Trade Alert: Photonics, Power, And The Next AI Supply Chain
Bullish options trades on four Market Watchers names that pass our technical screens after yesterday's shakeup.
Photonics, Power, And The Next AI Supply Chain
Today’s alert has four trades from our Market Watchers → Chartmill workflow. These are names first suggested by accounts on our Market Watchers X list and that now—days or months later—have finally passed our technical screens. The idea there is to avoid chasing names that may be overextended or have broken down.
Today’s themes are silicon photonics, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, energy infrastructure, and automotive sensing / photonic chips. All four names sit somewhere in the physical supply chain behind the AI buildout, power buildout, or next-generation industrial economy.
One After-Close Catalyst
One of today’s names is scheduled to report after the close.
That matters in this market. If you’re in the right stock and the right trend, earnings can lead to real movement after hours. We saw that yesterday, when one of our Market Watchers names from the alert, Velo3D (VELO 23.55%↑), reported after the close and is currently up 47% intraday today.
The point isn’t to chase every earnings print. The point is that when a name passes our screens, sits in a strong theme, and has a defined-risk structure available, earnings can be a catalyst rather than a reason to avoid the trade.
China, AI, And Supplier Ecosystems
The bigger macro catalyst this week is President Trump’s trip to China.
Trump is heading to Beijing with a delegation that includes some of America’s most important CEOs, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Tesla’s Elon Musk. If the trip leads to business breakthroughs in AI, autos, industrial technology, or China market access, some of that upside could flow through to supplier ecosystems like the ones represented in today’s alert.
There’s also a geopolitical angle. China hosted Iran’s foreign minister last week, and Beijing has a strong interest in ending a conflict that has disrupted oil flows and threatened China’s energy security. If Chinese diplomacy helps move the Iran war toward a settlement, that would be another tailwind for risk assets.
More On Our Four Trades
Today’s first trade is in a silicon photonics name. I’ve been waiting for this one to reappear on our screens, because we already have a hybrid trade on it that capped the upside too low. This new structure restores more upside exposure ahead of a business update.
The second trade is in the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain. This is the kind of physical AI infrastructure name that can benefit when chip capacity and process complexity keep moving higher.
The third trade is in energy infrastructure. It’s a lower-priced name, so we can use a multi-call structure that gives us more upside exposure while keeping the total risk defined.
The fourth trade is in automotive sensing and photonic chips. It’s a higher-RSI name, but still inside our broader screen range, with bullish directional pressure and a strong enough theme to justify loosening the reins a bit.
As usual, we’ve priced these trades so we’re not overpaying for them, and we’ve included pre-set exit instructions, so we don’t have to babysit the trades after they fill.
A Chance To Lock In Current Prices
A brief reminder: subscription prices for the Portfolio Armor Substack are going up from $40 per month or $400 per year to $50 per month or $500 per year on Thursday, but current subscribers will be grandfathered into the price they’re currently paying. So consider joining now, if you’re a free subscriber. If you join and change your mind, I’ll be happy to give you a prorated refund at any time.
Today’s First Market Watchers Trade
Silicon photonics / AI optical infrastructure theme
