Daily Equity & Market Analysis
Published: Aug 29, 2025
This content is for informational purposes only. This should not be construed as solicitation. The general public should consult their financial advisor for additional information related to investment decisions.

Daily Summary

A Look into a List of "RS Aristocrats"

34 stocks have sat on an RS Buy signal against SPXEWI for over 10 years. Today we look at that list

Q2 2025 Technical Earnings Review

With a majority of the S&P 500 (SPX) companies having released their 2025 Q2 earnings report, today we wanted to review how stocks behaved based on their technical rating.

Market Distribution Table

The curve has an average reading of 43.90%.

Weekly Video

Weekly Rundown Video – Aug 27, 2025

Weekly rundown with NDW analyst team covering all major asset classes.

Weekly rundown with NDW analyst team covering all major asset classes.

NDW Will be in the Tampa area in September! Join Jay Gragnani, Head of National Accounts and Senior Market Strategist, and Senior Research Analyst Joseph Tuzzolo to discuss a market update on September 17th. Spots are limited, so act fast. Learn more below:

Tampa Info

St. Pete Info


There are 240 stocks in the S&P 500 that trade on Market Relative Strength (RS) buy signals… but not all of them are created equal. For the uninitiated, a stock being on a market RS buy signal is a desirable trait. In plain English, this just means that a stock has done relatively well against our benchmark (SPXEWI) and earns technical favor. The RS signal is one of the five technical attributes available for stocks at any point in time, and is perhaps the “favorite” technical attribute of many Dorsey Wright analysts. For this reason, we will take today’s report to look at some “RS Aristocrats”… stocks that have been on market RS buy signals for over 10 years.

If you have been reading the report for a while, you may be familiar with our previous RS king, Danaher (DHR). Before returning to a sell signal in early 2023, it had sat on a buy signal against SPXEWI since June of 1993, a nearly 30 year streak. Today, no stock is particularly close to the three-decade mark, but there are still a list of 34 names that have earned market RS buy signals for over ten years. W.R Berkley (WRB) is our current leader (technical commentary later on…) having sat on a buy signal since July of 2000. The table below details the current “RS Aristocrats,” including their signal date and comparative outperformance over that timeframe. All but one (HON) boast somewhat impressive relative numbers, with the “average” outperformance sitting just over 3,100% (median 792%). It is worth noting that a stock’s signal against the market isn’t the only thing that matters in our analysis… a stock (like Honeywell) can sit on a buy signal but lack in other technical facets, hence its 2/5 overall score. Point being, stocks on market buy signals can certainly still underperform over extended periods of time.

As you would expect from the current “RS King”, WRB maintains quite a strong technical picture at the time of this writing. The stock is a 4/5’er, having advanced just over 21% so far this year. It remains on a PnF buy signal, and while it has consolidated around all-time highs established earlier this year, has localized support just below current levels. It sits just outside the top-20 within the overall sector matrix, and remains a strong option within an insurance group which has been a technical leader so far in 2025.

Remember, buying market RS buy signals isn’t going to be a foolproof plan… but it will give you a general idea of which stocks have proved to investors that they are strong names. Remember to set alerts on names you are watching using the alarm clock button in the top left of any PnF chart.

 

With a majority of the S&P 500 (SPX) companies having released their 2025 Q2 earnings report, today we wanted to review how stocks behaved based on their technical rating. For instance, did stocks with a high technical attribute (TA) rating beat fundamental analyst estimates more frequently than low TA stocks? Did high TA stocks behave better on their earnings date compared to low TA stocks? Were there more technical upgrades in certain sectors compared to others?

Before answering these questions, we should first give a brief overview of our ratings for those unfamiliar. Note that we will often use the terms technical attribute, attribute, and rating interchangeably. If you are a veteran, go ahead and skip to the “High Attributes vs Low Attributes on Estimates” section.

For those still reading, every stock on our system is assigned a rating that ranges from 0 to 5. Stocks with an attribute of 2 or below are considered technically weak and consequently, carry a sell rating. Stocks with a 3 rating are considered a hold, and those with a 4 or 5 attribute are given buy and strong buy ratings, respectively. Our studies show that high rated stocks, which carry a 3 technical attribute or better, have historically outperformed stocks with low technical attribute ratings. Academics attribute this success to the momentum factor. It is a weird phenomenon, but it is as simple as stocks that have gone up the most in the past tend to keep going up the most in the future.

By no means did we discover momentum — we merely provide an objective and quantifiable means to access the factor via our technical attributes. These ratings were not built with the intention of chasing near-term alpha nor should they be heavily relied upon for short-term trading; however, closely rated stocks tend to behave similarly in certain seasons — one of them being earnings season.

