AlphaScala Daily: NKE cluster buy, TROW tops the model

Good morning.

Crypto is bleeding a bit into the open, with ETH down 1.7% to $1,833 and BTC off 1% near $63,181, while gold holds steady at $3,985. On the tape, four Nike insiders bought a net $2.17M over the past 30 days, and ten TSM insiders picked up shares, though that cluster nets just $45K. T. Rowe Price sits atop the model at 81, with BNY Mellon and Kinross Gold both at 79. And Rick Larsen was busy: a sale in ABT, purchases in APH and McKesson. Let's dive in.

Markets

• GBP/USD 1.34 ▼ -0.34% (GBP)
• XAU/USD 3,985.25 ▲ +0.21% (Gold)
• ETH/USD 1,833.28 ▼ -1.69% (ETH)
• BTC/USD 63,181.21 ▼ -1.02% (BTC)

Deal Flow

M&A

• SBI Holdings Takes Majority Stake in Singapore Crypto Exchange Coinhako (Blockonomi) SBI Holdings acquired a majority stake in Coinhako, a MAS-licensed crypto exchange, to bolster its Singapore hub, accelerate stablecoin and cross-border trading.
• Bybit Buys NOBI to Tap Indonesia's 21 Million Crypto Users (The Currency Analytics) Bybit acquires local exchange NOBI for a foothold in Indonesia's fast-growing crypto market. Integration risks, regulatory unknowns, and user trust hang in the balance.
• Bybit Buys NOBI Majority Stake, Launches Regulated Indonesia Exchange (Coingape) Bybit acquires majority stake in Indonesian crypto exchange NOBI and launches Bybit Indonesia, a locally regulated platform under OJK supervision, tapping 22.4 million registered…

IPOs / Listings

• Saudi IPO Pipeline Set for H2 2026 Pickup, BSF Capital Says (Argaam) BSF Capital's Amir Riad sees a strong pipeline of listing-ready companies driving a pickup in Saudi IPO activity by H2 2026, after a slower period on Tadawul.

Funding Rounds

• SiftMed Raises $5M to Speed Medical Claim Reviews With AI (Betakit) The St. John's startup closed a $5M seed round led by Staircase Ventures. Revenue is doubling every six months, and the company plans a Series A within 18 months.

Restructuring

• Dutch Crypto Platform Knaken Bankrupt on €7M Customer Shortfall (Cryip) A Rotterdam court declared Knaken bankrupt after prosecutors said €7 million in customer funds cannot be accounted for. The ruling covers two entities.
• Knaken Bankruptcy Leaves 30,000 Users, €7 Million Missing (Blockonomi) A Rotterdam court declared Knaken bankrupt after finding a €7 million shortfall in customer funds. About 30,000 users lost access as regulators investigate the exchange's collapse.
• Keyrock buys BlockFills assets for $3.25M in derivatives push (Crypto news) Keyrock paid $3.25M for BlockFills' institutional crypto trading assets in a bankruptcy sale, adding derivatives staff and regulatory reach as institutional demand for options…

Headline Roundup

Earnings

• Raymond James Gets Buy Rating After Earnings Preview, Investor Day (SA) Raymond James upgraded to Buy after a Seeking Alpha analyst cites below-consensus Q3 and long-term targets. Alpha Score 39/100, Mixed.
• Getinge Q2: Adjusted EPS Jumps 60% on Margin Gains (SA) Getinge AB reported Q2 adjusted EPS up 60% to SEK 5.20, revenue up 12% to SEK 8.2B, and margins widening to 16.2%. All three divisions grew.

