Week 2 MDA Breakout Stocks – January 2022: Short-Term Picks

Introduction

The Weekly Breakout Forecast continues my doctoral research analysis on MDA breakout selections over more than 7 years. This subset of the different portfolios I regularly analyze has now reached over 240 weeks of public selections as part of this ongoing live forward-testing research.

In 2017, the sample size began with 12 stocks, then 8 stocks in 2018, and at members’ request since 2020, I now generate 4 selections each week, 2 Dow 30 picks, and new portfolios for ETF/ETNs and monthly Growth & Dividend MDA breakout stocks. I offer 11 top models of short- and long-term value and momentum portfolios that have beaten the S&P 500 since my trading studies were made public:

Charts and tables will restart for 2022 with more weekly data.

Returns from 21 Weeks of Positive Momentum Gauge signals in 2021

Momentum Gauge® trading signal: Negative conditions ahead of Week 2

(Source: VMBreakouts.com) Red weekly color shows how poorly market momentum and investor enthusiasm sustains through the week when the negative Momentum Gauges® are above 40. This was an especially strong factor in 2021 showing cumulative returns with and without the signal.

Historical Performance Measurements

The MDA Breakout minimal buy/hold returns are at +70.5% YTD when trading only in the positive weeks consistent with the positive Momentum Gauges® signals. Remarkably, the frequency streak of 10% gainers within a 4- or 5-day trading week continues at highly statistically significant levels above 80% not counting frequent multiple 10%+ gainers in a single week.

Longer term many of these selections join the V&M Multibagger list now up to 167 weekly picks with over 100%+ gains, 69 picks over 200%+, 20 picks over 500%+ and 3 picks with over 1,000%+ gains since January 2019 such as:

• Intrepid Potash (IPI) +1,139.0%
• Celsius Holdings (CELH) +1,061.7%
• Trillium Therapeutics (TRIL) +1008.7%

More than 200 stocks have gained over 10% in a 5-day trading week since this MDA testing began in 2017. A frequency comparison chart is at the end of this article. Readers are cautioned that these are highly volatile stocks that may not be appropriate for achieving your long term investment goals: How to Achieve Optimal Asset Allocation

2022 Breakout Portfolio Returns

While in negative Momentum Gauge® conditions the current measured returns for 2022 are at 0% with no trading in the first week.

The Breakout Picks are high volatility selections for short-term gains, but with no selections below $2/share, under 100k average daily volume, or less than $100 million market cap. Prior returns are documented here:

For 2021 the maximal average weekly returns are +10.27% for total 534.0% YTD maximal returns. Using the blind buy/hold approach and not following the Momentum Gauges® is delivering minimal average -0.75% weekly return. The S&P 500 average weekly return is +0.50% YTD.

Market Momentum Conditions

You can get on the waitlist for free private beta testing of the live Momentum Gauges® before the private beta ends: Value & Momentum Breakouts – Top Financial Models for Double-Digit Success

The Momentum Gauges® closed at Negative 77 and Positive 73 at high negative levels well above 40. That both gauges have high values reflects the wide divergence in sectors between positive Energy/Financials and negative Technology/Healthcare sectors.

(Source: VMBreakouts.com)

Two conditional signals that are very important to watch:

• Avoid/Minimize trading when the Negative score is higher than the Positive momentum score.
• Avoid/Minimize trading when the Negative score is above 40 on the gauge.

The Week 2 – 2022 Breakout Stocks For Next Week Are:

The picks consist of 1 Consumer Cyclical, 1 Industrials and 2 Energy sector stocks. These stocks are released to members in advance every Friday morning near the open. Prior selections may be doing well, but for research purposes I deliberately do not duplicate selections from the prior week. These selections are based on MDA characteristics including strong money flows, positive sentiment, and fundamentals — but readers are cautioned to follow the Momentum Gauges® for the best results.

