a clear leader according to Gartner.

I’m especially wary of newly public security companies because they seem to have really strong numbers coming out the gate that are hard to sustain due to the competitive landscape. This is because of the crowded market; the supply is overwhelming the demand.

In fact, I wrote a piece about Crowdstrike’s valuation compared to its addressable market around the time of its IPO.

An investment strategy for cybersecurity should be one of the two:

a) The company is a neutral player between Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Oracle and IBM. As multi-cloud continues to grow in popularity, and also hybrid cloud, the very best neutral player in each category should do well. This is because companies will want to avoid vendor lock-in with Microsoft, Amazon and Google. One tactic is to use a vendor who works seamlessly across all of the major cloud players.

b) Look for dominate platforms who own the data, endpoints, or servers, etcetera. Expect to see platform consolidation, which is when companies who own the data or servers acquire smaller specialist vendors.

As with many tech industry verticals, the best moat comes from having the most data. As you can see from the landscape, it is much easier for a dominate tech player to acquire a cybersecurity vendor than for a small vendor to acquire data or endpoints. We saw this with VMWare and Carbon Black last year.

 

Putting on the Watch List

Of the companies I met with, I think the following companies are interesting for future positions:

OKTA:

Per the first requirement above, Okta is the industry-leading neutral player for identity access management. They work seamlessly across the giant cloud competitors. Okta rates high on the product side by Gartner and in conversations with cybersecurity professionals.

My favorite catalyst for Okta is the blockchain. I believe this company will soar once blockchain is widely adopted. I will absolutely want to have a position before blockchain takes off and Okta may be one of my biggest blockchain positions.

(Remember that blockchain can assist centralized currency transactions and will overhaul the fees and costs associated with finance while lessening the burden on financial institutions to fight fraud. Do not think of blockchain only as crypto. Even governments will use centralized blockchain).

However, I’ve been less than enthusiastic about Okta in the past because I believe the company “is fundamentally weaker” than financial analysts believed when the valuation was incredibly high compared to its peers (I wrote about this in September).

The operating costs steepened as the company lowered EPS guidance from losses of $0.22 per share to losses of $0.45 to $0.49. Most importantly, the company has high sales and marketing costs at about 66% of revenue (they reached 85% of revenue in the quarter ending April 2019).

That shows the tough battle they fight in the competitive cybersecurity field. At the time, I said that Okta would need to continue to spend heavily on S&GA or R&D to maintain its leadership position. Subsequently, the company is expected to report more losses this year.

Increasing losses is not necessarily a reason to not invest. To me, it shows the battle Okta fights in basic supply and demand despite being the best IAM product on the market. Like I said, the real catalyst will be blockchain.

Takeaway: I’d like to get a good entry on Okta and hold the stock for identity access on blockchain. We will publish a PDF if/when we initiate and Knox will update on an entry.

 

SPLUNK:

Splunk and Elastic overlap on some customers (Elastic is more search but they do overlap). I initiated coverage on Elastic and recommended a position because one of my favorite setups is a small company eating market share as a unique pureplay with few competitors.

Although Splunk may not be as agile as Elastic right now, there are some important merits to the company’s position. The first thing to note is Splunk’s ability to successfully pivot and expand the addressable market. The company expanded to include SIEM about two years ago and security now makes up a large portion of the business.

Spunk’s three products are: data platform, analytics and security operations. Splunk fits #2 in the investment criteria due to being a company who has the data. It’s an easy transition for Splunk to expand beyond being a data platform and analytics to also help with security operations as they can offer automation rather than incident response.

Examples of customers for Splunk’s data and security operations include: monitoring for fraud in wire transfers or monitoring for patient record snooping in hospitals. SIEM is complimentary to endpoint security (Crowdstrike), network security and identity access (Okta)

Overall revenue is growing around 30-35% with software revenue growing 40-50% year-over-year. Annual recurring revenue is at 86%. This ARR is actually decent for a company as old as Splunk (founded in 2003; went public 2012) as ARR declines over time.

Takeaway: Splunk may not be the most exciting growth stock but it’s stable and steady. I don’t think there will be any major bullish or bearish surprises on the product level but it is worth keeping on the radar for the reach it has with data and now security operations.

 

F5 Networks:

The only reason I would recommend F5 Networks is for the potential catalyst of 5G. Otherwise, the company has been posting a slim 2-5% revenue growth year-over-year since 2015.

Regarding 5G, the company recently partnered with Rakuten to eliminate the need for coaxial or fiber cables to offer 5G in homes. Network functions virtualization (NFV) architecture reduces cost of ownership. By combining software and hardware, 5G networks can scale quickly especially in densely populated areas. This framework is also compatible with future edge computing.

AT&T plans to have 75% of their network virtualized by 2020. For F5, smaller global networks are key to growing this area of its business. Security is also baked in as AT&T states, “virtualization could be the most crucial advancement related to 5G security, for both the provider and their enterprise customers.”

