The Simple Side's Saturday Sendout: New Portfolio Updates & Outperformance

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To Simple Side Shareholders — good morning! I am glad to have you join me for another Saturday Sendout. As a reminder, you can find our podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and here on Substack!

Updates

The new format going forward will look similar to this in our weekly updates:

* FREE

* Market Commentary & News

* Quick Insider Trade Updates

* Interesting Trade Ideas

* Portfolio Performance

* PAID

* Portfolio Holdings & Updates

* Portfolio Strategies, Updates & New Bets

* Our Weekly Picks

* Mergers & Acquisitions Picks

* Top Stock Picks

As a reminder, all of this will be accessible to you via copy trading. Remember that these portfolios ARE NOT GET-RICH-QUICK portfolios. I am focused on long-term market outperformance.

There will be updates made to the paid subscriber spreadsheet as well, but I will likely update everyone on those when they are completed!

Market Commentary

The week in one glance

* Stocks notched fresh highs Tuesday–Thursday and then cooled on Friday as profit-taking hit mega-cap tech, semis, and cyclicals. Breadth quietly improved midweek with small and mid-caps outrunning the giants, a sign the rally can walk and chew gum at the same time.

* Rates drifted rather than lurched, keeping the soft-landing story intact and September cut odds lofty. Oil hovered near $64, gold firmed, and the VIX stayed sleepy until a Friday yawn.

Macro & rates

* Growth looked sturdier than feared with Q2 GDP revised to 3.3% while weekly jobless claims stayed low, the combination investors usually order when they want easing without the drama. Two-year yields meandered around 3.62%–3.73% and the 10-year around 4.21%–4.33%, leaving the door open for a modest Fed trim next month if PCE doesn’t misbehave.

* Housing stayed mixed and consumer gauges were fine, not fantastic; in market terms that’s “just right” because it cools the inflation talk without chilling earnings.

Sectors & flows

* Communication services led thanks to steady strength in Alphabet and Meta, while energy caught a bid as crude inched higher and balance sheets kept doing the heavy lifting.

* Defensives lagged as investors rotated toward risk, and retailers turned in a patchwork quilt where great execution mattered more than category. The equal-weight S&P perked up midweek, hinting that leadership isn’t only a two-stock show.

AI, chips & cloud: hype met housekeeping

* NVIDIA delivered record revenue and a huge networking print, then reminded everyone that China is complicated and guidance can be… responsible. Shares flinched before the market remembered AI datacenters don’t build themselves.

* Marvell’s outlook knocked the wind out of semis on Friday, a reminder that not every AI dollar shows up on the same quarter’s P&L. Dell talked up a path to $20B in AI server sales next year, HP pushed AI PCs past a quarter of its mix and sharpened the cost pencil, and SK hynix flexed with a 321-layer QLC part that doubles capacity—because storage wants in on the AI party too.

* Software stole a few scenes: MongoDB ripped after a clean beat, Box nudged guidance higher as larger enterprises lean in, Snowflake and Nutanix talked bigger pipelines as AI-heavy workloads move from slides to spend, and CrowdStrike kept stacking ARR while bolting on data plumbing.

Earnings & movers

* Dollar General topped estimates and lifted guidance, proving value retail can still find value. Victoria’s Secret tightened execution and raised its sales view. Pure Storage impressed with margin and backlog momentum, which is what you get when customers need faster pipes for smarter apps.

* Alibaba missed at the headline but showed double-digit growth ex-disposals and highlighted another quarter of triple-digit AI cloud revenue, then set to refinance a chunky loan—housekeeping that keeps optionality alive.

* Caterpillar raised the tariff hit for the year, a useful tell for anyone modeling industrial margins into autumn.

Autos, EVs & mobility

* Tesla fought a two-front war: deep UK lease discounts and a European sales slump on one side, a jury verdict tied to Autopilot on the other. Plans for a lower-priced model in 2025 remain the demand valve, but competition isn’t waiting. GM recalled Corvette units for a fuel issue and Nissan slipped after Mercedes moved to exit a longstanding stake—classic reminder that strategic ties aren’t forever.

Deals, capital & policy moves

* Keurig Dr Pepper moved toward buying JDE Peet’s as investors did the spreadsheet and marked the stock down; bold portfolio reshapes usually come with upfront sticker shock.

* Energy and defense stayed busy: Crescent Energy agreed to acquire Vital Energy in all-stock fashion to fatten free cash flow, RTX won a big F135 engine order, and Boeing secured maintenance work even as labor talks crept on. AT&T lined up $23B of spectrum to feed its 5G and fiber ambitions—because the network is the business model.

* Terumo reached for OrganOx to deepen transplant tech, AbbVie bought rights to a mid-stage depression asset from Gilgamesh, and MannKind added scPharmaceuticals to bulk up in cardiometabolic. In healthcare, Eli Lilly posted positive Phase 3 obesity-pill data and an overall-survival win for Verzenio, while Regeneron and Alnylam advanced an RNA therapy in myasthenia gravis—clinical readouts that point to revenue mix shifting further toward specialty therapies.

Oddities & outliers

* Charter sweetened Spectrum bundles with Disney’s streaming stack at no extra cost for eligible plans, a tacit nod that “cable vs. streaming” is turning into “connectivity plus content, don’t make me choose.”

* Box scores aside, Canada Goose and Aspen Insurance drew buyout chatter and deals, proof that private capital still likes cash-flow stories with a winter coat.

