A Semiconductor Play and Booking Four Double-Digit Option Gains

This week’s Alpha Algorithm recommendation is a semiconductor stock in which you’ve already booked several double-digit-percentage gains.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) provides manufacturing equipment, services and software to the semiconductor, display, solar photovoltaic (PV) and related industries worldwide. The company serves manufacturers of semiconductor wafers and chips, liquid crystal and other displays, solar PV cells and modules and other electronic devices.

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) vs. the S&P 500 year to date.

12 Top Investment Strategies Betting on Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)

1. Momentum Factor

The stock is one of the top 120 large- and mid-cap U.S. stocks exhibiting relatively higher price momentum, as measured by a specific factor which historically has driven a significant part of companies’ risk and return.

2. Large-Cap Momentum

The stock is part of a major hedge fund’s systematic strategy that invests in large- and mid-cap U.S. companies with positive momentum and that rank in the top third of total return over the prior 12 months, excluding the last month.

3. Pure Growth

The company is part of a strategy that selects companies from the S&P 500 Index, based on three growth factors: current internal growth rate, historical earnings per share (EPS) growth and historical sales/share growth.

4. Large-Cap Growth

The stock is among the top 50 large-capitalization U.S. growth stocks generated through a rigorous 10-factor fundamental screening process.

5. Large-Cap Alpha Growth

Applied Materials has been chosen as part of an alpha-seeking index that selects and weights growth stocks from the S&P 500 Growth Index. The proprietary methodology uses price appreciation — among more traditional factors — and weights the constituents based on their respective growth scores.

6. Large-Cap Growth and Value

Using a proprietary ranking based on separate models for growth and value, this is a large-cap stock that is part of an index that has historically outperformed its market-cap-weighted benchmark.

7. Exponential Technologies

The stock is part of a strategy that invests in nine different fields deemed to be vast growth “exponential technologies”: big data and analytics, nanotechnology, medicine, networks, energy and environmental systems, robotics, 3-D printing, bioinformatics and financial services.

8. IBD Top Fifty

Applied Materials is a Top 50 stock based on Investor’s Business Daily’s proprietary trading formula to identify 50 stocks that meet one of seven different catalysts. The “CAN SLIM” strategy identifies companies with either fundamental (improving earnings or new product) or technical (upward stock move on strong volume) catalysts.

9. Share Buybacks

The company’s outstanding shares have been reduced by at least 5% in the previous year through share repurchases.

10. Large-Cap Alpha Core

It is one of a tiered equal-weighted index of large-cap stocks selected from the S&P 500 expected to outperform the broader large-cap space based on an intricate methodology of ranking stocks according to their recent performance.

11. Shareholder Yield

It is one of the companies (a) paying cash dividends, (b) engaging in net share repurchases and (c) paying down balance-sheet debt.

12. High-Quality Stock

The stock exhibits positive fundamentals, including high return on equity, stable year-over-year earnings growth and low financial leverage.

Recommendation

Buy Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) at market today and place your initial stop at $40.50.

If you want to play the options, I recommend buying the AMAT October $47.00 calls (AMAT171020C00047000), which last traded at $2.77 and expire Oct. 20.

Portfolio Update

Stock Sale

With Amphenol Corp (APH) now favored by only five Alpha Algorithm strategies, sell your holding for a modest 5.65% gain.

Option Sale

With the U.S. stock market now technically overbought, I am recommending that you book some solid option gains before an inevitable pullback.

Sell your remaining UnitedHealthcare Group (UNH) September $180 calls for a 47.09% gain.

Sell half of your Amazon.com (AMZN) September $1,000 calls for a 49.77% gain.

Sell half of your Apple, Inc. (AAPL) September $145 calls for a 77.22% gain.

Sell your remaining PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) October $52.50 calls for an 83.66% gain.

Stop Adjustment

Raise your stop in The Boeing Company (BA) to $224.95 to lock in at least a 20% gain.

Raise your stop in The Priceline Group (PCLN) to $1942.50 to lock in at least a 10% gain.

Raise your stop in Citigroup (C) to $65.75 to lock in at least a 10% gain.

Sincerely,

Nicholas A. Vardy