Invest brief — Fri Aug 21, 2026 pre-market MT

IBD

Critical / primary. Featured one-pagers and tables first. IBD 50: only names that set up — NTAP and SN (already keepers, tagged IBD 50). CRDO needs more work (Don’t buy). TER is in a base and Baird downgraded it on the 8/21 MarketWatch analyst tool (Don’t buy). Full IBD 50 table is not on the public data-tables page; this is not a dump of the 50.

RLAY Hold IBD one-pager · NEW

Relay Therapeutics · Comp 77 · RS 99

$19.70 · 21 $19.70 (+0.0%) · 200 $13.31 (+48.0%, rising)

vol 0.89× · BB 0.55 · channel 0.56 · hold 16d

Relay Therapeutics is the least extended featured name: Thursday close $19.70 sits on the 21-day EMA ($19.70, +0.0%) after a 16-session hold, volume 0.89× the 50-day, and still 48% above a rising 200-day EMA. IBD one-pager Comp 77 / RS 99 with a flat-base buy point at $20.79 still overhead — Comp is the soft score, so this is a constructive pullback into the pivot rather than a breakout chase.

Below official IBD buy point $20.79 = Hold, not Buy.

NTAP Buy IBD 50 · Large/Mid · Top 200

NetApp · Comp 99 · EPS 83 · RS 97 · Acc-Dis A

$192.81 · 21 $189.74 (+1.6%) · 200 $137.33 (+40.4%, rising)

vol 0.79× · BB 0.57 · channel 0.64 · hold 23d

NetApp has closed above its 21-day EMA for 23 sessions and is only 1.6% above that line (channel position 0.64, Bollinger 0.57), so it is holding the moving average rather than running away from it; the 200-day EMA is rising and Thursday volume was 0.79× the 50-day. IBD Large/Mid + Top 200: Comp 99 / EPS 83 / RS 97 / Acc-Dis A. The setup stays valid only while the 21-EMA near $189.74 keeps acting as the rising floor.

SN Buy IBD 50 · Large/Mid · Top 200

SharkNinja · Comp 99 · EPS 94 · RS 95 · Acc-Dis A

$179.98 · 21 $174.28 (+3.3%) · 200 $129.62 (+38.9%, rising)

vol 0.80× · BB 0.61 · channel 0.76 · hold 20d

SharkNinja has held the 21-day EMA for 20 sessions, sits 3.3% above it with a rising 200-day EMA, and prints elite IBD marks (Comp 99 / EPS 94 / RS 95 / Acc-Dis A). Volume was 0.80× the 50-day — usable but not expanding — so the buy needs the 21-EMA near $174.28 to continue catching pullbacks rather than a chase into the $191.22 channel high.

MITK Buy IBD Stock Spotlight

Mitek Systems · Comp 93 · RS 95

$18.52 · 21 $18.21 (+1.7%) · 200 $14.71 (+25.9%, rising)

vol 0.84× · BB 0.70 · channel 0.53 · hold 10d

Mitek Systems is 1.7% above a 10-session 21-EMA hold and sits mid-channel (0.53) with volume 0.84× the 50-day and a rising 200-day EMA. IBD Stock Spotlight Comp 93 / RS 95. The setup stays valid only while the 21-EMA near $18.21 keeps acting as the rising floor; trim into the $20.67 20-day channel high.

MEDP Hold IBD Long-Term Leaders · Barron's BUY 8/12

Medpace · Comp 99 · RS 86

$612.64 · 21 $583.73 (+5.0%) · 200 $503.62 (+21.6%, rising)

vol 0.79× · BB 0.98 · channel 0.77 · hold 59d

Medpace has held the 21-day EMA for 59 sessions, sits 5.0% above it with a rising 200-day EMA, and prints Comp 99 / RS 86 plus a Barron's BUY. Thursday volume was 0.79× the 50-day. Bollinger position 0.98 means it is hugging the upper band — this is a pullback-to-21 name at $583.73, not a chase through $612.64 into the $627.59 channel high.

Hugs the upper band — Hold for a pullback to the 21, not a chase.