Takeaway: There are competitors in NFV but F5 Networks could potentially stand out for their strength in security. Due to F5 Networks lack of growth in other areas, I would need to see more progress here before initiating — but it’s definitely something to keep on the radar as any decrease in infrastructure costs for 5G is bound to be a growth driver.

 

More info to consider:

SLACK:

Regarding Slack, I’ve mentioned before that we are very early to business messaging and the real use cases are yet to come. The RSA conference helped solidify an even stronger conviction in Slack as security companies discussed integrating Slack as the messaging notification system for monitoring anomalies – i.e. when an anomaly appears, the team will be notified via Slack rather than email as the response is statistically faster. This is already happening with one or two companies. 

Although security companies also integrate with Microsoft Teams, it’s worth relaying that in presentations they only mention “Slack.” This is because Slack is more universal and does not force an ecosystem lock-in.

VMware and Carbon Black

I think VMware and Carbon Black may become a serious competitor to Crowdstrike. This is due to VMware having access to millions of machines and having a neutral position across the various cloud infrastructure companies. Although Crowdstrike and Carbon Black are competitive on endpoints (Crowdstrike was beating Carbon Black in the market), VMware is clearly stronger on the server level. This acquisition was completed in October.

CROWDSTRIKE:

Crowdstrike is a top-rated stock on our cloud software spreadsheet for revenue growth, even beating out Zoom Video, Datadog and Slack. The fundamentals rank high right now. With that said, I can’t quite get over the fence with Crowdstrike as a solid long-term play and have to make these tough choices sometimes especially as we have initiated on many others ranked high on revenue.

Source: Cloud Software List Ranked by Revenue Growth

Posted in Cloud Software, Cybersecurity, Stock Updates (Blogs)Leave a Comment on RSA Overview: OKTA, Splunk and F5 Networks

Market Update: Feb 22nd

Posted on February 22, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

The average inflation-adjusted returns we are taught to expect in the equity market per year is around 7%. However, if you remove the period from 1984-2007, that return comes in just under 5%. According to, Christopher Cole of ArtemisCapital Management, the period between 1984-2007 was the result of anomalies converging that will likely not occur over the next decade.

During that period, baby boomers supported the economy at peak spending, which carried over into the 90s. We also saw the rise of globalization, which boosted inflation. Furthermore, the Fed Fund Rate was at a record 20%, which gave the Federal Reserve an extraordinary amount of room to support asset prices. All of these factors created an economic environment that led to strong markets.

Today, the Fed Fund Rate is under 2% during an expansion, baby boomers (who make up a large portion of the population) are hitting retirement. These factors, coupled with an over-levered population and a global trend that’s moving away from globalization are concerning for future growth. Cole argues that we should expect the next decade to trend closer to the 5% average than what has been considered “the norm.”  

Regardless of what you believe the average annual return will be over the next decade, one thing is undeniable – the S&P 500 is acting significantly outside of the norm, returning an anomalous 29% in 2019, and this year, assuming the current trajectory, we are on pace to return an annualized 38%.

There are many forces coming together to support a strong year in equities, which are happening with many alarm bells, as well. In fact, Paul Tudor Jones, who famously shorted the 1987 top because he noticed similarities in that market’s structure compared to the 1929 run-up, recently claimed that this market feels a lot like 1999.  The structure of the current market and the final part of 1998 are similar, which if holds, would lead to a sideways consolidation before we see the next leg higher.

  

In fact, we are beginning to see a decoupling of high beta tech stocks from the rest of the market just like we did in the late 90s. One of my favorite risk-on metrics just broke out of a multi-year trading pattern.

The USD/JPY measures the value of the dollar compared to the Japanese Yen. These are two of the biggest currencies in the world, and are both held in global portfolios. The coronavirus scare, as well as abysmal economic numbers in Japan, likely led to this breakout.

Regardless, when we see a rise in the dollar vs the Yen, it historically correlates to a rise in equities. More money is flowing into the U.S., which is good for stocks and bonds. If the breakout holds, it should be a tailwind for stock prices, and a further support for growing asset prices in 2020.

 

Additional Themes for 2020

Two of my favorite places to invest for 2020, on top of Cloud and Connected TV ads, are semiconductors and small caps. Semiconductors had a strong 2019, and the structure supports a strong 2020.

Semiconductors

It’s worth noting that in the late 90’s environment, semiconductors showed spectacular returns, and we are seeing the same today. The structure of the semiconductor index is supporting this theme, as well.

The above chart shows two large first wave setups, commonly known as a 1-2, i-ii setup, which also shows up as a cup & handle pattern. They imply that we are at a large 3rdwave, which is exactly what we are seeing.  

Regarding where we are in the structure, the internals are showing divergences, which we are starting to see in our semiconductor picks – NVDA, AMD, MU (report to come), QCOM (as we get closer to 5G), etc. We are likely in the early stages of the smaller degree wave 4, which should take us lower. However, as long as SMH, the broad market semiconductor ETF, holds the major support around $123, I’ll look to add to these positions in the coming days/weeks.

