One blended score, refreshed on a schedule, that ranks candidate LEAPS trades by momentum and thesis strength — built to enforce the same discipline as the LEAPS Desk: no falling knives, no chasing, no trading for the sake of trading.
Every symbol gets two independent sub-scores, blended 50/50. Neither one alone is the signal — a stock has to show both real momentum and a real thesis to rank highly.
Both sub-scores run 0–100. The blend is intentionally even — a cheap stock with no thesis and a great story with no confirming price action should both fail to rank near the top.
(Price − 52-week low) ÷ (52-week high − 52-week low) × 100. A stock trading near its highs scores high; a stock well off its highs scores low. This is the same lens that flags Mistake #3 — catching a falling knife — automatically, before you size a position.
A researched conviction rating on the business itself — moat, growth durability, valuation risk, and near-term catalysts or headwinds. This is the Screener's "is there a real secular tailwind" check, scored rather than just checked off.
Twelve secular-growth large caps, ranked by AI Score. Suggested delta bucket follows the LEAPS Desk doctrine: 75–80Δ stock replacement for the highest-conviction, steadier names; 35–40Δ explosion trade where conviction is real but volatility or an event risk argues for smaller, cheaper exposure.
| # | Symbol | Price | Off 52-wk High | AI Score | Verdict | Suggested Bucket | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MSFTMicrosoft | $513.53 | -7.3% | 85.0 | Priority | Stock Replacement (75–80Δ) | Near highs, AI + cloud momentum broad-based. |
| 2 | CRMSalesforce | $256.00 | -4.9% | 84.5 | Priority | Stock Replacement (75–80Δ) | Beat-and-raise quarter, richest technical reading on the list. |
| 3 | AMZNAmazon | $266.43 | -7.2% | 81.5 | Priority | Stock Replacement (75–80Δ) | AWS + ads compounding, trading near highs. |
| 4 | NVDANVIDIA | $217.55 | -8.0% | 81.0 | Priority | Stock Replacement (75–80Δ) | AI infra leader; today's -4.6% is noise inside an uptrend, not yet a trend break. |
| 5 | AAPLApple | $319.70 | -7.2% | 78.5 | Priority | Stock Replacement (75–80Δ) | Steady compounder; foldable iPhone event 9/9 is a watch date, not a reason to wait. |
| 6 | GOOGLAlphabet | $346.59 | -15.2% | 77.0 | Priority | Stock Replacement (75–80Δ) | Search + Gemini + Cloud; furthest of the six from its high but still a Strong Buy consensus. |
| 7 | PLTRPalantir | $186.29 | -10.2% | 70.5 | Candidate | Explosion Trade (35–40Δ) | Momentum is real, but PE ~159 argues for smaller, cheaper exposure. |
| 8 | AVGOBroadcom | $368.79 | -25.5% | 61.5 | Candidate | Explosion Trade (35–40Δ) | Custom AI silicon thesis intact; earnings 9/2 is a binary catalyst — size for it. |
| 9 | UBERUber | $78.82 | -22.7% | 56.5 | Candidate | Explosion Trade (35–40Δ) | Profitability inflection intact; AV competitive fears keep it off its highs. |
| 10 | NFLXNetflix | $81.72 | -35.5% | 48.5 | Caution | Wait for trend confirmation | 35% off high — falling-knife zone until price action turns. |
| 11 | METAMeta Platforms | $578.02 | -26.9% | 47.5 | Caution | Wait for trend confirmation | AI capex ROI concerns pressuring the stock despite a strong core thesis. |
| 12 | TSLATesla | $348.75 | -30.1% | 40.5 | Caution | Wait for trend confirmation | Earnings down 35% y/y, PE ~362 — thesis carries real execution risk right now. |
All six sit within roughly 5–16% of their 52-week high with durable secular stories (cloud, AI infrastructure, enterprise software). They rank as Priority Candidates, sized as stock replacement.
Strong stories, but stretched valuation (PLTR), an imminent earnings catalyst (AVGO, Sept 2), or a name still proving out its margin story (UBER) argue for the cheaper, higher-torque 35–40Δ structure instead of full stock replacement.
All three are down 27–35% from their 52-week highs. The thesis may still be intact, but the technical sub-score is doing exactly what it's supposed to: refusing to rank a name highly just because the story sounds good while the chart is still falling. Wait for the technical sub-score to confirm before sizing in — that's Mistake #3 from the playbook.
A high AI Score picks the candidate. It doesn't override the 120-day close-or-roll rule, the income-layering conditions, or position sizing — run every entry through the LEAPS Desk before committing capital.