Lots of people are talking about $AAOI right now, but there are much better bets. Here are 3 stocks that will perform way better imo: 1) $OPTX - optics/photonics components play. 2) $ASYS - semiconductor equipment and advanced packaging play. 3) $SHMD - advanced semiconductor packaging and substrate equipment play. Here are the theses: For a crazy run up, we need a company that checks all these boxes (credit goes to @mkfilko for making this criteria): 0) Enabler: Does this company build the foundation of the AI buildout? 1) Leadership: Is the founder experienced within this niche? 2) Revenue Quality: Is it recurring revenue, or a onetime sum. 3) Revenue Growth: Is there a thesis for an inflection point, or just steady growth. 4) Moat: Is it something only this company can do (at least without a lot of effort time money)? 5) Asymmetry: What's the worst-case scenario vs the possible reward? 6) Conviction Gap: How big is the space between what I can prove today and what the next catalysts will prove. Now let's dive deep. For $OPTX, this is what we got: They are an enabler: AI data-center optics (micro-optic splitters/combiners, light pipes for hyperscale connectors) LEO satellite optics that feed AI infrastructure. ☑️ Leadership: Founder-led. CEO Al Kapoor (Chairman & CEO) built the company from scratch in 1999 and owns 76-83% of the shares. Massive skin in the game. ☑️ Revenue Quality: Custom optics production (recurring once qualified). End-markets: defense (govt-stable), biomedical, AI data centers, space/LEO. Recent $21M capital raise cleaned up balance sheet (repaid revolver). Smaller absolute revenue but high-quality ramps. ☑️ Revenue Growth: 2025 revenue is $28M (flat but bottomed imo). Q1 2026 $6.5M (temporary biomedical shipment timing dip), but Q2 guidance >$7.5M (sequential rebound) and Q3 “strengthen further.” Explicit ramps in AI data-center optics, new defense programs, record space/LEO production. Design-stage programs converting to production.☑️ Moat: Vertically integrated custom photonics manufacturing (nano-machining, thin films, polymer/glass optics) in the Rochester optics hub. Mission-critical, high-precision components for defense/hyperscale AI. Hard switching costs once qualified.☑️ Asymmetry: $430-480M market cap on $28M revenue, but with 2026 ramps in AI/defense/space. Already ran hard (hundreds of percent YTD) yet founder ownership means low float and high conviction. Cash raised; debt cleaned. ☑️ Conviction Gap: Gap = pace of AI optics defense/space ramps converting to revenue. Catalysts: Q2/Q3 sequential beats, new contract announcements, hyperscale production scale-up. Recent capital raise de-risks execution.☑️ For $ASYS we also check all the boxes: They are an enabler: Reflow ovens, diffusion furnaces, and polishing systems go into AI chip packaging/advanced substrates. AI revenue already 30-35% of Thermal Processing Solutions (TPS) and climbing toward 40% in Q3.☑️ Leadership: CEO Bob Daigle (Chairman/CEO) has deep semi-equipment experience. Not founder-led (company dates to 1981), but insiders own 27-34% and are buying aggressively: Director Robert Averick dropped $236k in May 2025 (and $275k earlier) at prices above the then-current level. No selling. New CFO just onboarded cleanly too.☑️ Revenue Quality: Mix of capital equipment >20% recurring parts/services. Customer base diversified across semiconductor/device/assembly manufacturers. Geo mix includes US Asia/Europe (some China exposure but not dominant). Cash flow turning positive with profitability; not dependent on one massive "whale" at all.☑️ Revenue Growth: Clear AI-driven inflection. Q2 FY2026 revenue $20.5M ( 31% YoY, 8% QoQ), bookings $21.1M, backlog $22.3M. AI expected to drive majority of growth; Q3 guidance $20.5-22.5M. The capex is already supporting demand; next-gen high-density packaging equipment launching soon.☑️ Moat: Specialized thermal-processing equipment with long qualification cycles in semiconductors. Established brands (BTU International, Entrepix, PR Hoffman). Hyperscaler-driven AI packaging demand validates it indirectly.☑️ Asymmetry: $320-330M market cap on $80M run-rate revenue that is growing 30% with AI tailwinds. Cash is around $24M. Forward earnings/revenues look cheap vs. AI peers too imo.☑️ Conviction Gap: Gap = exact AI % trajectory and sustained margin leverage. Catalysts: Q3 earnings (AI >40% of TPS), SEMICON Taiwan launch, continued bookings strength. Evidence already leaning right (31% growth).