Small Caps

In December, we provided a more extensive report on the small cap setup. We then followed this up with many TA reports on our small cap choices. These price movements are still in play today.

In brief, small caps historically outperform in bull markets, and they underperform in drawdowns.

As you can see, each leg-up in the current bull market showed noticeable outperformance between small caps and large cap stocks. Today, Small caps are underperforming, which we typically do not see in a bull market. If we avoid a recession in 2020, then small caps will have a lot of room to run in order to take back their leadership role.

So far, our small cap positions have performed very well in 2020. Telaria is up about 55% YTD (exceeding Shopify), WIFI is up about 32% YTD, and INSG is up 25% YTD. Not only are these companies positioned to take advantage of current tech trends, but they should benefit from the small cap thesis, as discussed.

In conclusion, the trend is up, and as long as it is up, I plan to stay invested. As exciting as this market has been, it’s important to realize that what typically follows a great party is an even bigger hangover. It’s important to understand the type of volatility commonly known as reversion to the mean, which is why I brought up the debate around the average annual return being 5% or 7%. Neither of these numbers come close to what we are seeing today, which implies a sharp mean reversion in our future.

So, stay invested, and remember to have stops in place and/or be long volatility in some form as a hedge. The time to buy insurance is before a flood, not during, which is why a portion of our holdings are in gold/silver and some long-dated puts on companies that are most likely to be affected by a pullback.

 

Nvidia (NVDA)

There is simply nothing bearish about the above chart. Nvidia’s price is making all-time highs, while both the MACD and MACD Histogram are making new highs. Also, the Accumulation/Distribution indicator is making new highs, suggesting that this move is supported by healthy volume, and smart money is buying it.

For those that have followed our analysis on Nvidia, we suggested two excellent buying zones – one was in November of 2018and the other was based on the breakout scenario we outlined in our recent analysis in Septemberof 2019.  

As of now, Nvidia’s trend is parabolic before stalling out at all time highs. This is a company we want to own for the long haul, and it also fits with what we are seeing in Semis this year. Any correction should be bought and we plan to investigate if Friday is a correction or not.

The RSI is very overbought and will need to reset for the next leg higher. Also, the 3rdwave up is a textbook Elliott Wave move – the 3rdwave topped out at the 168.2% extension and the 5thwave topped out at the 200% extension. Nvidia’s price has turned and closed just above the prior high from October of 2018, which is around $292.

If it closes below $292, expect a Nvidia to first close the gap and find support around the $270-$272 region. If that level doesn’t hold, I placed some likely supports within the yellow target box on the chart.

However, it’s worth noting the 55-day EMA around $250 right now, which will move directly into the target region. The current uptrend has pulled back to this zone four times and held. It has been very strong support for the uptrend. If Nvidia breaks down to this level, it should be considered a buying opportunity as well. I will update you as we progress.

On positions that I expect to own for many years, if my cost basis is a level that we will likely never see again, I tend to hold that position as long as the fundamental story stays the same. We currently have a cost basis around $150 in Nvidia consisting of many shares we bought in the $140 region, and then added again when we broke $200.

I find it doubtful that we will see $140 again with Nvidia; however, $200 is not out of the question, especially if we encounter a recession. Thus, the portion I’m holding at $200 is being held with a stop just under $220, while the $140 cost basis is held without stops.

 

Zoom (ZM)

For those that have been following us on ZM, you should have a nice position in the current uptrend. The thesis that I outlined around the first bottom in the low $60s seems to be playing out, which is that we could be in the early stages of a strong wave 3 that will take us to new highs.

For those that are wondering what a 3rdwave feels like, this is it. A powerful move that is met with strong momentum and heavy volume. This is exactly what we are seeing with Zoom. Both the MACD and the Accumulation/Distribution indicator are making new highs with price, which is exactly what we want to see.

Today, Zoom broke out to new highs before getting sold below the heavy resistance region that I outlined in red on the chart. The MACD Histogram, which is measurement of internal momentum is diverging from price, suggesting a pullback is underway, which would be healthy for setting up the next leg up. Zoom is due for a pullback, which would be the 4thwave correction within the larger degree 3rdwave we have been riding.

Based on the exuberance in the market and in ZM, I’m not expecting a deep pullback. But, as long as the $75.75 region holds, the current count on the chart is valid, and I’m targeting the $155 region for the completion of the larger degree wave-3. Keep in mind, there are 5 waves in total, so it should be a good a year for Zoom.

Zoom is a buy, and should be bought on any breakout or dip while above $75.75.

 

Dynatrace (DT)

Dynatrace (DT) is a position we think will have good returns in 2020, and the current valuations are attractive when compared to its better-known counterpart, DataDog (DDOG).

