The current market correction has the indexes searching for a bottom and tech stocks like Tesla and Microsoft trying to find their footing. The sharp drop in the Innovator IBD 50 Fund ETF, which tracks the IBD 50, reflects the troubled market for traditional growth stocks. The downtrend has also sparked a rise in cash positions in IBD Leaderboard to help mitigate the damage.
The number of stocks on Leaderboard has shrunk, with Eli Lilly now the only name to make the Leaders Near A Buy Point list. Having shown resilience and a rising relative strength line, the diversified Big Pharma company is now testing a 295.45 to 310.20 buy zone.
In addition to MSFT and TSLA stock, Cheniere Energy, Anthem and Vertex Pharmaceuticals are the only other stocks on the Leaders List.
World Wrestling Entertainment, featured in the IBD Stock Analysis as it took a hit last week, is on the watchlist for IBD Leaderboard.
Track Tesla, Microsoft And The Other Stocks On IBD Leaderboard
UPRO Exits While TSLA, MSFT Remain Among Leaderboard Stocks
The ProShares UltraPro S&P 500 exited Leaderboard after the ETF undercut its April 27 low. To mitigate risk, the Leaderboard team had started with a half position in UPRO. But with the S&P 500 down sharply to close out last week, the trade clearly didn't work out and the position was cut.
Meanwhile, an outsize cash position helped Leaderboard Friday as the stock market indexes got slammed. In April, the S&P 500 suffered the largest one-month decline since the pandemic bear market in March 2020.
While Tesla, Microsoft, Eli Lilly and Anthem have all reported, Cheniere Energy (May 4), as well as Vertex and WWE — both of whom report on May 5 — have earnings due this week.
LNG stock sank almost 4% Friday despite JPMorgan Chase raising LNG's price target to 183 from 169. The stock is down again to kick off May as it tries to hold its 50-day moving average.
Reflecting selling pressure and volatility in the market, Vertex has shown whiplash-inducing seesaw action in recent days. After hitting a new high April 14, the stock fell sharply on April 22, then gapped up to reach just under 280 on April 29. Monday morning, Vertex gapped down to kick off the new month. While still down over 4% for the day, the stock found support and bounced off its 50-day line.
WWE continues to wrestle with resistance at its 50-day moving average as it tries to pin down a return to the 60.94 buy point it cleared back in March.
As volatility continues, check out Leaderboard's latest feature — the Positions Summary Table. It provides a roundup of daily action among Leaders, allowing subscribers to view and sort the Leaders by a variety of parameters, including position size, weighting within the portfolio, entry date, entry price, average cost, and price performance.
Follow Matthew Galgani on Twitter at @IBD_MGalgani.
