Stock Selection: Muse Spark 1.1's picks for 2026-10-26
Muse Spark 1.1 picked VZ, CDNS, CRWD, NUE, CLS for a 1-day horizon. Portfolio return vs SPY: +1.19%. Picks that beat SPY: 60%.
| Experiment | Stock Selection |
|---|---|
| Model | Muse Spark 1.1 |
| Prompt version | stock-selection-v8 |
| Asked | |
| Horizon | 1-day |
| Measured from | 2026-10-26 |
| Measured to | 2026-10-27 |
| Benchmark | SPY |
| Status | Settled |
| Portfolio return vs SPY | +1.19% |
| Picks that beat SPY | 60% |
| Benchmark return | +0.23% |
The picks
| Rank | Symbol | Return | Confidence | vs benchmark | Called right |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VZ | -0.33% | 72% | -0.56% | No |
| 2 | CDNS | +1.77% | 70% | +1.55% | Yes |
| 3 | CRWD | +1.08% | 68% | +0.86% | Yes |
| 4 | NUE | +4.67% | 65% | +4.45% | Yes |
| 5 | CLS | -0.11% | 62% | -0.33% | No |
The model's market view
S&P 500 opened higher on Oct 26, 2026 building on Friday close, SPY around 761-763 within prior day range, as big-tech earnings week begins (Alphabet, Microsoft due). 10-year yield near 5% and oil above $116 pressure multiples. Software and cybersecurity showing relative strength while chip names slide. Today's earnings slate includes VZ beating pre-market, CDNS, NUE, CLS after close. For 1 session, post-earnings gaps and cybersecurity momentum are most likely to outperform SPY.
Why each pick
VZ
Verizon reported Q3 before open Oct 26: adjusted EPS $1.31 vs $1.27 consensus (+$0.04), up 8.3% YoY, raised FY26 guidance, postpaid phone adds nearly doubled estimates, FCF $7.8B, new AWS AI infrastructure agreement. Revenue $34.31B missed $34.85B on equipment sales -9%, causing intraday pullback -2.68% to 43.46, but profit beat and subscriber beat underpins wireless winner thesis vs AT&T/ T-Mobile despite SpaceX fears. High 6.35% dividend yield supports defensive bid if tech wobbles into Oct 27 11:05 ET close. Reference price is intraday delayed quote from Finnhub regular session Oct 26. Risks: revenue miss may keep pressure, high rates hurt dividend stocks, equipment weakness persists.
CDNS
Cadence Design Systems scheduled to report Q3 after close Oct 26 at 5pm ET, consensus EPS $2.05 on $1.61B revenue, FY26 guide 8.05-8.15. EDA is direct AI chip design beneficiary, AI-powered growth narrative. Stock strong into print +4.73% intraday to 331.46 (open 316.975, high 331.65), indicating accumulation ahead of call. Options market pricing large move. Beat would gap up into window end Oct 27 15:05 UTC which captures after-hours reaction and next morning open. Reference price is intraday regular-session current price from Finnhub Oct 26. Risks: high PE ~61, Zacks warned of possible miss by 0.91%, guidance may disappoint, valuation sensitive to rates.
CRWD
CrowdStrike leading cybersecurity rally. Oct 24 +8.25% to $257.57 on PHP vulnerabilities taking websites offline, volume 1.6x 20-day avg. Oct 26 continuing +2.44% intraday to 263.87 (open 259.06). Evercore ISI channel survey Oct 23 pointed to firming cyber budgets into year-end, naming CRWD and PANW as top beneficiaries of AI security demand; Mizuho raised target to $275. MSFT/CRWD/PLTR noted as software resilience while chip stocks slide. Momentum +16% 5-day, YTD +125% provides trend to outperform SPY over 1 day. Reference price is intraday delayed regular-session price from Finnhub Oct 26. Risks: high beta 1.15, extended after 91% year run-up, rich valuation, profit-taking risk if SPY reverses.
NUE
Nucor reports Q3 after close Oct 26, consensus EPS $5.84-5.85 vs prior year implying +122% YoY growth, revenue ~$10.84B. Barclays raised target to $306 from $295 on Oct 20, 19.84% above $255.33 quote. Steel benefits from infrastructure spending and US manufacturing resilience, beta 1.87 gives higher upside than SPY in risk-on tape. Company beat Q2 by 6.84% and Q1 by 14.95%. After-close print captured fully in window to Oct 27 15:05 UTC. Reference price is intraday delayed regular-session current price 257.66 from Finnhub Oct 26 (prev close 258.11). Risks: cyclical, earnings highly sensitive to steel prices, miss would cause sharp drop, industrial demand may soften with 10-year at 5%.
CLS
Celestica confirmed earnings after close Oct 26, AI server and electrical equipment manufacturer, beta 1.29. Stock up +4.99% intraday to 273 (open 267, low 259.51) vs prev close 260.01, showing +20.1% over last 7 days per tracking. AI infrastructure buildout drives demand, benefit from hyperscaler capex ahead of big-tech earnings. High short-term momentum and high beta favor 1-day outperformance vs SPY if print beats. Reference price is intraday regular-session current price from Finnhub Oct 26. Risks: down -25% 1-month and -33% 6-month indicates volatility, high expectations, any miss or cautious guide could reverse +5% gain, supply chain risks.
Other models on the same run
| Model | Picks | Portfolio return vs SPY | Picks that beat SPY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | SMH, NVDA, XLP, XLE, MSFT | -0.02% | 40% |
| Perplexity | RRC, VZ, TSLA, AMZN, AAPL | +1.06% | 60% |
| GPT-6 | TSLA, NVDA, SOXL, AVGO, CRWD | +2.48% | 80% |
| Grok 4.7 | TSLA, NVDA, PANW, CCI, AMD | +1.14% | 60% |
| DeepSeek | SGRY, RRC, TSLA, NVDA, MU | +1.55% | 80% |
Written up on ForecastNest Insights: Stock Selection: Muse Spark 1.1's picks for 2026-10-26.
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