Macro

• How the Mobile Phone Became a Productive Asset for the World's Poor (Marginalrevolution) The mobile phone reached the global majority faster than any prior technology. Iqbal Quadir's Grameenphone model turned phones into income-generating assets, reshaping telecom…

Stocks

• Ukraine's Ground Robots and Interceptor Drones Reshape Battlefield (BI) Ukraine says forces kill Russian troops faster than Moscow can replace them. New robots aim to sustain that ratio, pulling soldiers from deadly front lines.
• Mark Cuban Wants Tax Breaks for Companies That Give Stock to All Workers (BI) Mark Cuban proposes using the corporate tax rate to nudge companies into giving stock to all employees, from CEO to janitor, citing widening pay gaps.
• Lidl survey: one in five kids miscount five-a-day (Retailtimes) Lidl’s survey shows 20% of children miscount five-a-day. The chain partners with OnSide to run free summer cooking clubs in five UK cities.
• Aon Expands Bobko's Role in Political Risk and Crisis Strategy (Reinsurancene) Aon named Vlad Bobko global head of strategy for political risk and crisis management, combining his regional CEO role with a global mandate as geopolitical risks rise.
• Prompt Engineering Is the Self-Checkout of AI (Firmsconsulting) Prompt engineering is shadow work for the mind. The measure of good AI is not how well you can talk to it. It is how little you have to.
• Enterprise AI Will Be Defined By Trust (Forbes) IBM's Krishna says LLMs won't lead to AGI. Microsoft's Nadella says AI success is about workflow improvement. The sector readthrough: enterprise software vendors with governance…
• SABIC, Bahri Ship Record Chemicals Cargo to South Asia (Argaam) SABIC and Bahri delivered the largest chemicals cargo to South Asia, routing through the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. The shipment signals deeper Gulf petrochemical ties to Asian…
• Indigenous AI Builders Embed Data Sovereignty Into Platforms (Betakit) At Mila's Indigenous AI Gathering, developers presented tools that run locally, with no data leaving the community. 'Our community's data is already on this pathway,' said Krystal…

Crypto

• Why $7.3 Trillion in Institutional Capital Is Avoiding Crypto Right Now (Blockonomi) Liquidity analyst Sarosh says $7.3 trillion in institutional capital is parked outside crypto due to policy uncertainty and stable Treasury yields. Bitcoin ETF flows show…
• Florida Victim Gets $710K Back in Record Crypto-Fraud Refund (Cryptopolitan) A Jacksonville man got back $710,000 after falling for a fake product-review scheme. Florida's attorney general called it the state's largest crypto-fraud reimbursement, but most…
• Semiconductor selloff drags Bitcoin below $63,000 as equity futures sink (Crypto Briefing) Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 1.91% as Samsung and SK Hynix disappointments triggered a $2T chip rout. Bitcoin fell below $63k, Ether and HYPE declined. The selloff reflects broad…
• Datavault AI Falls 5.6% After $1B Edge AI Tokenization Plan (Blockonomi) Datavault AI fell 5.6% after unveiling a $1B tokenization plan for Available Infrastructure's Project Qestrel edge network. The $QEST token will grant GPU access across 1,000…
• SBI Holdings takes majority stake in Singapore crypto platform Coinhako (Crypto Briefing) SBI Holdings is buying a majority stake in Coinhako, a Singapore crypto platform with 400,000 users. The deal, subject to regulatory approval, expands SBI's Asian crypto footprint.
• Airbnb CEO: Hacker Used My X Account to Push Tokenization (Benzinga) Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said his X account was hacked and used to promote real-world asset tokenization. He thanked the hacker for new followers. The stock dipped 0.39%.
• Trump Immigration Order Could Boost Stablecoin Use (APED) Tighter immigration rules may push underbanked users toward stablecoins. The shift could invite faster regulatory enforcement.
• Xi Jinping pushes AI cooperation, crypto off the agenda at China summit (Crypto Briefing) Xi Jinping's first in-person WAIC appearance stressed inclusive AI, but crypto was absent. China's 5,000 training slots may shape global AI governance, with implications for…

