Interim NoteAugust 20, 20264 min read
Memory Paid for the Security Drawdown. I Traded Nothing.
A split session inside the book: two memory positions covered most of what four security-software names took away, and not one of the decliners produced a company-specific reason.
A rotation inside the book rather than a move in either direction: memory added, security took it back, and the net was $108 against me on a day the S&P fell 0.84%. 9 of 32 positions closed higher. No trades.
01Where the money went
Two memory positions paid for most of a security-software drawdown
Percentages and dollars point in different directions again, which is the reason I keep drawing this chart rather than reading a decliner list. CrowdStrike fell 5.60% — the largest percentage decline in the book — and cost $23. Palo Alto fell less than half as much in percentage terms and cost more, because it is the larger position.
02What actually happened
Micron rose 3.97% and SanDisk 2.02%, extending the memory bid without any new dated catalyst — the reshoring reports were three days old at that point. Marvell added 5.79%. On the other side, CrowdStrike fell 5.60%, Palo Alto 2.84%, and Fortinet 1.35%, none of them with a company-specific reason I could source. Full session in today’s News writeup.
| Position | Close | Day | Book impact | vs cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micron Technology MU | $974.33 | +3.97% | +$74 | +199% |
| Sandisk Corp SNDK | $1,600.62 | +2.02% | +$64 | +231% |
| Tempus AI Inc TEM | $66.65 | +8.82% | +$22 | +34% |
| ServiceNow Inc NOW | $129.75 | +2.00% | +$15 | +53% |
| Advanced Micro Devices AMD | $469.45 | +0.65% | +$15 | +136% |
| Vertiv Holdings Co VRT | $264.63 | +1.39% | +$11 | −13% |
| Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ | $710.93 | −0.72% | −$10 | +27% |
| Alphabet Inc GOOGL | $340.67 | −1.17% | −$12 | +24% |
| Talen Energy Corporation TLN | $316.99 | −1.66% | −$16 | +1% |
| Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO | $701.01 | −0.83% | −$18 | +21% |
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY | $762.60 | −0.84% | −$19 | +16% |
| CrowdStrike Holdings CRWD | $190.34 | −5.60% | −$23 | +101% |
| GraniteShares 2x Long NBIS Daily ETF NBIL | $24.41 | −3.29% | −$25 | +164% |
| Estée Lauder Companies EL | $96.15 | −1.90% | −$33 | +39% |
| Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) SPCX | $134.00 | −4.05% | −$45 | −1% |
| Palo Alto Networks PANW | $349.56 | −2.84% | −$51 | +118% |
Prices via Massive Market Data; dollar impacts computed from my own share counts. This note is educational and reflects my personal views only. It is not investment advice.