TOP 5 STOCKS TO WATCH THIS WEEK | AUGUST 2026
In a Nutshell
Markets face near-term pressure from Middle East de-escalation (oil prices dropping), South Korean leveraged-trader volatility, and the yen carry-trade unwind, but the tape is recovering as fear catalysts fade. Earnings this week from Palantir, AMD, Shopify, Uber, Disney, and others will be decisive; AMD is flagged as the highest-risk name because it trades 157× earnings with $476 price targets averaging only $374. Traders are warned to avoid margin/leverage and to treat any post-earnings gaps as day-trade opportunities only, not swing trades.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Happy Sunday. It's Ricky with TechBud Solutions. This week featured a potential ceasefire announcement and deal in the works according to Trump, causing oil prices to sell off immediately. President Trump cancels U.S. strikes on Iran and says the deal is new. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical channel where oil passes through, so any Middle East escalations create concerns that oil prices will be affected. Escalations cause oil prices to rise, while de-escalations and called-off strikes cause oil prices to retrace. The pattern shows attacks on Friday followed by peace deals on Sunday night before markets open.
The South Korean market got halted for five minutes. KOSPI has been driving chip stocks down negatively due to over-leveraged traders in South Korea. The market experienced a huge gap down after a strong recovery on Thursday with a minor correction on Friday.
Companies reporting earnings this week include:
- Palantir reports earnings after market close on Monday
- AMD reports earnings after market close on Tuesday
- SpaceX reports earnings after market close on Tuesday
- Shopify reports earnings before market open on Wednesday
- Uber reports earnings before market open on Wednesday
- Disney reports earnings before market open on Wednesday
- SanDisk reports earnings after market close on Wednesday
- Western Digital reports earnings after market close on Wednesday
- DraftKings reports earnings on Thursday
- Airbnb reports earnings on Thursday
- D-Wave reports earnings on Thursday
- OGLO reports earnings before market open on Friday
The NASDAQ market showed a beautiful gap up and is beginning to recover. On the five-minute timeframe, markets are back at the same levels as Thursday after market hours, if not higher. The bull run continuation depends on whether these areas of opportunity can stop driving fear in the market. The South Korean market, Japanese market with the falling yen, and Middle East tensions have been the biggest influences on chip stocks and tech stocks.
Markets retraced on Friday due to developments in the Japanese market, and markets were aggressively selling off all last week until Thursday because of the South Korean market. Traders must understand the drivers of catalysts - negative influences where fear originates, and positive influences where things are not getting worse. Markets don't begin to recover when things are getting better; they begin to recover when things are not getting worse. During the pandemic, markets recovered when there were fewer cases, not when cases were eliminated. With tariffs, markets recovered when there weren't new tariffs, not when tariffs disappeared entirely.
Do not turn a day trade into a swing trade because it didn't go according to plan. Be aware of larger timeframes and shorter timeframes, and be aware of your intentions. The goal is not for viewers to agree with everything said - individuals should see value in different ways.
AndyMac15 shared concerns about AMD: short AMD due to supply constraints and too-high expectations. Earnings will be great, but the stock presents risks. AMD was purchased as a long-term investment below $200 per share. Current fair value based on 47 analyst targets shows an average price target of $374 with a market range of $476, suggesting 23% downside from the current $476 price. AMD trades at 157 times earnings with a market cap of $776 billion while generating $5 billion in net income.
Meta trades at 20 times earnings with $228 billion in revenue and $68 billion in net income. The concern with Meta is potential over-investment in AI spend and CapEx that might not pay off. AMD took a significant part of the recent AI boom with growing revenue, but the price has outpaced the valuation. The company must deliver perfect earnings with no room for disappointment. The bear case shows Nvidia retaining 90% market share in AI GPU infrastructures, rising ARM-based CPU competition for custom silicon, and hyperscalers posing structural threats to AMD server CPU share ambitions.
AMD grew too quickly in valuation within a short period. The stock is overbought with significant downside risk due to the premium valuation. Earnings per share expectations for August 4th are $1.61 with revenue of $11.29 billion. Out of the nine most recent earnings reports, the most recent showed a 23% rally during the AI boom hype, but AI-focused companies have been dropping after earnings recently.
SK Hynix recently IPO'd in the U.S. but is an established company in South Korea. The company plays a huge role in the South Korean market volatility. SK Hynix trades at a 7.2x multiple with $104 billion in net income and attractive margins. The concern stems from South Korean market volatility, making the stock less attractive despite the low P ratio. The recommendation is to build more conviction by understanding why things are bad in South Korea, as this will be a direct catalyst for the stock's movement.
Micron trades at an 18x multiple with a U.S. facility in Arizona. It shows more stability than other chip stocks while being incredibly volatile. Micron's valuation was never fully too expensive even during price growth. The position is managed with some exposure but not excessive amounts.
Traders were betting on 3x leverage SK Hynix ETFs with margin loans. Leopold's $40 billion fund faced a margin call. Most traders will make the mistake of getting too confident too early, adding too much size, and thinking they're invincible, only to give back earnings from one bad trade. Stay away from leverage, especially when volatility is against you.
Rotation away from memory could leave these names down 90% or more. Micron and memory chip companies are sold out for the next two to three years and cannot keep up with demand. While demand for memory has been cyclical, current demand has never been this high, prompting infrastructure building beyond current capacity. The concern remains that these companies blew up too quickly in too short a period, though the situation seems different this time.
Circle pops up on earnings this week and ran after most earnings in the past. The stock is near lows and had a decent year. On the four-hour timeframe, the chart is incredibly bearish. Fundamentally, Circle has a negative 1,000 P ratio and loses $79 million. The stock has declined 63% in the past year and 20% year-to-date. Technical indicators signal strong sell. The company is not profitable with revenue misses. Reserve income is highly sensitive to interest rates, which is a major concern. USDC circulation was roughly flat. The past two earnings showed positive market reactions, but the two prior were negative.
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