Insider Trade Updates

Insiders don’t always get it right… but they do get the best seats in the house. Here are this week’s trades that made us raise an eyebrow (and maybe place a limit order).

We keep track of all of these trades on our Google sheet, and then insider returns are quite astounding…

Buy the Dip Tracker

Insiders buying after meaningful drawdowns — percent and window included.

* ECIA — Encision Inc.CEO bought 1,000,000 @ $0.10 after a 42.35% one-month drop. Surgical entry at penny-stock prices; treat $0.10–$0.12 as the tug-of-war zone.

* ECIA — Encision Inc.Director bought 750,000 @ $0.10 after a 42.35% one-month drop. Cluster buying amplifies the signal.

* ECIA — Encision Inc.10% Owner bought 2,000,000 @ $0.10 after a 42.35% one-month drop. When both insiders and a 10% holder step in, floors often form.

* NTLA — Intellia TherapeuticsDirector bought 100,000 @ $10.03 after a 22.02% one-month slide. Gene-editing dip buy; look for a higher low above ~$10.

* FFAI — Faraday FutureGlobal President bought 10,560 @ $2.33 after a 21.31% one-month drop. High beta, high drama—trade the tape, not the story.

* CLDI — Calidi BiotherapeuticsDirector bought 150,000 @ $2.00 and 250,000 @ $2.00 after a 43.33% one-week drop. Two prints into a faceplant; watch for base-building above $2.

* COTY — Coty Inc.Chief People & Purpose Officer bought 30,000 @ $3.84 after a 24.54% one-week drop.CEO bought 260,000 @ $3.92 after a 24.54% one-week drop. When the C-suite buys the beauty dip, momentum traders bring mirrors.

* AFCG — Advanced Flower CapitalDirector bought 375,147 @ $4.07 after a 52.37% one-year drawdown. Deep value or value trap—let price action decide.

* STSS — Sharps TechnologyDirectors bought 400,000 / 100,000 / 80,000 / 40,000 @ $6.41 after a 99.13% one-year collapse. That’s not catching a falling knife; that’s restocking the cutlery aisle.

* GMGI — Golden Matrix GroupCFO bought 25,000 @ $1.30 after a 21.34% one-month drop. Finance chief averaging down—eyes on follow-through.

Standout Size ($1M+)

Large checks that can tilt order books, even without explicit “dip” tags.

* CEPF — Cantor Equity Partners IV10% Owner bought 900,000 @ $10.00 ($9.0M). Big private-placement bite.

* REYN — Reynolds ConsumerDirector bought 159,506 @ $22.99 ($3.67M) and 71,586 @ $23.05 ($1.65M). Household-staples insider stepping up twice.

* REZI — Resideo10% Owner bought 46,953 @ $33.55 ($1.58M). Strategic holder topping up.

* AVTR — AvantorDirector bought 100,000 @ $12.56 ($1.26M). Industrial life-science pick-and-shovel.

* HTH — Hilltop HoldingsChairman bought 30,000 @ $34.84 ($1.05M). Regional-bank confidence check.

* ASAN — AsanaDirector bought 446,966 @ $13.74 ($6.14M). Plan-driven cadence but still size.

Officer Skin-in-the-Game

Executives opening their wallets (items not already listed above).

* TPVG — TriplePoint Venture GrowthCEO bought 122,003 @ $6.46 ($788.7K).President & CIO bought 122,003 @ $6.46 ($788.7K). BDC leadership alignment.

* EBC — Eastern BanksharesExecutive Chair bought 44,642 @ $16.71; CEO bought 29,762 @ $16.71. Bank brass buying their own book.

* SINT — Sintx TechnologiesChief Investment Officer bought 50,000 @ $3.70 ($185K). Early-stage materials, officer participation noted.

* HSON — Hudson GlobalCOO bought 6,813 @ $9.24. Small, but operators buying dips often precede turnarounds.

Interesting Trade Ideas

I haven’t come up with any beautiful ideas for this upcoming week, but I will give an update on our most recent interesting trade idea. This past week on Monday, I initiated a position in BFST (Business First Bancshares) — which looks to be an undervalued M&A gem in Texas and Louisiana. The company hasn’t made any meaningful gains/losses since then, but I like the position we have in the company with a price just over $25/share.

This week, we also sent out a “Berkshire Buy” article (a stock analysis through the lens of Berkshire. This week’s article was on Qualys, and the stock is up 2.31% this week. The company looks great from a growth perspective (5-year growth of EPS is over 20% and 5-year revenue growth is over 10%). A company that is cutting costs and growing revenue — I love it! You can see all of the “Berkshire Buy” stock we have written articles about by going here (only for paying subscribers)!

Portfolio Performance

Tracking the portfolio performance is going to look somewhat different for everyone. Not everyone will buy at the same time, not everyone will DCAs the same amount, and not everyone will be willing to hold through the downturns like others. So, performance will vary moderately between investors.

The returns shown in Autopilot screenshots (aka my copytrading partner) will represent the average return of all investors who copy my portfolios. That means the returns in the Autopilot app won’t always match 1:1 the returns on the paid subscriber spreadsheet, but the holdings and trades will always match up!

My exact returns, as well as exact prices, and all that other great stuff can be found by paid subscribers using the paid spreadsheet. If you click on that sentence, it will take you to the new section of the spreadsheet!

Portfolio Holdings & Updates

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