1. Tidewater Inc. (TDW) – Energy / Oil & Gas Equipment & Services
2. Winnebago Industries (WGO) – Industrials / Farm & Heavy Machinery

Tidewater Inc. – Energy / Oil & Gas Equipment & Services

Price Target: $16.00/share (See my FAQ #20 on price targets)

(Source: FinViz)

Tidewater Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore marine support and transportation services to the offshore energy industry through the operation of a fleet of marine service vessels worldwide. It provides services in support of offshore oil and natural gas exploration, field development, and production, as well as windfarm development and maintenance, including towing of and anchor handling for mobile offshore drilling units; transporting supplies and personnel necessary to sustain drilling, workover, and production activities; offshore construction, and seismic and subsea support; geotechnical survey support for windfarm construction; and various specialized services, such as pipe and cable laying.

Source: Company resources

(Source: StockRover)

Winnebago Industries – Industrials / Farm & Heavy Machinery

Price Target: $90.00/share (See my FAQ #20 on price targets)

(Source: FinViz)

Winnebago Industries, Inc. manufactures and sells recreation vehicles and marine products primarily for use in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. The company operates in six segments: Grand Design Towables, Winnebago Towables, Winnebago Motorhomes, Newmar motorhomes, Chris-Craft Marine, and Winnebago Specialty Vehicles. It provides towable products that are non-motorized vehicles to be towed by automobiles, pickup trucks, SUVs, or vans for use as temporary living quarters for recreational travel, such as conventional travel trailers, fifth wheels, folding camper trailers, and truck campers under the Winnebago and Grand Design brand names.

Source: Company resources

(Source: StockRover)

Top Dow 30 Stocks To Watch For Week 2

First, be sure to follow the Momentum Gauges® when applying the same MDA breakout model parameters to only 30 stocks on the Dow Index. Second, these selections are made without regard to market cap or the below-average volatility typical of mega-cap stocks that may produce good results relative to other Dow 30 stocks.

While I don’t expect Dow stocks to outperform typical breakout stocks over the measured five-day breakout period, it may provide some strong additional basis for investors to judge future momentum performance for mega-cap stocks in the short- to medium-term. The most recent picks of weekly Dow selections in pairs for the last 5 weeks:

If you are looking for a much broader selection of mega-cap breakout stocks beyond just 30 Dow stocks with more detailed analysis and strong returns, I would recommend the Growth & Dividend MDA Breakout picks.

These picks are released monthly for long term total return. The +13.90% average weighted monthly returns do not include the large dividends above 2%+ for every stock. The 2-year returns of the portfolios are shown below with all 24 portfolios positive except three.

The Dow Pick For Next Week Is:

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT)

Caterpillar continues with strong breakout conditions across all the proxy indicators for positive investor sentiment and high net MFI inflows. Analysts continue with BUY/Outperform ratings and consensus targets around $230/share.

Background On Momentum Breakout Stocks

As I have documented before from my research over the years, these MDA breakout picks were designed as high frequency gainers.

These documented high frequency gains in less than a week continue into 2020 at rates more than four times higher than the average stock market returns against comparable stocks with a minimum $2/share and $100 million market cap. The enhanced gains from further MDA research in 2020 are both larger and more frequent than in previous years in every category. ~ The 2020 MDA Breakout Report Card

The frequency percentages remain very similar to returns documented here on Seeking Alpha since 2017 and at rates that greatly exceed the gains of market returns by 2x and as much as 5x in the case of 5% gains.

(Value & Momentum Breakouts)

The 2021 and 2020 breakout percentages with 4 stocks selected each week.

MDA selections are restricted to stocks above $2/share, $100M market cap, and greater than 100k avg daily volume. Penny stocks well below these minimum levels have been shown to benefit greatly from the model but introduce much more risk and may be distorted by inflows from readers selecting the same micro-cap stocks.

Conclusion

These stocks continue the live forward-testing of the breakout selection algorithms from my doctoral research with continuous enhancements over prior years. These Weekly Breakout picks consist of the shortest duration picks of seven quantitative models I publish from top financial research that also include one-year buy/hold value stocks. Remember to follow the Momentum Gauges® in your investing decisions for the best results.

The final 2021 returns for the different portfolio models from January of last year are shown below. Leading portfolios for the first week of 2022 are Piotroski-Graham +5.09%, Negative Forensic +4.62%, Premium Portfolio +2.09%, and the new active ETF portfolio +5.06%.

All the very best to you, stay safe and healthy and have a great week of trading!

JD Henning, PhD, MBA, CFE, CAMS