There’s trouble brewing in tech land, and TradingAnalysis.com founder Todd Gordon is looking to short one flagship FANG name in particular.
On a chart of the Nasdaq 100-tracking ETF (QQQ), Gordon noted that the chart is being held up by strong support well above its 200-day moving average. But when you look beneath the surface, he sees potential weakness in some of the ETF’s most popular stocks, which could spell trouble for the broader market.
“As this overall market is really consolidating, I think we might be setting up for a move lower,” he said Thursday on CNBC’s “Trading Nation.” “You want to be short weak stocks when the overall indexes look to be heading lower.”
Looking at the FANG names — Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google-parent company Alphabet — Gordon noted that only two (Amazon and Netflix) are holding steady above their 200-day moving averages, while the others are in dangerous territory.
Amazon and Netflix have been on fire this year, up a respective 35 and 62 percent in 2018. The picture hasn’t been so rosy for Facebook and Alphabet as concerns over privacy have rattled investors.
And Gordon sees an even bigger breakdown for Alphabet on the horizon.
“That 200-day moving average has been trying to hold the market,” he said. “It’s like the life preserver trying to hold support here just above that $1,000 level. I think we might be set for a breakdown.”
To prepare for a potential drop below $1,000 in Alphabet, Gordon wants to buy the May 980-strike put and sell the May 970-strike put for about $1.45, or $145 per options spread. This is a bearish bet that Alphabet shares could fall as low as $970, or another 5 percent, in the next two weeks.
Stocks closed the day lower on Thursday after a big comeback during the early afternoon. Alphabet is currently down more than 2 percent year to date.
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