Yahoo Finance

Many brokerage firms that serve retail and institutional clients maintain data to measure investment sentiment. This can be very valuable when evaluating how the small investor, or even the corporate giants, are feeling about the stock market -- and, more importantly, what are they doing with their funds. Charles Schwab is one of those firms, with its Schwab Trading Activity Index, or STAX. STAX is a proprietary, behavior-based index designed to indicate the sentiment of retail investors and has been incorporating data since January 2019. In April, STAX fell to 41.2, down 15% from 48.4 in March and the lowest headline reading since April 2023. The STAX fell every week of the April period, though the first week saw the heaviest selling as STAX fell 11%, the biggest weekly drop since the first week of April 2023. The third week of the four saw only mild net-selling, but selling accelerated again in the final week (ended April 25). On a monthly basis, April's overall STAX plunge of 14.9% was the deepest drop since March 2020, the first full month of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is just another example of what we have been talking about for weeks, namely the similarity between 2025's correction and the pandemic correction. The current STAX reading is closing in on the low level of 37.2 at the end of 2022, right after that bear market bottomed. During the 2023/2024 market advance, the index never got out of neutral territory, peaking at 55. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

The Vickers Top Insider Picks is a daily report that utilizes a proprietary algorithm to identify 25 companies with compelling insider purchase histories based on transactions over the past three months.

BMW is a premium passenger car and motorcycle original equipment manufacturer, home to the brands BMW, Mini Cooper, Rolls-Royce, and BMW Motorrad. BMW sold 2.8 million vehicles in 2023 (2.6 million being passenger cars). In terms of sales volumes, Asia and Europe are BMW’s largest regions, contributing 39% and 38%, respectively. BMW’s core competence is in the "affordable" luxury channel, with limited exposure to high-end priced vehicles.

Wynn Resorts operates luxury casinos and resorts. The company was founded in 2002 by Steve Wynn, the former CEO. The company operates four megaresorts: Wynn Macau and Encore in Macao and Wynn Las Vegas and Encore in Las Vegas. Cotai Palace opened in August 2016 in Macao, and Encore Boston Harbor in Massachusetts opened June 2019. We expect the company to continue to build nongaming attractions in Macao over the next few years. We model Wynn's managed integrated resort in the United Arab Emirates to open in 2027. The company also operates Wynn Interactive, a digital sports betting and iGaming platform. The company received 76% and 24% of its 2019 prepandemic EBITDA from Macao and the US, respectively. In 2024, both the US and Macao were each 50% of total EBITDA.