Dynatrace is due for a larger degree wave 2 pullback, which is outlined by the red numbers on the chart. Now that the 23.6% retrace level is broken, which is the red price zone between $34.50-$34.15 on the chart, I’m considering the larger degree wave-2 to be in effect.

Also, notice how price has reacted to the 55-day EMA (blue) throughout the uptrend. This level has been strong support, and with a close below this level today, suggests that more downside is ahead.

So far, we up a little over 14%. I will look to add as DT approaches the upper level of my target box, or if DT can take back the red zone above $34.50. My current stop is just under $27.

 

Shopify (SHOP)

Shopify (SHOP) is one of our favorite cloud stocks for 2020. It’s a stock you want to own for the remainder of the bull market and should be bought on any dip. However, the strength of the uptrend has me looking to shallow dips around key moving averages, until price breaks through key supports. Right now, that support is $395. As long as this price holds, expect the uptrend to be intact.

It’s worth noting, since late 2019, SHOP has held the 20-day EMA (green), which is impressive. Below this level, the 55-day EMA has been additional support for Shopify historically as it makes new legs up. I’ll look to these levels for entries on any pullbacks.

The internals are strong, but suggesting weakening momentum. The volume is increasing with price; however, we saw a lot of volume fade the highs, suggesting institutional money is taking profits. Also, the RSI is overbought and needs to reset for a new leg up, suggesting a pullback, or at minimum a sideways consolidation is in order.

The MACD and MACD Histogram are supporting the uptrend. However, they are starting to roll over, suggesting temporary weakness. Shopify is a buy on any weakness. My current stop is just under the $395 region to protect our gains.

 

Alteryx (AYX)

Alteryx (AYX), like Zoom, had a deep wave-2 retrace, and is well within its wave 3 to new highs. Volume is increasing with price while the MACD supports a healthy uptrend. The Accumulation/Distribution index is increasing with price, suggesting smart money is buying into the move up. However, it’s worth noting that this index has not made it to new highs with price, suggesting that we could see a temporary pullback before breaking out.

Like Shopify, the 20-day EMA and 55-day EMA are key levels. Notice the reaction to the breakout. It couldn’t hold, and now the pressure has pushed AYX below the 20-day EMA. The next level of support will be the 55-day EMA, which is where I’ll look to add to my position. As long as the $122 region holds, I’ll stay long and buy the dip. Below $122 and I’ll stop out, protecting my gains.

 

Chainlink (LINK)

I’ve posted quite a bit on Chainlink in the forum as well as on several market update blogs. The little-known blockchain play has been on a tear recently. We began covering LINK at $2, initiated our first position around $1.77, stopped out around $2.45, and then re-initiated again at $1.80. The position is currently up 140% – more than Tesla YTD.

As Beth has pointed out in the PDF, this is not your typical alt-coin or crypto. Rather it is an investment in an important trend called smart contracts. You’ll want to pay attention to this and set any prejudices against crypto aside as we are not a site that covers crypto. We cover tech trends and this one will be parabolic. As Beth pointed out in the PDF, there are reports that Google and Oracle are both invested in Chainlink (page 8). We are in the early days for LINK and it’s something we plan to follow closely with technical analysis to navigate the volatility.

 

Bitcoin (BTC)

Since our last update, Bitcoin (BTC) has retraced into its lower degree wave-2 pullback. As we write this, BTC is within the upper target region. The $8600-$8500 region will be strong support to watch, and a good target zone to add to any existing position, if we get there.

This region coincides with the 38.2% retrace level and also the Volume Weighted Moving Average, anchored at the all-time high. As long as BTC holds the $7,000 region the current count will remain intact, and I will be looking past all-time highs in the coming months. Keep in mind, the $7,000 region is around 25% below current levels. The risk/reward setup at current levels, with proper position sizing, is an attractive trade.

I wouldn’t get too greedy with Bitcoin, considering the uptrend we see in front of us. If you like this asset, then consider layering in now.

For anyone on the fence about bitcoin, read Beth’s write-ups of why it’s important to the technological advancement of both centralized and decentralized blockchain. She has these write-ups on the free blog here, hereand hereand also on the premium site.

 

Telaria (TLRA)

In keeping with our small cap theme, we’ve been covering Boingo (WIFI) extensively over the last month. It’s currently confirming a breakout and is considered a buy along with our other small cap play, Inseego (INSG). Telaria (TLRA), our third small cap position, since we first recommended it, is up nearly 100%.

The uptrend is healthy in that the volume is confirming the price increase, and the internal momentum is strengthening with the price increase. Telaria has recently broken out of a strong resistance zone around $13, which we outlined in prior reports. It is considered a buy at current prices.

We are raising our stops to $9.50 to protect our gains. If we do get stopped out, we will look for re-entry due to our desire to hold TLRA for the long haul.

 

Qualcomm (QCOM)

If we look closer at the structure, QCOM is due for a pullback, and in fact the internals are suggesting this to be the case.

