Trade Opportunity Case Study of the Week: APLD Catalyst Gapper – | June, 2025

The Trade Opportunity

The purpose of this weekly article is to analyze the top trading opportunity of the past week. This is to improve our identification and execution of high quality trade ideas that meet our setup requirements.

Each article will focus on a stock that meets one of three of the main categories of setups I trade:

• Range Breakout / VCP / tight area breakout
• Pullback to Support/ Key moving average
• Gapper / Post Gap Setup

These articles are like taking a step into the batting cage and loading up a historical at bat from an Ace pitcher in the world series – they will help you prepare and execute in future situations by studying important moments from the past.

The setups we cover will appear again and again in each market cycle

So far we have covered these case studies:
Previous article covering the BE Day 1 Gapper Setup
Previous article covering the AI Day 3 Gapper Setup
Previous article covering the DOCS Post Gap Range Breakout Setup
Previous article covering the ALAB Range Breakout Setup
Previous article covering the NVCR Range Breakout Setup
Previous Article on QMCO Range Breakouts
Previous Article on CRNC Episodic Pivot
Previous Article on VST 10 EMA Pullback
Previous Article on HIMS Range Breakout
Previous Article on TEM Opening Range Breakout
Previous Article on U Gapper Day 1 Setup
Previous Article on Okta Earnings Gapper
Previous Article on QBTS Catalyst Gapper
Previous Article on CELH Inside Day Breakout
Previous Article on SQQQ Oops Reversal

Previous Article on the CRWD Oops Reversal
Previous Article on the TTAN Range Breakout
Previous Article on the PLTR 21ema Pullback
Previous Article on HIMS Post Gap Range Breakout

I also have the following Educational Articles which expand more on Setups/Entry Tactics. I will be doing one on the positive expectation breaker entry tactic soon.
Oops Reversal Entry Tactic

Please let me know in the comments what other topics you would like me to write about.

This past week we continued to trend higher, holding above the pivot

Here are a few names worth studying from the past week

TSSI breakout from the tight day within the consolidation

NBIS range low undercut and rally or 21ema pullback

GRRR range breakout

TEM range breakout off the MAs

Today however we will be focusing on APLD which had a monster gapper / episodic pivot move and was actionable day 1 on the gap and go and day 3 on the reconfirmation after the tight day

Discovery

How would you get APLD on your radar?

To trade EPs/Gappers you need to build into your process a way to find names gapping up pre-market or post-market the previous day on potential game-changing catalysts

AI has been a prevailing theme to fish in and the catalyst for APLD came Monday morning June 2 when they announced a partnership with CRWV to provide infrastructure for it’s data center.

To catch this news you would want to be screening in pre market for large gaps and moves on volume and then look further into the catalyst behind key moves. I like to simply use Google to find keys news and prefer reading from the companies own announcements.

June 2 at 8am APLD published this press release:

Here are the key highlights that show it could have a significant impact on new revenue and growth.

Once you’ve identified that the stock is in play for that day, you would look to use your entry tactics to position while managing risk.

Setup and Execution

For gappers I have 4 general entry tactics I use:

• Right off the open for high conviction trades
• Opening Range Breakout/ Base
• VWAP Reclaim
• Intraday Base Breakout

Here is an 1 minute intraday chart of APLD showing potential entries.

For Gappers day 1 I do watch intraday timeframes. 1 minute rigth at the open then later 5 and 15 minute.

If entering on Entry 3 You would like be selling a third to a quarter of it into strength up over 10% (3R) and likely letting the rest go as it broke the AVWAP.

Entry 3 is the lowest risk and slightly earlier than the AVWAP Reclaim. Here is the action on a 5 minute chart. Notice how after this pullback APLD trended above the AVWAP the whole day.

At the close even from entry 4 you were up over 10%. Enough to at least hold a partial overnight.

Day 2 immediately pulled back off the open but held the Day 1 AVWAP and overall was a tight setup day.

Here is a 10 minute chart

On a daily chart here is what it looked like. The actionable daily pivot would be through the high of day 1

Day 3 setup a great entry through the daily pivot with tight risk under the LOD. APLD then trending above the AVWAP all day.

Swing traders would be selling into strength as the day progressed as this is day 3 of the move.

2 close out the week we see more pops and drops as traders take profit. For momentum swing traders likely you would want to be out unless trailing a partial at the 10ema.

This could just be the start of a larger move but APLD will likelt experience significant swings as it’s daily ADR is over 13%.