Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Stocktwits Top 25 Newsletter for Week 13 in 2021.

The Stocktwits Top 25 reports the 25 best-performing stocks in the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 year to date (YTD), and tracks their performances over time. 

Here are your Stocktwits Top 25 Lists for Week 13:

ST Top 25 S&P 500

The ST Top 25 S&P 500 continued higher in Week 13. 19 names registered gains.

Marathon Oil Corp. moved 6.3% higher and distanced itself from Diamondback Energy. $MRO is up 78% YTD while $FANG is up 67%.

Applied Material ascended another 10% and closed at new-highs again. See more below.

Just 3 Freshmen appeared on the list. The names include; 

Discovery Inc, Hess Corporation, and General Motors.

The Stocktwits Top 25 S&P 500 Momentum Meter gained 2.11% while the S&P 500 rose 1.14%. The 0.97% differential indicates top stocks performed a tad better than the full index.

The Big Cap Nasdaq 100

The ST Top 25 N100 List is greener this week compared to Week 12. 20/25 names closed green.

$AMAT made the list’s biggest move just like it did on the S&P 500 List. The semiconductor company leads second-place Walgreens Boots Alliance by 26.7%.

Fox Corporation fell 4% and was the weakest name on the list. The media company was demoted 7 spots from #5 to #12. Read more below. 

$TCOM climbed 7.7%, $WDC increased 6%, and $LRCX leaped 9.4%.

NetEase was the list’s only Freshman.

The ST Top 25 Nasdaq 100 Momentum Meter moved 3.07% higher in Week 13 while the full Nasdaq 100 gained 2.7%. The 0.37% differential suggests the top stocks performed much similar to the full index.

Small-Cap Russell 2000

The ST Top 25 Russell 2000 had a change of momentum. Names near the top flopped, while fresh faces appeared near the bottom. 16/25 names closed lower.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt rose ~ 26% this week after selling its books and media business. $HMHC is the Top Dawg below.

Gritstone Oncology gave up 7.5% and fell 2 spots on the ST Top 25 R2K List. It’s a Sinner below. 

$FARM flew 21.7%, $PAVM popped 19.2%, and $GPRE gained 14.7%.

The list welcomed 8 Freshmen.

The ST Top 25 R2K Momentum Meter leaped 5.37% while the Russell 2000 index gained 1.46%. The 3.91% differential shows the top stocks were far stronger than the full index.

ST Top 25 TOP DAWG OF THE WEEK 🐶

The ST Top 25 Top Dawg for Week 19, 2021 is #18 R2K – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co.

Houghton Mifflin was huffin’ and puffin’ this week as the ST Top 25 R2K’s biggest gainer. The publishing company hopped 25.75% and closed at 1-year highs. $HMHC is a Freshman ranked 18th on the list.

Houghton Mifflin announced Monday that it will sell the Books & Media segment of its business to News Corp. $NWSA will acquire HMH Books & Media for $349 million in cash.

$HMHC closed up ~ 19% Monday following the announcement.  

Brian Murray, CEO of HarperCollins Publishers said: 

Combining HMH Books & Media’s strong catalog with HarperCollins’s global platform will allow for increased investment in HMH Books & Media’s trade programs and we expect faster growth of the combined companies at a time of rapid growth in book consumption. Joining HMH Books & Media’s media productions team and the HarperCollins Children’s global catalog will open up new animation and gaming opportunities as we look to accelerate the expansion of our IP across multiple formats.

$HMHC is up 126% YTD.

The Winners 📈

△ #2 S&P 500 – Diamondback Energy doubled its ranking this week after gaining 7.16%. The energy company is now ranked #2 on the ST Top 25 S&P 500 List trailing Marathon Oil Corp. by 9%.

$FANG flew 10.5% on Thursday as oil prices jumped following another surprise move from OPEC+. U.S. oil prices recaptured the $60-per-barrel level after OPEC+ suddenly agreed to increase production in May.

Here’s the daily chart:

$FANG is up 68% YTD.

△ #3 N100 – Lam Research Corp leaped 9.43% to close positive for the third straight week. The semiconductor company improved 6 spots on the ST Top 25 N100 List, moving from #9 to #3.

The chip sector was extremely strong in Week 13 after leading chip company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. announced it will enhance factory investments. 

$TSM plans to spend $100 billion in the next three years to increase plant capacity. This news comes just days after Intel released a $20 billion plan to enlarge its chipmaking capacity.

$LRCX rallied 4% Wednesday and another 7.4% Thursday to close at all-time highs. Peep the weekly chart above ^

$LRCX is now up 35.4% YTD.

△ #16 R2K – PAVmed Inc paved its way forward 19.2% and closed at 3-year highs. The medical device company is a Freshman entering the ST Top 25 S&P R2K List ranked #16.

The monthly chart of $PAVM shows a character change. Instead of trending lower as it did from 2016 – 2019, the stock is making higher highs and higher lows. The trend is your friend 📈

Will we see $PAVM retest IPO highs soon? Time will tell…

△ #4 S&P 500 – Applied Materials ascended 10% this week as the ST Top 25 S&P 500’s biggest winner. The semiconductor company continues its tremendous 2021 campaign, it’s closed green 10 of 13 weeks so far. $AMAT is +64% YTD.

$AMAT stirred quietly Monday and Tuesday before blasting off Wednesday and Thursday. A majority of the week’s gains came at the back end of the week.

Applied Materials, Inc. will host its 2021 Investor Meeting this coming Tuesday, April 6. Company leaders will detail plans and unique capabilities designed to help customers accelerate their technology roadmaps and growth in the AI era.

The virtual event will begin at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT) and conclude by 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT), including a Q&A session.

Pre-register for the event here.

The Sinners 📉

▼ #12 R2K – Gritstone Oncology fell for the third consecutive week. The biotech company lost 10% on Monday and Tuesday but closed green Wednesday and Thursday. $GRTS fell 2 spots on the ST Top 25 R2K List from #10 to #12.

On Monday, Gritstone announced that the first person has been dosed under Gritstone’s “CORAL” program with its candidate COVID-19 vaccine in a Phase 1 study. The study evaluates the immunogenicity and safety of using its self-amplifying mRNA (SAM) and/or adenoviral vectors to deliver SARS-CoV-2 viral antigens. 

Here’s the weekly chart:

Andrew Allen, CEO of Gritstone said:

As we look to the future, we believe CORAL has the potential to address coronavirus immunity challenges that are likely to emerge, particularly around novel Spike variants of concern. Building on this NIAID/IDCRC first-in-human study, we are planning to examine the expected broad immunity elicited by our vaccine by delivering it as a boost for people who have received first-generation vaccines in a Phase 2 study starting later this year. We hope that strong CD8+ T cell immunity generated against key non-Spike gene fragments will provide protection against future Spike variants.

$GRTS is still up 158% YTD.

▼ #12 N100 – Fox Corporation flopped 4% in Week 13. The mass media company lost 7 spots on the ST Top 25 N100 List, falling from #5 to #12.

$FOXA fell as much as 12% last Friday before closing down 6% after Dominion Voting Systems filed a lawsuit against Fox News. Dominion Voting Systems is seeking $1.6 billion in damages against Fox News Network for accusing the company of rigging the 2020 presidential election.

The stock is currently being supported by the rising 50 day-moving average. Will the price be supported by the moving average or continue to fall next week? Place your bets…

See Y’all Next Week 🤙