☑️ And lastly, for $SHMD, I'm more bullish than ever: Enabler: Also very strong. $SHMD provides specialized equipment and solutions that directly support AI chip packaging, advanced substrates, and high-performance semiconductor manufacturing. Its core technologies (thermal processing, polishing, and related systems) are essential for the high-density interconnects and thermal management required in AI accelerators. AI-related revenue is already a meaningful and growing portion of the mix and is expected to drive the majority of incremental growth.☑️ Leadership: Solid and aligned. The team has deep domain experience in semiconductor equipment and advanced packaging. Insiders and directors have shown clear skin in the game through recent purchases at prices above then-current levels, with no notable selling. The board and management appear focused on executing the AI-driven inflection rather than short-term optics.☑️ Revenue Quality: High quality with good visibility. A healthy mix of capital equipment sales plus recurring revenue from parts, services, and consumables (typically >20% of total). Customer base is diversified across leading semiconductor manufacturers, OSATs, and device makers. Geographic exposure is balanced (US, Asia, Europe) with manageable China concentration. Cash flow is turning positive as utilization rises, and the business is not overly dependent on a single “whale” customer.☑️ Forward Growth / Inflection: Clear and accelerating. Recent quarters have shown strong double-digit YoY growth driven by AI packaging demand. Bookings and backlog remain healthy, with new-generation high-density packaging equipment launching and expected to contribute meaningfully in the coming quarters. Guidance points to continued momentum, with AI expected to push overall growth rates higher as capacity comes online and design wins convert.☑️ Moat: Respectable. Long qualification cycles in the semiconductor supply chain create stickiness. Established process know-how and technology in thermal and polishing systems for advanced nodes give it an edge. Demand from hyperscalers and leading AI chip designers indirectly validates the platform through the broader packaging ecosystem.☑️ Asymmetry: Attractive. Current market cap in the low-to-mid hundreds of millions against a growing revenue base with 25-30% AI-driven growth potential. Balance sheet is clean with solid cash and improving free cash flow. Forward multiples look reasonable compared with other AI-exposed equipment and packaging names, leaving room for multiple expansion as the AI mix and margins scale.☑️ Conviction Gap Catalysts: The main gap is the precise pace of AI revenue mix shift and sustained margin leverage as the business scales. Evidence is already tilting positively with recent growth and backlog trends. Near-term catalysts include upcoming quarterly results (showing continued AI momentum), new product launches at industry events (e.g., SEMICON), and further design-win conversions. The setup looks asymmetric if AI packaging demand continues to outpace legacy segments.☑️ Now if we look at the TA on each of these, we also got very bullish charts. $OPTX retested its ath and is now breaking out (I'm aiming for 22 on the LTF). $ASYS is breaking out of a 30 years support/resistance zone (while consolidating this whole time). I'm aiming for upper 60s. $SHMD is also testing the previous ath as support here (after consolidating for years). Just finished its A-B-C wave, and is going into an explosive 3 wave upwards. Just my 2 cents on what happens next. But I believe this will be some of the best bets in the market here, even more than $AAOI. What are your thoughts?

I told you to buy $OUST at 26. Now, I think I just found a much better robotics play. I'll give you guys a hint before I post it (let's see if you guys can guess the ticker): Market Cap: $2.85B – $3.17B TTM Revenue: $430M – $450M P/S Multiple: 5.8x – 6.6x Robotics Exposure: Fast-growing robotics & industrial segment Debt and Cash: $1B in cash & short-term investments with low debt The stage of the company: A fast grower with a proven inflection Hint: I've not heard one person talk about it on X. So, using grok probably won't work here. Think $VPG, but before it hit its 500% run up. That's this. *Yes, I have positions in both. I have had a position in $OUST since I posted it (at $26), and just opened a position in this new stock... It'll be interesting to see what you guys have to say.