We can see the MACD and the MACD Histogram showing a negative divergencepattern. In other words, as the price increases the internal momentum is decreasing. We typically see this pattern before a pullback and should act as a warning.

Furthermore, the Accumulation/Distribution indicator is decreasing as the price in is increasing. This indicator measures two things: is volume supporting the price and what is the smart money doing. The assumption is that “smart” money buys at the final hours, while “dumb” money buys on news at the open. There is some credence to this sentiment indicator and it’s been an effective leading indicator. What it’s showing us here is 2 things: (1) volume is making lower lows while price is making higher highs; (2) the volume in the final hours is fading these prices, suggesting that smart money – i.e., institutional money is selling at current prices.

A pullback is reasonable; however, in this market, I wouldn’t expect too deep of a pullback. I added shares around $87 and will look to add more in the low $80s or when QCOM breaks out of its multi-decade cup & handle pattern above $100.

Regarding the cup and handle, Qulacomm (QCOM) is currently just under an important price zone: $98-$100 region. A close above this region would confirm a twenty-year cup & handle pattern, which we pointed out both on the forum and on Twitter. For those that may have missed this, the chart below says it all. A close above the $98-$100 price resistance in this pattern would be a bullish confirmation, and one that I would buy into.

Posted in Bitcoin, Chainlink, Market Updates, Stock Updates (Blogs)Leave a Comment on Market Update: Feb 22nd

Ad-Tech: Keep an Eye on Mobile OS Changes

Posted on February 20, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

INTRODUCTION:

The announcement that Facebook is killing off web supply on Audience Network is actually quite important. This is because the story is changing. You can expect a lot of questions on the next earnings call in regards to this announcement.

To be clear, for Facebook, web supply is not as important as mobile supply. Right now only web supply has been affected. This article suggests that mobile supply could be next. If so, then the story will change quite a bit for Facebook — and Twitter. Google is also in this camp, but Google has search and is more protected and diversified. Due to Google’s strength in AI, a pullback would be welcomed. Smaller companies like Criteo will also be affected.

For Facebook and Twitter, if mobile supply is cut off, we could see a lower average revenue per user become the norm across these platforms.

I would never suggest someone sell a winning position, however, if you’re in Twitter or Facebook, then be mindful of any drawdowns between now and January of 2022 for these less diversified ad companies (compared to Google). Twitter is up 20% this year, so feel free to ride that wave, but have a mental stop and understand the difference between a story or product that has changed compared to undulating market sentiment.

If the ad-tech industry changes how mobile supply operates on the back end, funds and institutions will know first. Funds have full-time analysts to track this. I agree with the Pivotal Research analyst who grew bearish after the Chrome browser changes and Apple’s iOS 13 changes … investors are growing complacent because they have seen some strong earnings reports despite data privacy headwinds. That quote from Pivotal matches my understanding of the situation.

We first covered this in the Google 2019 PDF in July. I also covered this for MarketWatch a few months later in October. However, this has taken time to evolve (hence the market’s complacency).

The real tourniquet on data collection is not coming from regulations, rather it’s coming from the browsers and mobile operating systems, which I describe below.

What is Changing: Browsers Now, Mobile OSs Likely to Follow

Although many consider Cambridge Analytica a temporary issue, the advertising industry would say the privacy changes that began with the GDPR, or the General Data Protection Regulations, had serious side effects. These privacy rules were a decade in the making, and were enacted by the European Union about two months after Cambridge Analytica broke. There was quite a bit of speculation by the Wall Street Journal and others that the GDPR would actually make Google and Facebook stronger (which is not true).

The GDPR’s biggest accomplishment was to put in context the issues around tracking people and collecting data across apps or websites where no relationship exists. Having these standards allowed others outside of the EU to follow. 

The main set of regulations that followed the GDPR is the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The CCPA was put on the 2018 ballot and passed, and is now currently in effect as of January 1st, 2020.

Browsers

Apple has been whittling away at data tracking on the Safari browser since 2017. I covered this in-depth back in July for our premium members.

Apple’s initial release of Intelligent Tracking Prevention had little effect on Google but did have an effect on publishers. Google stated at CES 2019 that publishers were seeing half the CPM value as a result of ITP’s impact (CPMs is a common way to pay for advertising and is based on cost per 1,000 impressions).

Apple then released ITP 2.1 in an attempt to stop Google and Facebook’s tracking methods, and furthered the attempt with ITP 2.2. The subsequent releases shortened the amount of time a cookie could be stored to 24 hours to prevent loopholes unique to Google and Facebook.

As covered in the PDF, there have been rumors for some time that Google planned to follow in Apple’s footsteps. Adweek reported on this in April of 2019. We now have confirmation that Google will be following in Apple’s footsteps by 2022 by eliminating third-party cookie tracking with the Chrome browser.

Mobile Operating Systems

The main takeaway from this write-up is to keep an eye on changes in mobile operating systems. The browsers are not as primed for data collection as the mobile device. The main impact will be at the mobile device level.

