The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

The first day of October, also the first day of the fourth quarter, featured a face plant for stocks as increased tensions in the Middle East as well as the start of the expected port strike on the East and West coasts were too much for the charging bull to overcome. The two areas that (of course) benefited were crude oil prices/energy stocks and defense/aerospace stocks. WTI ended the session with a 3.4% pop and closing at $70.47/barrel, although that was well off the intraday high up near $72/barrel. Industries that import goods from overseas (retailers, toys, clothing, etc.) fell only 1% on hopes that the port strike won't last long, but we all remember what happened to prices during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Information Technology was weak on Tuesday, led by renewable energy equipment (especially by weakness in solar), semiconductors, and computer hardware, all losing between 3% and 3.5%. These industries also import a lot of products and are very susceptible to supply disruptions. The S&P 500 (SPX), S&P 100 (OEX), Nasdaq, Nasdaq 100 (QQQ), and S&P 400 (MDY) gave up 0.9% to 1.5%, but all held near-term support. The SPX, OEX, and MDY closed on their 10-day exponential moving averages (EMA), while the Nasdaq and the QQQ bounced off their 21-day EMAs. So there is no short-term technical damage yet. We would be a bit concerned if the SPX dropped below its breakout area between 5,650 and 5,670, as that would create a false breakout. But for now, that wouldn't be an absolute game changer for stocks as there is so much potential support below current prices. We also have seen very strong breadth, which is not typical of a major top. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company with subsidiaries in a diverse range of industries, including insurance, railroads, utilities, energy, finance, manufacturing, and retailing. Its major subsidiaries include GEICO, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Precision Castparts, and McLane Company. As of June 30, 2024, Berkshire also had about $285 billion of equity investments, including significant stakes in Apple Inc., Bank of America, Coca-Cola, American Express and Chevron.

MEDICAL PROPERTIES TRUST INC has an Investment Rating of HOLD; a target price of $5.000000; an Industry Subrating of Low; a Management Subrating of High; a Safety Subrating of Low; a Financial Strength Subrating of High; a Growth Subrating of High; and a Value Subrating of Low.