This is wrong btw. As a fundamental and technical trader, let me explain why: First off, technical analysis works based on human psychology. @aleabitoreddit knows this, that's why he put the trading human psychology about entries part. But you can use it for much more than that. You can use it to determine entries, exists, when price will move, etc.. That's why we have multiple forms of technical analysis: each form serves a certain aspect. Or at least, that's what I use it for. We got Fibonacci levels (also support/resistance lines that are horizontal). These bank off the fact that each person is human, and we naturally have levels that stir emotions to buy/sell (kind of like finding something aesthetic vs ugly). They're just ingrained in us. Then, we got Elliot Wave theory. This says every move in a chart can be calculated (in cycles): think entries, exits, and price movements even. These cycles (movements in the chart) can be categorized into 2 areas: impulse and corrective waves. Impulse Wave: (1-2-3-4-5) - Wave 1: The initial move in the trend direction (smart money buys early). - Wave 2: Pullback (prices retrace, but don’t go below the start of Wave 1). - Wave 3: The strongest and longest move (mass adoption of the trend). - Wave 4: Another correction, often weaker than Wave 2. - Wave 5: Final push in the trend direction (fueled by FOMO). Corrective Wave (A-B-C): - Wave A: Price goes against the trend. - Wave B: Partial retracement (people think trend will continue). - Wave C: Final move down, completing the correction. Again, these all work due to human psychology, and we can predict entries/exists and moves with them. Even how quickly the stock will move (just check a chart with a 30 year time frame that hasn't moved vs a 1 year one that's really volatile lol). That's TA. And it's showing us something. The difference seems pretty clear to me. Second off, some technical analysis works because people (retail, hedge funds, gov, anyone) thinks it works. This is mainly for horizontal support/resistance lines. You'd be surprised how many average Joes open up google and tell themselves "it hit this level before, I should sell," or "it hit this level before, I should buy." NOW, I agree with Serenity on the fact that TA alone is not a great representation of where a stock will go over the long-term. It's a company after all. Over the short-term, it definitely helps, but as you zoom out to the HTF, over time, TA matters less and less than FA does. But that's why you couple both. Use FA (market cap evaluations compared to other companies, future earnings growth, P/E ratio, and all other metrics) to help determine long-term growth. But for short-term entries/exits and even price movements overall, use TA. If you're saying TA doesn't work, that's false. And if you also want to get rid of confirmation bias on TA as well, do this: First, check the TA before the FA -> then check the FA. This will give you an unbiased review of the TA. Anyways, this has been a long ramble, but this is why I personally use both TA FA for my analysis. Just my 2c.

This guy called $SNDK at $450. Now he's up over 350% in 5 months. Don’t fade his calls next time.

Here's my full portfolio (since people have been asking): AI Enablers: $OPTX $ASYS $SHMD $BRUN $IREN AI Beneficiaries: $ZETA $RDDT $NOW $TEAM $SOFI Energy/Power: $SMR $QS $OKLO $VST $SOLS Crypto: $COIN $HOOD $ZEC $HYPE $CYPH Robotics: $AMBA $VPG $OUST $TSLA $BOT Other Undervalued Plays: $NIO $RIVN $AAOI $GLXY $IQE That's really it. If you hold this portfolio for all of 2026, you'll probably make more returns than most hedge funds make every 5 years lol. I do sometimes exit and go into other things, but that is rare, since these are my long-term investments. Am I missing any other stocks worth buying?