The second change was to cut off apps like Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp from using a loop hole that allows them to continue tracking user activity even when the app is closed.

Ad industry professionals are speculating that Audience Network on mobile may not survive future iOS privacy changes. Facebook, Twitter and others may be forced to shut down their ad exchanges on mobile through a slow squeeze. If this happens, we are dealing with an important change in the story for Facebook and Twitter.

Regarding Snap, TTD, Rubicon and Pinterest …

Before I go into more depth on Facebook and Twitter, I want to cover a few of the other stocks we’ve actually initiated coverage on – Snap, TTD, RUBI, and PINS.

Regarding Snap:

These changes are connected to the reason I pulled out of my Snap recommendation. Snap’s big growth potential was based on launching an Audience Network of their own. This was looking less and less likely. Without this, growth for Snap will be slower than what I would need to recommend a real growth opportunity. They’ll probably nudge up in monthly active users quarter-over-quarter but I don’t see a new trajectory like I did from the filter changes in Q2 2019 or from the highly anticipated Audience Network (that is probably now defunct).

Regarding Pinterest:

Facebook has been very restless since the privacy concerns. We saw the company attempt a blockchain project, which I felt strongly would not succeed the week it was announced.

They also attempted a dating offshoot, which is unlikely to convert users from well-established Match/Tinder. Then there was Lasso based off TikTok. They’re also aiming for a WePay feature in Whatsapp. Now they are going after Pinterest with Hobbi.

Just remember, acquisitions are more successful than an upstart for bigger tech companies (Instagram, Whatsapp). The Facebook social platform is a phenomenal success but there is basically no track record of launching something new and converting users for nearly 15 years.

Regarding Pinterest, I wouldn’t over-react to another one of Facebook’s announcements. I would expect there to be many more pivot attempts from them in the future. Pinterest has a strong foundation and is ran by a very solid founder/CEO.

Ideally, the browser and OS changes shift ad dollars away from Facebook – this is a very real possibility. If so, Pinterest’s ad model is well situated for the future of AI and product discoverability.

Quick note on The Trade Desk and Rubicon/Telaria:

There are two reasons to drop cookies or pixels on browsers and/or track app activity through mobile software.

1) The first is for attribution, which allows the advertiser to know an ad was seen or an ad video was completed.

2) The second is a bit more nefarious, which is to actually track your activity and create behavioral profiles for advertisers to target. This more nefarious data collection is the culprit prompting changes across browsers and mobile operating systems.

TTD and Rubicon are not deep in the business of data collection (#2) because they do not have the conflict of interest of also being a large publisher with 2 billion users (Facebook) or 400 million users (Twitter). They are in the business of ad serving and attribution (#1). There are retargeting ad exchanges, like Criteo, who have seen major declines in stock price.

In addition, attribution (#1) will need to be resolved for everyone’s sake because publishers still need to make money. The Apple ecosystem is based on millions of app publishers making money. Online activity – and many websites — are also supported by ads. Attribution is not a privacy concern and it doesn’t lead to privacy issues when done correctly.

In other words, TTD and Rubicon’s core business model is not reliant on data collection because they are not heavy retargeting companies. Therefore, I don’t see the story changing right now for those companies. They do need attribution but the whole ecosystem will need this. I’ll be listening for TTD’s answers to these questions on the earnings call but I expect them to echo something similar to what I’ve described. If they say something else, then I’ll circle back.

Similar to Pinterest, I’m curious to see if the changes will divert ad dollars away from FB and towards TTD and RUBI as the backend changes should level the playing field.

More on Audience Network, MoPub and AdMob …

First and foremost, it’s important to understand that the more data you have, the more your revenue grows exponentially. There is nothing linear about data (or data science or data mining).

Google, Facebook and Twitter were uniquely positioned in the early days of native apps and mobile browsers because they were the first to build and own large audiences.

Due to this positioning, the bright idea occurred to these companies to acquire or build ad exchanges. Basically, they figured out that ad exchanges are able to insert code across a lot of websites and apps, which in turn, pumps a lot of data. 

The ad exchanges are called AdMob (Google), MoPub (Twitter) and Audience Network (Facebook). The purpose of this was to collect data from as many sources as possible to pump their ARPU on the social platforms they own.

Maybe think of Google, Twitter and Facebook’s ad exchanges as the gasoline in a Ferrari. The gas isn’t worth much compared to the vehicle, but in turn, the vehicle doesn’t go very far without the gas. Data fuels the machine. It’s not worth discussing the value of the gas, which in this case, might be $40.

Facebook says Audience Network pulls in about $3 billion. That’s irrelevant because it’s pumping data for higher ARPUs on their own platform. This is why Facebook makes much higher ARPU than other sites.

Twitter’s MoPub also has software inside many apps that Twitter does not own. The purpose is to collect data, that in turn, leads to higher CPMs/ARPU on Twitter because they now have more data and better targeting than the competitors.