High Attributes vs Low Attributes on Estimates

More stocks rated as a hold, buy, or strong buy (high technical attribute, 3+) heading into this earnings season beat fundamental analyst expectations compared to stocks rated as a sell (weak technical attribute, 2 or lower). In fact, 82% of high technical attribute stocks beat top line mean fundamental analyst estimates sourced by FactSet and 86% beat bottom line estimates. Conversely, just 78% of low attribute stocks beat top line estimates and 76% beat bottom line estimates.

The overall percentages/trends for the Q2 2025 earnings season were notably higher than last quarter’s metrics. As usual, more firms beat bottom line than top line across the board. There are a few hypotheses that could explain why beat rates are better for the bottom line compared to the top line, along with improved percentages for both high and low technical attribute names. Companies have numerous opportunities to manage their earnings per share via revenue recognition practices, depreciation/amortization decisions, funded statuses for pensions, changes in allowances/provisions for payments, etc. Additionally, many companies have been rather loud about taking a cautious approach to earnings forecasts, suggesting the hurdle rates may have been lower as firms have baked in tariff uncertainly and other global concerns. In quite a few cases, trade deals with various countries and trade unions alleviated some concerns that may have been higher earlier this year.

A technical explanation as to why beat rates could be better for high attribute stocks compared to low attributes relates to market efficiency. The U.S. large cap equity market is arguably efficient, meaning that relevant information is vastly known and quickly factored into price action. Carrying that idea forward, people want to invest in companies with strong future earnings potential, which means increased demand for the issuer stock, which drives up prices and makes for a high technical rating on our system. As mentioned, tampered expectations for Q2 earnings likely played a big role in the notable percentage increase quarter over quarter.

Technical Upgrades and Downgrades

Earnings season still brings surprises, often in the form of big share price reactions. After a large share price reaction, our technical attribute ratings can adjust — we call these changes in rating technical upgrades and technical downgrades. By our definition, a technical upgrade is when a stock gains an attribute — so a 1-rated stock moving up to a 2 would classify, just as a 4-attribute stock moving up to a 5 would classify. A technical downgrade is the opposite, so it counts whenever a stock loses an attribute rating.

It is important to recognize that just because a stock received a technical upgrade, it is not instantly a high attribute stock worth buying. Recall that a stock that was a 0 and became a 1 is classified as a technical upgrade. Also, note that the chart below does not show maintained ratings. So, a 5 attribute stock that had a positive earnings surprise is nowhere to be seen, just like a 0 attribute stock that may have experienced further downside. Nonetheless, interesting trends emerged. We pulled data as of this past Wednesday (August 28th, 2025).

Sector Highlights:

  • An intriguing trend this quarter is a larger percentage of technical downgrades; meaning that stock prices fell to the extent of dropping in technical attribute rating following earnings. Suggesting that while companies may have tampered expectations as far as what earnings reported, investors may have anticipated more in cases, or a message may not be perceived as positively as initially thought. While there may be other potential reasons, falling prices leading to a drop in technical attribute rating was a notable change within sectors quarter over quarter.
  • Seven out of eleven sectors - nine out of eleven if considering ties – saw more technical downgrades than upgrades. Sectors with a high number of technical downgrades include Healthcare, Technology, and Materials. Notable examples within each sector are Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), each falling 2 technical attributes, along with Fortinet (FTNT) and CF Industries (CF), both dropping 3 technical attributes following earnings.
  • The second quarter of 2025 saw Consumer Discretionary stocks improve in technical attributes following earnings, marking the only sector to see more technical upgrades versus downgrades. About 15% of Discretionary firms saw some sort of technical upgrade following their earnings, marking a double-digit increase for the sector quarter over quarter (6% in Q1 2025). After being a notable loser in recent quarters, Nike (NKE) saw an increase from a 2 to a 4 technical attribute rating following earnings.
  • Communication Services witnessed a notable change following Q2 earnings season as more stocks saw technical downgrades versus upgrades. This comes after the sector was the top dog in the study for technical upgrades in Q3 and Q4 2024. Charter Communications (CHTR) fell from a 4 to a 0 technical attribute rating after dropping 18% following earnings in July, making it the stock that witnessed the most technical deterioration among S&P 500 names this past earnings season.

Featured Charts:

Portfolio View - Major Market ETFs

 

Market Distribution Table The Distribution Report below places Major Market ETFs and Indices into a bell curve style table based upon their current location on their 10-week trading band.

