The Alpha Algorithm Ups Its Bet on the Booming Tech Sector

The tech sector is booming in the U.S. market.

The top five performers in your Alpha Algorithm portfolio are all tech stocks and each are up anywhere between 19.85% and 31.7%. This week’s Alpha Algorithm ups that bet with Silicon Valley’s Lam Research Corporation (LRCX).

Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Fremont, California, Lam Research Corporation designs, manufactures, markets and services semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits.

Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) versus the S&P 500 over six months.

Eight Top Investment Strategies Betting on Lam Research Corp (LRCX)

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Large-Cap Alpha Growth

The company is 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.

4. 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.

5. Large-Cap Alpha Core

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

6. 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.

7. IBD Top Fifty

The company 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.

8. Knowledge Leaders

The stock benefits from the “knowledge effect” — the tendency of innovative companies to outperform, and is selected by adjusting historical financial statements to obtain its level of “knowledge capital.”

Recommendation

Buy Lam Research Corp (LRCX) at market today. Place your initial stop at $150.00.

Options

If you want to play the options, I recommend the LRCX September $160 calls (LRCX170915C00160000), which last traded at $10.20 and expire on Sept. 15.

Portfolio Update

Raising Stops

Raise your stop in United Health Group Inc. (UNH) to $176.70 to lock in a 10% gain.

Raise your stop in Facebook (FB) to $149.50 to preserve at least a 10% gain.

Raise your stop in Microsoft (MSFT) to $71.50 to protect a gain of at least 10%.

Raise your stop in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) to $77.80 to lock in at least a 10% gain.

Raise your stop in Comcast (CMCSA) to $41.50 to secure at least a 10% gain.

Raise your stop in Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) to $32.15 to lock in at least a 10% gain.

Sincerely,

Nicholas A. Vardy