To illustrate, when you close your Facebook app, and you open a Bloomberg or Fidelity app, Facebook now knows you’re a stock investor and can send you a Charles Schwab ad. This information is then sold to advertisers on the Facebook feed. The software that tracks your activity outside of Facebook is Audience Network but the revenue is reflected on Facebook’s ARPU.

Facebook’s social feed does not have as much valuable data as you might think. It’s your cross activity that compounds into perfect behavioral profiles. Facebook may know you went to the Bahamas based on your last social media update, but did you fly first class? How often do you check stock trading apps while on vacation – once per week or five times per day? Do dine out or get delivery in your hotel room?

Tracking activity with Audience Network helps them determine if they should show you a Mercedes Benz ad on Facebook, whereas your posts on Facebook are not enough to tell them your income bracket and spending patterns. Or maybe they’ll show you a Grubhub ad if you ordered in.

This is a fairly challenging concept for people outside the ad industry to understand. The Facebook bulls continually revert back to thinking Facebook’s revenue comes only from the Facebook app, Instagram, Whatsapp. They’ll cite Audience Network generates $3 billion, etcetera.

Google is more protected with search and their response was more muted on the recent earnings call. Facebook’s was a bit more cautionary. I’ve included clips below.

RECENT EARNINGS CALLS:

Google had the following to say in the recent earnings call:

  • On page 30 of Alphabet’s most recent annual report, the company reflected slowing growth across “Google Network Members’ properties”

“Our Google Network Members’ properties revenues increased $1,537 million from 2018 to 2019. The growth was primarily driven by strength in both AdManager (included in what was previously referred to as programmatic advertising buying) and AdMob, partially offset by the general strengthening of the U.S. dollar compared to certain foreign currencies.

Our Google Network Members’ properties revenues increased $2,394 million from 2017 to 2018, primarily driven by strength in both AdMob and AdManager, offset by a decline in our traditional AdSense businesses. Additionally, the growth was favorably affected by the general weakening of the U.S. dollar compared to certain foreign currencies. “

Source: ABC.XYZ/InvestorABC.XYZ/Investor

On the earnings call, an analyst from BMO Capital Markets asked about Chrome changes. Sundar PIchai anwered the following:

“And so we are engaged in these issues, and we anticipate and structurally work on them early on. So it’s how we broadly approach these things. And so there’s nothing notable to call out, other than there will be continued changes in these ecosystems, and our ability to anticipate and adapt is key to the years ahead.

Facebook had the following to say in the recent earnings call:

Dave Wehner, on the Q4 2019 Facebook earnings call:

“We expect our year-over-year total reported revenue growth rate in Q1 to decelerate by a low-to-mid single digit percentage point as compared to our Q4 growth rate. Factors driving this deceleration include the maturity of our business, as well as the increasing impact from global privacy regulation and other ad targeting related headwinds. While we have experienced some modest impact from these headwinds to date, the majority of the impact lies in front of us.”

Analyst Brian Nowak of Morgan Stanley asked Wehner to expand on the comments above:

“Yes, we are seeing headwinds in terms of targeting and measurement, but as I noted, the majority that impact lies in front of us. Just as a reminder we utilize signals from user activity on third-party websites and services in order to deliver relevant and effective ads to our users, and in that regard, there are sort three overlying factors that I’d point to, and I spoke to these on prior calls as well.

First the recent regulatory initiatives like GDPR and now CCPA have impacted, and we expect will continue to impact our ability to use such signals.

Secondly mobile operating systems and browser providers, such as Apple and Google, have announced product changes and future plans that will limit our ability to use those signals, and then finally, we’ve made our own product changes that gives users the ability to limit our use of such data signals to improve ads and other experiences, and there I’d point to something like the rollout of Off Facebook Activity controls, and that’s at 100 percent today.

So each of these factors limits our ability to target and measure the effectiveness of ads on our platform and that can negatively impact our advertising revenue growth. Both Mark and Sheryl talked about importance of ad targeting for small businesses, and I think it’s important to note that the regulatory and platform changes will have a disproportionate impact on the ability of small businesses to use ads to grow and thrive.”

Posted in Digital Ads, Stock Updates (Blogs), Tech StocksLeave a Comment on Ad-Tech: Keep an Eye on Mobile OS Changes

Market Update Feb 13th

Posted on February 13, 2020June 30, 2026 by io-fund

Boingo (WIFI)

For the last several weeks, we pointed out the setup in Boingo (WIFI). A cup & handle pattern was forming, and last week we spotted the bounce and trend reversal exactly at the 127.2% extension, which is a common place to spot short term trend reversals.

So far, the uptrend has been a healthy one – buying pressure increasing with price and volume increasing. This signals that more buyers are showing up just before the resistance.

Today, WIFI broke through our targeted breakout region, closing on the high at $13.98 with double the average trading volume. The internals are confirming what we are seeing – buying pressure is increasing with price and volume.