The middle of the bell curve represents areas of the market that are "normally" distributed, with the far right being 100% overbought on a weekly distribution and the far left being 100% oversold on a weekly distribution.

The weekly distribution ranges are calculated at the end of each week, while the placement within that range will fluctuate during the week. In addition to information regarding the statistical distribution of these market indexes, a symbol that is in UPPER CASE indicates that the RS chart is on a Buy Signal. If the symbol is dark Green then the stock is on a Point & Figure buy signal, and if the symbol is bright Red then it is on a Point & Figure sell signal.

 

Average Level

43.90

< - -100 -100 - -80 -80 - -60 -60 - -40 -40 - -20 -20 - 0 0 - 20 20 - 40 40 - 60 60 - 80 80 - 100 100 - >
                       
                 
Buy signalshy
   
               
Buy signalefa
Buy signalhyg
   
               
Buy signalrsp
Buy signalijr
   
               
Buy signaleem
Buy signalVOOG
   
               
Buy signalIJH
Buy signalVOOV
   
               
Buy signallqd
Buy signalONEQ
   
           
Sell signalicf
 
Buy signalQQQ
Buy signaldvy
   
           
Buy signalgsg
 
Buy signaldia
Buy signaliwm
   
         
Sell signalUSO
Buy signalfxe
Buy signalgcc
Buy signalagg
Buy signalSPY
   
         
Sell signaldx/y
Sell signaltlt
Sell signalGLD
Buy signalief
Buy signalXLG
   
< - -100 -100 - -80 -80 - -60 -60 - -40 -40 - -20 -20 - 0 0 - 20 20 - 40 40 - 60 60 - 80 80 - 100 100 - >

 

AGG iShares US Core Bond ETF
USO United States Oil Fund
DIA SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF
DVY iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index ETF
DX/Y NYCE U.S.Dollar Index Spot
EFA iShares MSCI EAFE ETF
FXE Invesco CurrencyShares Euro Trust
GLD SPDR Gold Trust
GSG iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust
HYG iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF
ICF iShares Cohen & Steers Realty ETF
IEF iShares Barclays 7-10 Yr. Tres. Bond ETF
LQD iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corp. Bond ETF
IJH iShares S&P 400 MidCap Index Fund
ONEQ Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index Track
QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust
RSP Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF
IWM iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF
SHY iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Tres. Bond ETF
IJR iShares S&P 600 SmallCap Index Fund
SPY SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF Trust
TLT iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF
GCC WisdomTree Continuous Commodity Index Fund
VOOG Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF
VOOV Vanguard S&P 500 Value ETF
EEM iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF
XLG Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF
   

 