Forex / Commodities

• Fed Beige Book: Economy Growing, Inflation Easing, Tariff Risks Linger (Economictimes) The Fed's Beige Book showed seven districts reporting growth and cooling labor markets. Contacts flagged fuel costs and tariff uncertainty as risks ahead of the May rate decision.
• Oil Rises Above $81, Tech Rout Spreads Across Markets (Forex Live) European stocks fall after tech rout in Asia; WTI crude tops $81 on Iran conflict; dollar mixed, gold rises to $3,992. S&P 500 futures down 0.8%.
• Ridgepost Capital to Report Q2 2026 Results on Aug. 5 (Manilatimes) Ridgepost Capital will release Q2 2026 results before the Aug. 5 market open, followed by an 8 a.m. ET conference call. The private markets firm has $45B AUM.
• Dollar Reverses Two-Day Slide on Fed Hawkishness, Safe-Haven Demand (Action Forex) The dollar reversed a two-day slide on Thursday. Fed hawkishness, strong retail sales, and Middle East tensions support the greenback. USD/JPY heads to 170 by 2027, says Kshitij.
• CrossAmerica Partners Sets Q2 Earnings Call for Aug. 5 (Manilatimes) CrossAmerica Partners will report Q2 results after the market close on Aug. 5, with a management conference call at 9 a.m. Eastern the next day. The fuel distributor serves 1,500…
• AM Markets Need to Know: Meta's AI push, PayPal bid, and more (SP500:) (SA) Chip stocks slide on export control fears. Meta hires AI researchers, PayPal talks bid, Burry buys Hong Kong, oil pipeline rules tighten, visa extended. Futures down 0.3%.
• Rupee logs sharpest weekly drop since May as oil surge stings (The Economic Times) The rupee closed at 96.28, its steepest weekly fall in three months, as a jump in crude prices widened India's trade deficit and pressured the currency.
• Why gold loans are India's fastest credit segment (BL) Gold-loan originations rose 37% year-on-year in the June quarter, outstripping home and auto loans, TransUnion CIBIL data shows.

Smart Money

• Rick Larsen (D-WA): SALE ABT
• Rick Larsen (D-WA): PURCHASE APH
• Rick Larsen (D-WA): PURCHASE MCK
• Rick Larsen (D-WA): SALE SPGI
• Insider cluster: TSM: 10 insiders bought in last 30 days, net $45K (90d)
• Insider cluster: NKE: 4 insiders bought in last 30 days, net $2.17M (90d)
• Insider cluster: SPG: 3 insiders bought in last 30 days, net $139K (90d)

On the Radar

• Alpha Score top: TROW (T. Rowe Price Group Inc.), Alpha Score 81/100, top of AlphaScala model. Alpha Score of 81 reflects strong overall profile with strong momentum, strong value, strong quality, strong sentiment.
• Alpha Score top: BK (Bank of New York Mellon Corporation), Alpha Score 79/100, top of AlphaScala model. Alpha Score of 79 reflects strong overall profile with strong momentum, moderate value, moderate quality, strong sentiment.
• Alpha Score top: KGC (KINROSS GOLD CORP), Alpha Score 79/100, top of AlphaScala model. Alpha Score of 79 reflects strong overall profile with strong momentum, strong value, strong quality, moderate sentiment.
• Alpha Score bottom: BJGPY (Beijing Geekplus Technology Co., Ltd./ADR), Alpha Score 0/100, bottom of AlphaScala model
• Alpha Score bottom: BRAI (Braiin Ltd), Alpha Score 0/100, bottom of AlphaScala model
• COT extreme: New Zealand Dollar (NZD): hedge funds net short 65,189 contracts, 57.4% of open interest
• COT extreme: Canadian Dollar (CAD): hedge funds net short 173,126 contracts, 47.6% of open interest
• COT extreme: Mexican Peso (MXN): hedge funds net long 77,357 contracts, 38.9% of open interest

This Week's Briefings

• Sp500: SPY adds 0.48% as AI spending and margin fears collide; JNJ draws Doggett buy
• Nasdaq: QQQ gains 0.37% as NVDA rallies 4%; AI capex boom meets margin anxiety
• Bitcoin: Bitcoin adds 3.7% to $62.4K, tracking gold as CLARITY Act slips past July 4 target
• Crypto: BTC slides 4% alongside gold as QQQ dips just 0.45%; LAB short-squeeze jumps 28%
• Oil: Iran missile strike shoots Brent above $92; Strait of Hormuz risk returns

Back Monday before the bell.