Retail traders are on a buying spree that can keep equities marching to record highs. Scott Rubner of Citadel Securities pointed out in a note Wednesday that mom-and-pop traders have been net buyers of stocks for 19 straight trading sessions. That marks the longest buying streak since March 2021 and fifth longest on record. The hedge fund’s data also shows retail investors have been bullish in options for 12 weeks in a row, with the put-call ratio skewing in favor of call options. These contracts give the buyer the right to buy an underlying stock at a certain price. Put options let the holder sell a specific stock at a predetermined price. This comes as the S & P 500 continues to scale to fresh record highs , boosted by strong earnings and expectations that the U.S. will reach trade deals with other countries. So far, 23% of the S & P 500 has posted second-quarter results. Of those, about 88% have topped analyst earnings expectations, FactSet data shows. But the big reports will come from major tech companies. Alphabet is set to report after the bell Wednesday. Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms and Microsoft are scheduled to report next week. On the trade front, President Donald Trump said the U.S. reached a deal with Japan, sending stocks higher on Wednesday. “I remain on watch for daily all-time highs, but more importantly I am on alert for a ‘blow-off’ top led by the laggards. The pain trade remains higher,” Rubner wrote. Elsewhere on Wall Street on Wednesday morning, Bank of America raised its price target on Amazon to $265 from $248. “Amazon’s YTD commentary on AWS capacity constraints, plus recent competitor Cloud revenue acceleration has likely elevated Street focus on AWS,” analyst Justin Post wrote in a note to clients. “We think 2Q Retail is setting up for a solid quarter, plus a strong 1Q for AWS backlog and accelerating quarterly AWS capex spending should drive accelerating 2H AWS growth.”
