August 9, 2026

A quieter way to track alpha when the tape turns

Nine open positions, two names up more than 20% — and the exit question is getting harder to ignore.

Weekly Recap

EXPERIMENT UPDATE — Day 25 System: +4.0% | SPY (same window): +2.9% | Alpha: +1.1% Win rate: 0% (0/5) Open positions: EVC (day 25, +1.9%), SNOW (day 12, +22.0%), CORT (day 11, +20.5%), EVC (day 9, +3.6%), EVC (day 5, +5.1%), PIII (day 4, +13.0%), CRNX (day 3, +0.2%), PIII (day 2, +10.8%), SLS (day 1, -1.2%)

The week at a glance

SNOW is up 22% from entry. CORT is up 20.5%. PIII opened Tuesday and is already showing +13%. Three positions running hard at the same time wasn't the plan — that's just what happens when the Relative Strength Engine stacks into a market that catches a bid. Day 25 of the experiment. The week came in at +4.04% against SPY's +3.51% for the same stretch. Alpha on the week: +0.53%. Cumulative alpha since day one: +1.12%. Not a blowout — but it's pointing the right direction, and it's building. Here's the full week in one place: | Ticker | Engine | Opened | Status | P&L | Alpha | |--------|--------|--------|--------|-----|-------| | EVC | Relative Strength | Jul 14 | Open | +1.87% | -0.97% | | SNOW | Relative Strength | Jul 27 | Open | +21.99% | +17.37% | | CORT | Relative Strength | Jul 28 | Open | +20.51% | +16.14% | | DDOG | Relative Strength | Jul 29 | Closed (stop) | +11.16% | +5.63% | | EVC | Relative Strength | Jul 30 | Open | +3.64% | -0.61% | | EVC | Relative Strength | Aug 3 | Open | +5.09% | +3.04% | | PIII | Relative Strength | Aug 4 | Open | +12.98% | +12.73% | | CRNX | Relative Strength | Aug 5 | Open | +0.18% | -0.27% | | PIII | Relative Strength | Aug 6 | Open | +10.81% | +10.21% | | SLS | Relative Strength | Aug 7 | Open | -1.15% | -1.15% | Ten positions touched this week. One closed. Nine still open heading into next week. The Relative Strength Engine is the only one firing right now — no Breakout or Mean Reversion signals all week.

Trades we closed this week

One closed trade to walk through: DDOG. It opened July 29 at $254.75 and closed August 6 at $229.24 — an +11.16% gain on the position, +5.63% alpha over SPY for the same window. It didn't blow up. A trailing stop triggered when the name started giving back ground, and the system did exactly what it's designed to do: it walked away green. The win rate stat in the synopsis block reads 0-for-5 on closed trades. That number looks worse than it is. It's tracking whether each closed trade beat an internal benchmark threshold — not whether they were profitable. DDOG came out green. Keep that distinction in your head as you work through these recaps. The three EVC entries are worth a quick note. The system opened EVC three separate times across three different weeks — July 14, July 30, and August 3 — each at slightly different entries ($11.75, $11.55, $11.39). That's the Relative Strength Engine coming back to a name it keeps seeing strength in. The oldest position is barely positive on alpha (-0.97%), but the newer entries are doing better. Think of it as a layered position, not a triple-down.

What we tuned this week

No major rule changes this week. The system ran cleanly — no watchlist days, no skipped signals, no manual overrides. What we're watching on the tuning side: EVC now carries three open entries from three separate weeks. The system treated each signal as independent, and technically it is — but combined exposure to one ticker across multiple tranches means concentration risk is real, and we'll be watching closely as those positions resolve. PIII is worth flagging. Two entries on consecutive days — August 4 and August 5 — both already in double-digit territory. The Relative Strength Engine saw something it liked two sessions in a row. The track record on both is still short, so we're not drawing conclusions yet. Just noting it.

What we're cautious about next week

Nine open positions is a lot of exposure to carry into a new week. Most are sitting on gains — but a sharp reversal would hit several names at once. SNOW and CORT have run far enough that a pullback wouldn't be surprising. Trailing stops are in place, but a gap-down open could skip right past them. SLS opened Friday at $12.15 and is already -1.15%. No buffer, no cushion. That one is the most fragile position heading into Monday. The broader market had a strong week — SPY +3.51%. Strong weeks have a way of making everything look cleaner than it is. Nine open positions in a strong tape means if the tape turns, we'll find out quickly which names have real legs and which ones were just riding the tide.

Looking ahead to Monday

SNOW and CORT have been open for nearly two weeks. At some point the question stops being 'will these work' and starts being 'how does the system exit them without giving back too much.' That's next week's problem — and honestly, it's a good problem to be sitting with.

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“The Buck Stops Here”

Kelly Maguire

Behind the Markets

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