Long Ideas

Symbol Company Sector Current Price Action Price Target Stop Notes
DRI Darden Restaurants, Inc. Restaurants $206.71 hi 190s - mid 210s 262 178 5 TA rating, top 50% of REST sector matrix, LT RS buy, consec buy signals, buy-on-pullback, Earn. 9/18
BSX Boston Scientific Corporation Healthcare $105.75 99 - 108 133 91 5 for 5'er, top 25% of HEAL sector matrix, LT pos mkt RS, spread triple top
TSCO Tractor Supply Company Retailing $62.65 upper 50s 66 50 3 for 5'er, top half of favored RETA sector matrix, LT pos mkt RS, buy on pullback
HLT Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc Leisure $276.30 260s - low 280s 364 216 5 TA rating, top 50% of LEIS sector matrix, LT RS buy, LT pos trend, consec buy signals, buy on pullback.
RPM RPM, Inc. Chemicals $125.48 110 - 120 150 99 5 for 5'er, top half of favored CHEM sector matrix, LT pos mkt RS, bullish catapult, pos trend flip, 1.7% yield
AMZN Amazon.com Inc. Retailing $231.60 200s - low 210s 240 178 4 for 5'er, top half of favored RETA sector matrix, LT pos peer & mkt RS, buy on pullback
SCHW The Charles Schwab Corporation Wall Street $97.09 lo-hi 90s 120 76 5 TA rating, top 20% of WALL sector matrix, LT peer RS buy, consec buy signals, buy-on-pullback
AXP American Express Company Finance $326.99 288-lo 310s 424 236 5 TA rating, top 20% of FINA sector matrix, LT RS buy, LT pos trend, consec buy signals, buy on pullback
PEG Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. Utilities/Electricity $82.59 mid 80s 95 74 3 for 5'er, favored EUTI sector, spread quintuple top, buy on pullback, 2.9% yield
MS Morgan Stanley Wall Street $150.18 140s - lo 150s 186 122 5 TA rating, top 33% of WALL sector matrix, LT pos mkt RS, consec buy signals, recent breakout
PEGA Pegasystems Inc Software $53.61 low-to-mid 50s 79 42 5 for 5'er, top 20% of favored SOFT sector matrix, buy on pullback, R-R>2.0
FOXA Fox Corporation Class A Media $59.46 hi 50s - lo 60s 70 52 5 TA rating, LT pos trend, LT peer RS buy, shakeout completion, pos wkly mom
ICE IntercontinentalExchange Inc. Wall Street $177.14 mid 170s - mid 180s 228 152 5 for 5'er, top half of favored WALL sector matrix, LT pos peer & mkt RS, buy on pullback
ACT Enact Holdings Inc Finance $37.58 mid-to-hi 30s 48 31 5 for 5'er, top half of favored FINA sector matrix, spread quad top, 2.2% yield
LRCX Lam Research Corporation Semiconductors $104.09 95 - lo 100s 135 79 5 TA rating, top 25% of SEMI sector matrix, LT RS buy, buy-on-pulback
HAS Hasbro, Inc. Leisure $81.60 mid-to-hi 70s 96 64 4 for 5'er, top third of LEIS sector matrix, new RS buy signal, triple top, 3.44% yield
SNX TD SYNNEX Corporation Computers $149.57 140-lo 150s 181 118 5 TA rating, top 25% of COMP sector matrix, LT RS buy, consec buy signals, buy-on-pullback, Earn. 9/25
RCL Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Leisure $365.84 320s - 340s 424 296 5 for 5'er, #2 of 59 in LEIS sector matrix, LT pos mkt RS, bearish signal reversal, R-R~2.0
ETR Entergy Corporation Utilities/Electricity $88.13 mid-to-hi 80s 101 75 5 for 5'er, top 20% of EUTI sector matrix, triple top, buy on pullback, 2.7% yield
GIL Gildan Activewear Textiles/Apparel $54.92 low-hi $50s 80 43 5 TA rating, top 20% of TEXT sector matrix, LT RS buy, LT pos trend, pos wkly and monthly mom, buy on pullback
BROS Dutch Bros Inc. Class A Restaurants $74.24 hi 60s - mid 70s 97 61 4 for 5'er top 25% of REST sector matrix, spread quintuple top, pos trend flip, good R-R
EMR Emerson Electric Co. Machinery and Tools $134.55 hi 120s - lo 140s 175 114 5 TA rating, top 33% of MACH sector matrix, LT pos mkt RS, consec buy signals
EA Electronic Arts Inc. Leisure $170.99 160s - low 170s 218 140 3 for 5'er, top half of LEIS sector matrix, one box from RS buy, buy on pullback

Short Ideas

Symbol Company Sector Current Price Action Price Target Stop Notes

Follow-Up Comments

Comment
There are currently no follow-up comments.

NDW Spotlight Stock

 

EA Electronic Arts Inc. R ($172.11) - Leisure - EA is a 3 for 5'er that ranks in the top half of the leisure sector matrix and sits one box away from giving a market RS buy signal, which would elevate it to a 4 for 5'er. On its trend chart, EA has completed two consecutive buy signals and reached a new all-time high earlier this month. The stock has subsequently pulled back to prior resistance, offering an entry point for long exposure. Positions may be added in the $160s to low $170s and we will set our initial stop at $140, which would take out multiple levels of support on EA's chart and violate its trend line. We will use the bullish price objective, $218, as our target price.

 
    24                   25                                  
180.00                                                 X       180.00
178.00                                                 X O   Top 178.00
176.00                                                 X O     176.00
174.00                                                 X O     174.00
172.00                                                 X O     172.00
170.00                                               X O     170.00
168.00                     X                         X O     168.00
166.00                     X O                       X       166.00
164.00                     X O                       X       164.00
162.00                     X C                       X       162.00
160.00                     X O       X   7           X       160.00
158.00                     X O         X O X O X   X   X     Mid 158.00
156.00                     X O         X O X O X O X O X       156.00
154.00                     X O         X O X O X O X O X       154.00
152.00             X   X   B O         X O X O X O X 8         152.00
150.00             X O X O X O         X O X O X O X           150.00
148.00         X   X O X O X O         5 O 6 O   O             148.00
146.00         X O X 8   9 A O     X   X O X                   146.00
144.00     X   X O X     O X 1     X O X O X                   144.00
142.00 X   X O 7 O       O X O X   X O X O                   142.00
140.00 C O 2 O X         O   O X O X 4 X                     140.00
138.00 X O X O X           O X O X O X                     138.00
136.00 X 1 X 3 6           O 3 O   O X                   Bot 136.00
134.00 X O   O X           O X     O X                     134.00
132.00 X     O 5           O X     O                       132.00
130.00 X     O X           O X                             130.00
128.00 X     4 X           O X                             128.00
126.00 B     O             O 2                             126.00
124.00 X                 O X                             124.00
122.00 X                   O X                             122.00
120.00                     O X                             120.00
118.00                       O X                             118.00
116.00                       O                               116.00
    24                   25                                  