People are talking a lot about AI stocks, so here's my list (with reasoning): 1) $OPTX - Pure-play precision photonics for AI data center interconnects. Bullish on strong design wins and being one of the cleanest high-moat enablers in the optics stack. 2) $ASYS - Thermal processing equipment for AI chip packaging and advanced substrates. Bullish on the clear AI revenue mix shift (already 30-40% ) and improving margins. 3) $SHMD - Advanced packaging equipment player with accelerating AI/HPC orders. Bullish on new panel-level packaging tech and strong 2026 guidance tied to AI infrastructure buildout. 4) $AAOI - AI transceiver leader with massive hyperscaler orders and rapid capacity expansion. Bullish on the $1B 2026 revenue guide and being one of the most direct ways to play AI optics demand. 5) $BRUN - AI cloud / GPU infrastructure play with long-term secular tailwinds. Bullish on the multi-year AI data center demand (despite near-term lock-up overhang). 6) $AMBQ - Ultra-low power edge AI SoCs using proprietary SPOT technology. Bullish on the shift of AI from data centers to on-device (wearables, medical, robotics) and its strong balance sheet. 7) $MU - Dominant HBM memory supplier with sold-out 2026 supply. Bullish because memory is now a structural bottleneck in AI clusters and MU has clear leadership in HBM3E/HBM4. 8) $SIVE - AI infrastructure beneficiary with exposure to key enablers. Bullish as an earlier asymmetric call with growth tied to AI buildout. 9) $PENG - High-quality photonics / connectivity solutions for AI infrastructure. Bullish due to excellent execution, clean fundamentals, and strong positioning in the AI connectivity layer. 10) $PDYN - Physical AI and defense autonomy platform with major new loitering munitions deal. Bullish on the IAI partnership catalyst and growing defense revenue visibility. 11) $XFAB - Specialty foundry with exposure to both photonics and power semis plus government backing. Bullish on undervalued growth in AI-critical processes and capex support. 12) $SILC - Networking and smart NIC solutions with AI inference traction. Bullish on 33% growth and design wins in high-performance data center connectivity. 13) $MRLN - Flight autonomy software for military and commercial aircraft. Bullish on high catalyst density (USSOCOM, FAA progress, demos) and asymmetric setup. 14) $ACCON - Physical AI radar/sensing solutions with tier-1 design wins. Bullish on de-risked backlog and being a high-conviction play on sensors for autonomous systems. 15) $AIRJ - Data center cooling solution targeting the water bottleneck. Bullish on niche but real tailwind from hyperscaler water usage constraints and early partnerships. 16) $VIVO - AI data center power and infrastructure pivot play. Bullish on the thematic exposure to AI power bottlenecks despite higher execution risk. 17) $MX - Power semiconductors for AI servers and data centers. Bullish on structural demand for efficient power delivery in AI racks. 18) $IREN - Bitcoin miner with one of the strongest AI/HPC data center pivots. Bullish on power deals and credible shift toward AI infrastructure hosting. 19) $NBIS - Emerging AI data center / infrastructure name. Bullish on early positioning in the AI power and facility buildout with asymmetry at small scale. 20) $CLSK - Bitcoin miner expanding into AI data centers with strong power assets. Bullish on the AI pivot potential while maintaining Bitcoin leverage. There's my list. This is in order of best -> worst, so do with that what you want. My top 5 is what I'm mainly in here (besides my positions in $MU and $SIVE that are already up). Would be curious to hear your guys' thoughts. What are you buying in here?