IBD featured Don’t buy (summary only, no cards): AXON failed $642.68 · LGND below 21 and $326.63 · CRDO $231.35 vs 21 $240.27 · TER $383.15 vs 21 $386.16 · CDNA EPS 64 · LPG Acc-Dis E · PAYS / ILMN / NDSN / AU / ETON extended or above the upper band. Yesterday’s CXW / KRT / AYA / RNG / ERO not repeated.

Barron's

Barron's two new this week: FWONK (BUY 2026-08-19) and ABX (BUY 2026-08-18, Investor Circle). Older Barron's BUYs are Hold context. CLBT is SELL/pulled = Don’t buy.

FWONK Hold Barron's two new this week · BUY 8/19

Formula One Group (Liberty Media Series C) · —

$104.16 · 21 $101.20 (+2.9%) · 200 $93.69 (+11.2%, rising)

vol 0.94× · BB 0.80 · channel 0.91 · hold 11d

Barron's two new this week (BUY 2026-08-19). Formula One / Liberty Media Series C. Thursday close $104.16 holds the 21-EMA ($101.20, +2.9%) with a rising 200-EMA. Channel position 0.91 — near the 20-day high $105.11. Hold, not a chase through the roof.

Older Barron's BUYs — Hold context, not new suggestions: MEDP (already in IBD, Hold), RELY (scored: $24.71, +1.0% vs 21, vol 1.11× — constructive tape, older pick), GCT (scored: $49.86, +5.4% vs 21, vol 0.63×), NEM / BDC / UTI / COO (not re-scored this morning; no invented prices). CLBT = Don’t buy (SELL 8/13, pulled).

MarketWatch

No editorial “stocks to watch” / “best stocks” list on the MarketWatch homepage today. The homepage “MarketWatch Picks” module is personal-finance products (mortgages, advisers), not stock picks. Used only the named Deep Dive columns and the dated 8/21 analyst tool.

Deep Dive Aug 19 — 9 stocks to ride the industrial sector's blazing rally

Philip van Doorn. Named list: VRT, FIX, GNRC, GEV, PWR, HWM, CAT, ETN, GE. Not auto-promoted as Buy. Scored VRT, FIX, GNRC, CAT, GEV, ETN on Thursday bars — all closed below the 21-EMA, so none are Buy/Hold suggestions.

Scored tape (below 21, listed only): VRT $264.63 vs 21 $278.31 (-4.9%); FIX $1,672.94 vs 21 $1,733.91 (-3.5%); GNRC $206.75 vs 21 $214.87 (-3.8%); CAT $815.39 vs 21 $854.86 (-4.6%); GEV $966.01 vs 21 $1,016.25 (-4.9%); ETN $415.29 vs 21 $430.57 (-3.5%). PWR, HWM, GE were not separately scored; they stay on the named list without a tag.

Deep Dive Aug 20 — neocloud

BCA Research basket via MarketWatch. Shorts = Don’t buy, never suggestions: CRWV, NBIS, APLD, IREN, WULF, CIFR. Hyperscaler long leg (context, not IBD Buys unless they independently set up): MSFT, GOOGL, META, AMZN. Street-majority names on the same chart, not scored here: ORCL, EQIX, DLR.

Analyst upgrades & downgrades — dated 8/21/2026

Data tool, not editorial picks. Upgrades: TIC, INNV, EFX, PSN, TX (TX also downgraded by HSBC the same day). Downgrades: DV, HCAT, TER. TER is also an IBD 50 base name — Baird downgrade + below 21-EMA = Don’t buy / skip, not a suggestion. New coverage noted: MDB, NVDA (BMO semi launch), BLDR, HUBB.

Photonics & next bottlenecks (1–2 years)

Next gates are InP wafers, analog, passives after Murata, power gear, then ABF — not another GPU/optics-module ticket. US-listed first so these can be bought in the USA. Already owned, not suggestions: SIVE (photonics) and Murata 6981.T (MLCCs). Yahoo daily through Thu Aug 20; no invented OHLC.

If you can trade overseas: 5016.T / 009150.KS / 6976.T / 2802.T

Crowded / already owned / skip: SIVE, Murata, CRDO, LITE, COHR, AAOI, VRT. ALAB / AVGO / MRVL are large-cap interconnect, not the next scarce bottleneck.