Technical Analyst, Vermilion Research

Joe Jasper

Technical Analyst

Technical and Quantitative Research

Vermilion Research

Vermilion’s objective is to deliver timely, actionable, and unique technical research to professional investors through the application of our various technical indicators.

Our research strategists seek to highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various technical and quantitative indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. Our unique research methodology, centered on relative strength, enables our strategists to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing the universe of actively traded stocks into discrete sectors, then into industry groups. We then apply our technical and quantitative tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sector or group, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. We provide a historical perspective that often reveals, through our long-term charts, how price patterns often repeat themselves over time.

Technical Analysis

Nasdaq-100 Stock Index / Technical Analysis

<ul>
<li>We remain bullish (as of our 4/21/26 Compass) on the S&amp;P 500 (SPX), and we will stay that way as long as support at 7507-7580 holds.</li>
<li>We also remain bullish on Technology and A.I. areas (XLK, SOXX, DRAM), and we have Technology on watch for a potential upgrade to overweight.</li>
<li>The Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) and the XLK are both breaking out of their 4-month bases, a very bullish sign as long as $745 and $197 supports hold on any pullbacks.</li>
</ul>


We remain bullish (as of our 4/21/26 Compass) on the S&amp;P 500 (SPX), and we will stay that way as long as support at 7507-7580 holds.
We also remain bullish on Technology and A.I. areas (XLK, SOXX, DRAM), and we have Technology on watch for a potential upgrade to overweight.
The Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) and the XLK are both breaking out of their 4-month bases, a very bullish sign as long as $745 and $197 supports hold on any pullbacks.


Nasdaq 100 and Technology (XLK) With 4-Month Base Breakouts; Downgrading Staples to Underweight

Independent research on the U.S. markets, Baptista Research

Baptista Research

Independent research on the U.S. markets

Baptista Research is an independent financial research house focused on the U.S. markets. We provide equity research as well as credit research reports on the top-listed U.S. companies with most of our focus on technology, consumer goods and services, automobiles, industrials, oil and gas, pharma, and healthcare. Our research has served more than 3000 institutional investors including mutual funds, hedge funds, banks, family offices, and various buy-side firms. We operate a research subscription service where institutions, as well as retail investors, can have priority access to all our research. We also have a wide distribution of our research reports across some of the top global financial platforms. Apart from equity research and credit research, we also provide advisory services with respect to mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity/ venture capital fundraising, valuation reports, and investment management services for corporates.
Baptista Research is owned and managed by Ishan Majumdar, an ex-Venture Capitalist/ Investment Banker, a Chartered Accountant, and a Masters’ degree holder in Management from HEC Paris. Ishan has nearly a decade of experience in Mergers and Acquisitions, Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs), Venture Capital Investing, Corporate Strategy, and Valuation in front-office roles at the likes of BNP Paribas CIB, Credit Agricole CIB, Groupe Danone, and TIW Private Equity. He has worked on and closed multiple acquisition deals, leveraged buyouts, and start-up investment transactions.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul><li>CDW Corporation has moved to deepen its position in enterprise data and artificial intelligence with a planned $525 million acquisition of Lovelytics, a data and AI services specialist and Databricks Brickbuilder Partner.</li><li>Announced on September 2, 2026, the transaction would add more than 600 employees across the United States, Canada, Argentina and Colombia while expanding CDW’s Data & Analytics Practice.</li><li>The timing is notable because CDW is already seeing AI-related infrastructure spending accelerate across large enterprises, with servers, storage, networking, cloud and security all benefiting from modernization and AI-readiness projects.</li></ul>

CDW Corporation has moved to deepen its position in enterprise data and artificial intelligence with a planned $525 million acquisition of Lovelytics, a data and AI services specialist and Databricks Brickbuilder Partner.Announced on September 2, 2026, the transaction would add more than 600 employees across the United States, Canada, Argentina and Colombia while expanding CDW’s Data & Analytics Practice.The timing is notable because CDW is already seeing AI-related infrastructure spending accelerate across large enterprises, with servers, storage, networking, cloud and security all benefiting from modernization and AI-readiness projects.

CDW’s $525 Million Lovelytics Takeover Could Supercharge Its AI Strategy!

<ul><li>CDW Corporation reported second quarter 2026 results marked by growth in net sales, gross profit, operating income, and earnings per share, setting new quarterly records across these metrics.</li><li>Net sales increased 10% year-over-year to $6.6 billion, driven by a diverse customer base spanning commercial, government, education, and international segments.</li><li>Commercial sales rose 9%, with strong demand in corporate and healthcare sectors, while government sales grew approximately 14%, fueled by federal and state/local infrastructure investments.</li></ul>

CDW Corporation reported second quarter 2026 results marked by growth in net sales, gross profit, operating income, and earnings per share, setting new quarterly records across these metrics.Net sales increased 10% year-over-year to $6.6 billion, driven by a diverse customer base spanning commercial, government, education, and international segments.Commercial sales rose 9%, with strong demand in corporate and healthcare sectors, while government sales grew approximately 14%, fueled by federal and state/local infrastructure investments.