If you're a new trader trying to learn technical analysis, read this:

Long term investment idea: $MRDN I seriously don't know why this isn't talked about. Look here. This seems like an asymmetric opportunity that fits a few categories (Fast Grower Turnaround Asset Play). Fast Grower: This is a small cap with rapid scaling potential through organic growth and five synergistic subsidiaries (Expanse Studios growing 400% , MexPlay 52%, RKings doubled). Revenue has been compounding double-digits, with clear line of sight to acceleration. ☑️ Turnaround: Post-reverse merger, the company delivered its first GAAP profitable quarter in Q1 2026. This is the classic inflection point we want: management fixing the core business and metrics turning (very bullish).☑️ Asset Play: Extremely tight share structure (very low public float high insider ownership) combined with a valuation that still looks disconnected from the underlying business value and future cash flow potential (seems like a great play here).☑️ It has some cyclical exposure (consumer discretionary spend in EMs), but the dominant drivers are secular growth event driven catalysts. Now time for some financials (3 core metrics): 1) Total Revenue: TTM ~$190M. Q1 2026 came in at $50.1M ( 17% YoY). Guidance and subsidiary momentum point to $210–250M annualized run-rate potential as Brazil scales.☑️ 2) Gross Profit: Healthy and expanding margins. The company owns its tech stack and content (Expanse Studios), so it avoids the 15–25% aggregator fees that competitors pay. This structural advantage should widen as B2B content grows imo.☑️ 3) Net Income: Clear inflection. Q1 2026 delivered GAAP net income of $2.26M ($0.18 EPS) versus a loss in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA rose 26% to $6.3M. The prior big GAAP loss was largely a non-cash goodwill impairment (not just an operational cash burn btw).☑️ If we look at this in relation to our economy, I get even more bullish: Government & Regulatory Tailwinds: Global wave of sports betting/iGaming legalization for tax revenue. MRDN has a 25 year regulatory track record and focuses on compliance/CSR, which helps it win licenses and crowd out black-market operators.☑️ Brazil World Cup Catalyst: The 2026 FIFA World Cup (which kicked off June 11, recently) is projected to be the largest betting event in history. Brazil is experiencing its first major regulated World Cup as a legal market. MRDN already holds the coveted Federal license and has local retail digital infrastructure.☑️ Consumer Psychology & EM Growth: Rising mobile/5G penetration young populations in Africa, Latin America, and parts of Europe support long-term growth in discretionary entertainment spend. Sports betting is sticky, especially around major tournaments (just look at any person this day in age lol).☑️ Risk on Environment: Benefits from broader digital entertainment and emerging market growth narratives, while being less exposed to saturated, high-CAC U.S. markets where big players dominate.☑️ There are a few more reasons I'm bullish this: Valuation Disconnect: It's trading at roughly 0.85x TTM revenue while analysts see meaningful upside (average target ~$19.73). At more normalized sector multiples the stock would be substantially higher. The theses correctly highlight that this is not a story that fits neatly into simple DCF models because of the multi-subsidiary, multi-currency, high-growth nature.☑️ Share Structure Scarcity: Very low public float and high insider ownership (~80% range) mean that any meaningful institutional discovery or sustained buying can move the stock dramatically. Insiders rejected a $330M cash exit and have continued buying: strong alignment.☑️ Moat Durability: 25 years operating in difficult emerging markets, low CAC through retail betshops community trust, owned AI/tech stack, and owned content (Expanse). These are hard for large U.S. operators to replicate quickly.☑️ Management & Capital Discipline: CEO Zoran Milosevic emphasizes long-term execution over short-term promises and has a clear “we will not operate at a loss” philosophy. This matches the type of disciplined operator you tend to favor.☑️ Catalyst Path: Near-term (World Cup volume Brazil ramp), medium-term (subsidiary cross-selling margin expansion), and longer-term (continued global expansion and potential re-rating as a scaled international player).☑️ I mean cmon. Read this: It has just validated a profitability inflection, trades at a significant discount to its growth trajectory and sector multiples, and is entering a major catalyst window (2026 World Cup Brazil ramp) with structural moats that larger competitors have struggled to replicate in emerging markets. Now tell me you're not bullish. You can't lol. If we're looking at the technicals, it is also showing us a bullish structure. We got a double formation on the bottom, showing great support and reaction off of a long-term support line. Now, we're retesting this resistance line again for the 3rd time (resistance gets weaker ever time we hit it). We also have a cup and handle formation here. I wouldn't want to be short this here. Just my 2c. Seems like a great stock for a long-term pick outside of the classic AI enabler/beneficiary, crypto, robotics, or health niche. What are your thoughts?