AlphaScala Weekly: QQQ slips 1.9%, small caps buck the tape

Good morning,

Tech led the week lower, with QQQ down 1.94% to 704.39 and SPY off 0.86% to 759.85, while small caps went the other way: IWM rose 1.64% to 275.72 and the Dow eked out a 0.48% gain. The insider tape ran hot, with eight H.B. Fuller (FUL) insiders buying and a $51.5M cluster at PAM over 90 days. Flywire (FLYW) topped the AlphaScala model at 85, with Newmont (NEM) and Hudbay (HBM) both at 80. Here's what moved.

The Week That Was

The week split along market cap. QQQ fell 1.94% and SPY slipped 0.86%, while IWM climbed 1.64% and DIA added 0.48%, a rotation that favored smaller names over the mega-cap complex. The spread between the Nasdaq proxy and the Russell proxy ran wider than three points on the week.

Insiders kept buying. H.B. Fuller (FUL) drew eight buyers over 30 days for a net $553K, and a Senior VP added $25,000 to the cluster. Six Rapport Therapeutics (RAPP) insiders put in $1.66M, though the 90-day net stayed negative at -$5.35M. Pampa Energia (PAM) logged the heaviest cluster by dollar value at $51.5M across three insiders.

The AlphaScala model leaned toward gold and financials. Flywire (FLYW) held the top score at 85, with miners Newmont (NEM) and Hudbay (HBM) both at 80 and T. Rowe Price (TROW) at 79. On the political tape, Dave Taylor disclosed purchases of Fifth Third (FITB) and AT&T (T) alongside a sale of Procter & Gamble (PG).

Markets this week

Indices

• QQQ 704.39 ▼ -1.94% from 718.36
• IWM 275.72 ▲ +1.64% from 271.28
• SPY 759.85 ▼ -0.86% from 766.48
• DIA 521.40 ▲ +0.48% from 518.92

Headline Roundup

Stocks

• Six Rapport Therapeutics Insiders Buy $1.66 Million of Stock (SEC Form 4) Director Steven Paul bought 35,714 shares for about $974,000 in a six-insider cluster at Rapport; no open-market purchases were filed July 23 to Oct. 21.
• Nippon Life Adds $24.4 Million of Corebridge Stock Under 10b5-1 (SEC Form 4) Nippon Life Insurance bought 702,576 Corebridge shares in three Form 4s, all under Rule 10b5-1 plans, in trades priced from $34.25 to $35.34 a share.
• H.B. Fuller Senior VP Buys $25,000, Joining Insider Cluster (SEC Form 4) Muhammad Shahbaz Malik bought 478.6594 shares at $52.2292 on Oct. 16, one of eight insiders in a cluster worth about $1.12 million since Sept. 28.

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Smart Money

• Michael Rulli (R-OH): SALE GOOG
• Michael Rulli (R-OH): SALE WSBC
• Dave Taylor (R-OH): SALE PG
• Dave Taylor (R-OH): PURCHASE FITB
• Dave Taylor (R-OH): PURCHASE T
• Dave Taylor (R-OH): PURCHASE RPM
• Insider cluster: FUL: 8 insiders bought in last 30 days, net $553K (90d)
• Insider cluster: RAPP: 6 insiders bought in last 30 days, net -$5.35M (90d)
• Insider cluster: DX: 3 insiders bought in last 30 days, net $295K (90d)
• Insider cluster: PAM: 3 insiders bought in last 30 days, net $51.51M (90d)
• Top insider buying: RSG: insiders net +$1.38B bought (90d), 1 distinct buyer
• Top insider buying: LEN: insiders net +$595.29M bought (90d), 1 distinct buyer
• Top insider buying: GPI: insiders net +$187.26M bought (90d), 1 distinct buyer

On the Radar

• Alpha Score top: FLYW (Flywire Corp), Alpha Score 85/100, top of AlphaScala model. Alpha Score of 85 reflects strong overall profile with strong momentum, strong value, moderate quality, strong sentiment.
• Alpha Score top: NEM (Newmont Corporation), Alpha Score 80/100, top of AlphaScala model. Alpha Score of 80 reflects strong overall profile with strong momentum, strong value, strong quality, moderate sentiment.
• Alpha Score top: HBM (Hudbay Minerals Inc.), Alpha Score 80/100, top of AlphaScala model. Alpha Score of 80 reflects strong overall profile with strong momentum, strong value, moderate quality, moderate sentiment.
• Alpha Score top: TROW (T. Rowe Price Group Inc.), Alpha Score 79/100, top of AlphaScala model. Alpha Score of 79 reflects strong overall profile with moderate momentum, strong value, strong quality, strong sentiment.
• COT extreme: New Zealand Dollar (NZD): large speculators net short 58,149 contracts, 44.2% of open interest
• COT extreme: Australian Dollar (AUD): large speculators net short 127,292 contracts, 38.2% of open interest
• COT extreme: British Pound (GBP): large speculators net short 80,420 contracts, 31.7% of open interest

Back tomorrow before the bell.