CDW’s Record Quarter — AI Readiness Drives Servers, Storage & Networking Higher!

US-EU Index Rebalances / Quantitative Researcher

Dimitris Ioannidis

Global Financial Data and Analytics Platform

ORTEX

ORTEX is a global financial data and analytics platform providing real-time securities lending and short interest data, index rebalance data, holdings and insider transactions, trading signals, corporate actions and news,  stock machine learning and factor scores and other analytics. The majority of the data are downloadable and accessible through APIs.

Index Rebalance

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/walmart-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11134:1" rel="noopener">Walmart (WMT US)</a> is now eligible for Nasdaq100 following its listing change from NYSE to Nasdaq on 9 December 2025, marking the largest exchange transfer in history.</li>
<li>The listing transfer was completed after the December 2025 annual review cut-off, so Nasdaq100 inclusion is anticipated by December 2026.</li>
<li>Forecasted passive fund demand upon inclusion is ~600m shares, $70bn and 25 ADV.</li>
</ul>



Walmart (WMT US) is now eligible for Nasdaq100 following its listing change from NYSE to Nasdaq on 9 December 2025, marking the largest exchange transfer in history.
The listing transfer was completed after the December 2025 annual review cut-off, so Nasdaq100 inclusion is anticipated by December 2026.
Forecasted passive fund demand upon inclusion is ~600m shares, $70bn and 25 ADV.


Walmart (WMT US): Unwrapping Nasdaq100 Inclusion Following Listing Transfer

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals / Index Rebalance

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alnylam-pharmaceuticals-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2191:1" rel="noopener">Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY US)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/monolithic-power-systems-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2088:1" rel="noopener">Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/seagate-technology-holdings-pl" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9129:1" rel="noopener">Seagate Technology Holdings (STX US)</a> are the top 3 addition candidates with ALNY at the top.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/globalfoundries-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:34513:1" rel="noopener">GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GFS US)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/cdw-corp-de" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2244:1" rel="noopener">CDW Corp (CDW US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/biogen-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:972:1" rel="noopener">Biogen (BIIB US)</a> are the top 3 deletion candidates with GFS at the bottom.</li>
<li>Versant (VSNT) and Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS) are estimated to be deleted following completion of their spinoffs with the earliest one expected on 30 October 2025.</li>
</ul>



Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY US), Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR US) and Seagate Technology Holdings (STX US) are the top 3 addition candidates with ALNY at the top.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GFS US), CDW Corp (CDW US) and Biogen (BIIB US) are the top 3 deletion candidates with GFS at the bottom.
Versant (VSNT) and Solstice Advanced Materials (SOLS) are estimated to be deleted following completion of their spinoffs with the earliest one expected on 30 October 2025.


Nasdaq100 Dec2025 Forecast (Part 2): ALNY at the Top; GFS at the Bottom; Spinoffs Pending

United States

CDW Corporation of Delaware provides information technology products and services. The Company offers hardware, software, computer peripherals, cloud computing, mobile devices, network communication, and security solutions. CDW serves business, government, education, and healthcare customers throughout North America.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
P/E	0.00
Dividend (Yield)	0.00

Cdw Corp/De (CDW US)

Nasdaq 100 and Technology (XLK) With 4-Month Base Breakouts; Downgrading Staples to Underweight

Nasdaq 100 $QQQ and Technology $XLK With 4-Month Base Breakouts; That is bullish as long as supports of $745 on QQQ and $197 on XLK hold on any...

Vermilion Research

CDW’s $525 Million Lovelytics Takeover Could Supercharge Its AI Strategy!

CDW Corporation has moved to deepen its position in enterprise data and artificial intelligence with a planned $525 million acquisition of...

Baptista Research

CDW’s Record Quarter — AI Readiness Drives Servers, Storage & Networking Higher!

CDW Corporation reported second quarter 2026 results marked by growth in net sales, gross profit, operating income, and earnings per share,...

Baptista Research

Walmart (WMT US): Unwrapping Nasdaq100 Inclusion Following Listing Transfer

AstraZeneca (AZN) will delist its ADRs from Nasdaq and transition to a direct listing of its ordinary shares on the NYSE on 2 February. As a...

Dimitris Ioannidis

Nasdaq100 Dec2025 Forecast (Part 2): ALNY at the Top; GFS at the Bottom; Spinoffs Pending

SOLS was deleted from the index at the close of 6 Nov following Honeywell’s spinoff. VSNT is still expected to be removed but Comcast’s spinoff has...

Dimitris Ioannidis

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)