 

 

ADSK Autodesk, Inc. ($314.70) - Software - ADSK rose after the company's earnings release to break a double top at $312 before matching its 52-week high at $324. This 5 for 5'er moved to a positive trend in May and sits in the top half of the software sector RS matrix. The weight of the technical evidence is favorable and continues to improve. Initial support can be seen at $284 with further support at $280.
AXP American Express Company ($330.58) - Finance - AXP shares moved higher today to break a double top at $332 to mark its third consecutive buy signal and reach a new all-time high. This 5 for 5'er has been in a positive trend since November 2023 and on an RS buy signal versus the market since February 2022. AXP shares are trading in actionable territory with support offered from $284-292.
DVN Devon Energy Corporation ($36.07) - Oil - DVN gave a third consecutive buy signal and returned to a positive trend Friday when it broke a triple top at $36. The positive trend change will promote DVN to a still unfavorable 2 for 5 technical attribute rating. From here, overhead resistance sits at $37 while support can be found at $32.
FANG Diamondback Energy Inc ($148.37) - Oil - FANG returned to a buy signal and a positive trend Friday when it broke a double top at $150. The outlook for the stock remains negative as even with the positive trend change FANG is a 2 for 5'er and ranks in the bottom half of the oil sector matrix.

 

Daily Option Ideas for August 29, 2025

Calls
New Recommendations
Name Option Symbol Action Stop Loss
Bank of America - $50.78 O: 25L50.00D19 Buy the December 50.00 calls at 3.25 44.00
Follow Ups
Name Option Action
Phillips 66 ( PSX) Oct. 125.00 Calls Raise the option stop loss to 8.90 (CP: 10.90)
Bank of America ( BAC) Nov. 48.00 Calls Raise the option stop loss to 2.25 (CP: 4.25)
Uber Technologies, Inc. ( UBER) Nov. 90.00 Calls Stopped at 9.65 (CP: 9.00)
Broadcom Ltd ( AVGO) Nov. 300.00 Calls Stopped at 29.40 (CP: 23.65)
Puts
New Recommendations
Name Option Symbol Action Stop Loss
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. - $86.28 O: 25W87.50D21 Buy the November 87.50 puts at 5.40 93.00
Follow Up
Name Option Action
Baidu, Inc. (China) ADR ( BIDU) Oct. 85.00 Puts Stopped at 95.00 (CP: 95.86)
Covered Writes
New Recommendations
Name Option Sym. Call to Sell Call Price Investment for 500 Shares Annual Called Rtn. Annual Static Rtn. Downside Protection
Estee Lauder Companies $ 91.77 O: 25K95.00D21 Nov. 95.00 6.25 $ 43,224.85 38.37% 26.49% 5.75%
Still Recommended
Name Action
IonQ Inc. ( IONQ) - 43.30 Sell the October 42.00 Calls.
MARA Holdings Inc. ( MARA) - 15.96 Sell the December 18.00 Calls.
Robinhood Markets, Inc. Class A ( HOOD) - 103.69 Sell the November 110.00 Calls.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Series A ( WBD) - 12.06 Sell the November 12.00 Calls.
Micron Technology, Inc. ( MU) - 122.00 Sell the November 125.00 Calls.
Palantir Technologies Inc. Class A ( PLTR) - 158.12 Sell the October 165.00 Calls.
NIKE, Inc. ( NKE) - 77.92 Sell the December 80.00 Calls.
Carnival Corporation ( CCL) - 32.49 Sell the October 32.00 Calls.
Uber Technologies, Inc. ( UBER) - 95.96 Sell the November 97.50 Calls.
FTAI Aviation Ltd ( FTAI) - 155.39 Sell the October 150.00 Calls.
SoFi Technologies Inc. ( SOFI) - 26.04 Sell the November 27.00 Calls.
The Following Covered Write are no longer recommended
Name Covered Write
No Additions to This Section

 

Most Requested Symbols