If WIFI can hold above this level tomorrow (Friday, Feb 14th), that will be a strong confirmation of a breakout, and the move from here could be swift. We have provided good setups in the past leading up to this moment; if you do not have a position in WIFI and have been waiting for a breakout, this is what we have been waiting for. 

We are raising our stop to just under $10.70 to protect our gains.

Slack (WORK)

Last week we noted that Slack was appearing to stall-out again within the range it has been stuck in for several months between $25-$20.

With decreasing momentum and a reversal at the 20% symmetrical tops we outlined in Slack’s prior attempts to breakout, we were planning on price, once again, retesting the $20 support. However, an announcement surrounding IBM as a listed client of Slack changed this setup. On heavy volume, Slack broke right through the strong resistance that has halted all attempts prior.

This move did so with the MACD supporting a healthy trend as well as the MACD-Histogram showing an increase with each attempt by buyers to push prices up. Both the MACD and the Histogram are making new highs, while price is breaking through its range on strong volume. This is the type of breakout we want to see and one that you should pay attention to.

Furthermore, the resistance zone that kept Slack bottled up is now support – So, $25-$23 is now the primary support zone for any continued uptrend. After breaking out, Slack attempted to retest the now support zone between $25-$23. This move was quickly rejected, which is also a bullish sign.

As of now, it appears as though Slack is in a well-defined bull flag pattern that has been confirmed by today’s close. All of these signs point to a healthy breakout. We went long on the breakout and have a tight stop at $24.25.

Chainlink (LINK)

Since bottoming just above our stop at $1.60, Chainlink (LINK) revealed a micro 5-waves up, which is a sign of a potential turnaround. On December 12th, we announced on the forum the setup, which was that we are going long at $1.80 with a stop at $1.60. Since then, we’ve added to the breakout above $2.

My current count on Chainlink has us in a strong uptrend with plenty of room to run. Chainlink recently broke out again at $3.40, making a new higher high within the range it was trading in. The next stop will be all time highs at $4.80.

The internals are all confirming a healthy uptrend, and LINK is a buy on pullbacks or breakouts. The 34-day EMA (the red line) has been the support since the renewed uptrend off the December 2019 lows. Any break of this trendline will signal a correction is underway, and should be monitored closely. We are raising our stop to just under $2.6 to protect our gains, in the event the current uptrend fails.

I posted my long-term targets in red on the chart. As long as LINK does not break down below $2, this target remains my long-term plan for now. Alt coins, like Bitcoin, are notorious for false breakouts and failed impulses. So far, the structure we are seeing is promising and is the type of trend we want to be invested in. With a asset this volatile, stops and position sizing are crucial. Even if do get a failed breakout, we will lock in a nice profit at $2.60, and wait for the next uptrend.

Please note that LINK is not a typical crypto as it’s tied to smart contracts which will be first in play for blockchain with smart contracts gaining a lot of interest from the finance industry. Reference the Chainlink PDF for more information.

Bitcoin (BTC)

In our first report on Bitcoin in August of 2019, we outlined that both the fundamental story is aligned with the technical story. We may be in the early stages of a larger degree third wave, which we have been following and covering closely. When confirmed, this will take us to all-new highs.

The above chart shows this long-term pattern, starting from the bottom of Bitcoin’s all-time top and roughly 85% drawdown. On the forum we spotted the most recent bottom and initiated a buy around $7100.

It’s worth noting that a close above $10,000 is a big deal for Bitcoin. Historically, it has been a psychological region of importance. The chart above outlines my general game plan for Bitcoin, and as long as we hold the $7,000, this will be my primary count and remain my game plan.

Another scenario is that Bitcoin pulls back, which will take us to the low $9000-low $7650 region.

MongoDB (MDB)

The internals are suggesting that MDB is stalling out as it approaches new highs. We have divergences across the MCD Histograms and the RSI. The MACD signal is on the verge of crossing over to the downside as well. All of this is happening while the price is making higher highs. This is not what we want to see from a stock poised to breakout to new highs.

For any current longs, the 34-day EMA has been solid support for the current uptrend, which is currently at $155. If this support is broken, I’d be looking to the 200-day SMA for the final support, currently at $142.

Roku

Roku has been trading within a descending wedge pattern since December of last year. We had a false breakdown in late January where the price tested the 200-day SMA (red). The next day the price went back into the range.

Prior to beating earnings, the price broke out of the wedge pattern to the upside, closing for 3 days above this breakout. The internals confirmed the move with an increase in buying pressure and volume.

Tomorrow, we will likely see a gap-up at the open. As of now, the price is set to open within the green resistance zone around $147. We will want to see Roku clear the $153 price target as the first hurdle, and then new highs before we can say the bullish trend is renewed. Long term, Roku has been and remains one of our highest conviction plays due to size of addressable market.

Posted in Bitcoin, Chainlink, Market Updates, Stock Updates (Blogs)Leave a Comment on Market Update Feb 13th

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