(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh – When a tape bomb hits a stock you own, you really have two choices. The most common is actually a non-choice: becoming a deer in the headlights, frozen because you don’t know what the news means for the company, the stock, or whether you should be selling or adding. The second choice is action: selling some, selling all, buying more, doubling down. This response is largely personality-driven. Some people have an action bias in every area of life. They don’t sit back and let events happen to them. These are the investors most likely to make a big move when a tape bomb hits. That doesn’t make the reaction wrong. It’s just human nature, and it’s something worth being aware of. So we have the deer and we have the action heroes. Which are you? If you’re reading my stuff, I doubt you’re a deer. Anyway. The investors most likely to freeze are those who entered a position without any real plan or calculated expectations. Do you know how many people buy a stock without even a vague idea of how they’ll handle upside or downside? Most? Almost all? Freezing is what happens when you don’t really know why you bought something in the first place. Saying “because I thought it would go up” isn’t an answer, even if it’s true. Professional investors evaluate tape bombs by asking whether the new development is material to their thesis. If it’s not, they sit tight or add to lower their cost basis. If it is material, the next question is one of degree. Does it break the original rationale? Push a key catalyst far into the future? Force consideration of a new, previously underappreciated risk? This is why investing in individual stocks is hard. Today we’re writing about the semiconductor names on our Best Stocks in the Market list. We won’t revisit names we’ve already covered, like LRCX, KLAC, NVDA or AVGO. Instead, we’ll focus on several we haven’t had a chance to write up yet, many of which have been on the list for a while. One of the biggest, Intel (INTC), dropped a tape bomb of its own on Friday. The reaction to last week’s earnings report was among the worst I’ve seen for this stock, and that’s saying something given the past decade. What makes it interesting is that this “disappointment” is happening against the backdrop of an intermediate-term uptrend. Will buyers step in in time? We’ll look at the key levels. Before we get to the semis, though, I want to update you on Coupang. Shareholders there have been living through a major tape bomb since news broke of a significant cybersecurity hack in South Korea. What makes it especially painful is that Korean stocks are up nearly 20% year to date. That strength is largely driven by SK Hynix and Samsung, which together make up about a third of the KOSPI, but still. Owning the one Korean tech stock that isn’t working right now is insult added to injury. We’ll take a quick look at how risk management kept Coupang’s tape bomb from becoming a disaster for Best Stocks readers. Coupang, Inc. (CPNG): Sean — Coupang, South Korea’s largest online retailer, reported a major data breach late last year. This event affected tens of millions of accounts and has triggered regulatory scrutiny and most recently, major class action lawsuits. Two major U.S. investors in CPNG petitioned the U.S. government to investigate South Korea’s handling of this breach, while multiple securities class-action lawsuits and investor alert notices are circulating. Josh — An absolute s***show. There’s probably a ton of value being created by this monstrous sell-off and investors who are concerned with such things should be researching this situation. But not us. We don’t have time for that, it’s not what we’re doing here with this column. Obviously the tape bomb changed things for the stock, and it is no longer among the Best in the Market. When we wrote it up on June 26 , we talked about using the $25 level for risk management. That would have had you out of the name on Dec. 15, sparing you from sitting through the entire 40% percent drawdown from 52-week highs. Sector leaderboard As of Jan. 26 , there are 207 names on The Best Stocks in the Market list. Top sector ranking: Top industries: Top 5 best stocks by relative strength: Sector spotlight: Semiconductors Intel Corp. (INTC): Sean — Intel operates across the entire semiconductor value chain, from research and design to high-volume manufacturing of semiconductors in the United States. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Intel reported revenue of $13.7 billion, down 4% year over year, with non-GAAP earnings per share of 15 cents. The stock dropped in response to a disappointing outlook with Q1 2026 revenue guidance of $11.7 billion-$12.7 billion, which fell short of expectations. Josh — The only number that matters for INTC shareholders right now is $40. The stock remains in a confirmed uptrend with price holding well above both the rising 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The 50-day has acted as consistent intermediate support since the breakout in the fall, and the recent pullback stalled well above that level, suggesting sellers are not yet in control. As long as the stock holds above the low-40s and continues to respect the 50-day, the trend remains intact for investors. Below the 50-day and it’s messy, most professionals would take it off their list. The primary risk is a loss of momentum that pushes price back below the 50-day and turns that average into resistance. A sustained break below that level would open the door to a deeper retracement toward the 200-day, which would represent a more meaningful test of the longer-term trend. Until that happens, this looks like digestion after a strong run rather than distribution. Intel’s tape bomb didn’t change the big picture yet, which is an uptrend after a deep, dark, nearly endless bear market. Astera Labs, Inc. (ALAB): Sean — Astera Labs provides high-performance connectivity products, including signal solutions, smart cables, and switch products that enable data center and AI applications. Astera Labs reported strong third quarter fiscal 2025 results with record revenue of $230.6 million, up 20% sequentially and 104% year over year. Josh — ALAB is in a consolidation phase following a sharp advance earlier in the year, with price chopping sideways between the 50-day and prior highs. The stock is still comfortably above a rising 200-day moving average, which has not been seriously tested since the uptrend began. This keeps the long-term trend constructive, even as near-term momentum has cooled off (RSI at 50 is just an equilibrium, not a confirmation of anything). Risk management hinges on the lower end of the recent range. A decisive break below the 50-day that leads to a test of the 200-day (low 140’s area) would be the first real warning that the character of the trend is changing. As long as the 200-day continues to slope higher and price holds above it, this consolidation favors patience rather than forcing a trade you really don’t want to do. The most constructive thing I see here is the higher lows since November. Not as powerful as higher highs, but you have to start somewhere. Keep this one on your screen. Microchip Technology, Inc. (MCHP): Sean — Microchip Technology provides electronic control solutions including microcontrollers, analog products, and signal devices serving industrial, automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications, and computing markets. Nearly everything that relies on power and electricity. This past quarter, MCHP hit its 140th consecutive quarter of profitability, reporting operating margins of 24%. Josh — Ah, Microchip. Nothing AI about it. They make the chips in your garage door clicker and your refrigerator. It’s not glamorous but it’s honest work. Either way, the buyers are coming in at increasingly higher prices and a decisive breakout above $80 is going to be major if and when it happens. MCHP has reclaimed its 200-day moving average after a prolonged base and is now building above it, a constructive development from a risk perspective. The 50-day has turned up and is beginning to provide support, signaling improving trend alignment after months of sideways action. The key risk is a failed reclaim of the 200-day. A move back below that level would suggest the breakout attempt has stalled and that the stock could revert to its prior trading range in the 40’s to 60’s area. This would be chopped, as the kids say. But as long as the pullbacks remain contained above the 200-day, investors can view volatility as part of a base-building process rather than a trend breakdown. Traders should jump the gun a bit on risk management and use $65 as a pivot – the old congestion levels from the fall. Below that level and there’s probably better trading setups elsewhere. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (MPWR): Sean — Monolithic Power makes chips that manage how power flows inside electronics, helping devices run efficiently and reliably. For the third quarter of 2025, Monolithic Power Systems achieved record revenue of $737.2 million, up 10.9% sequentially and 18.9% year-over-year, with net income of $178.3 million. The company reported strong growth across all end markets and raised its fourth quarter revenue guidance to a range of $730 million to $750 million. This stock has been firing on all cylinders with 30% or greater year-over-year growth coming out of its storage and computing segment and its automotive segment. Josh — MPWR continues to trade in a strong long-term uptrend, staying well above that steadily rising 200-day moving average. The stock has absorbed prior volatility without violating key support, which is characteristic of leadership names in healthy trends. Momentum has reaccelerated (RSI high 60’s right now), pushing price back toward the upper end of the range. The October high was $1,105, giving us an obvious breakout level to watch for. There are likely some sellers in the region, so it may need time to digest the recent run. Risk increases if the stock breaks below the 50-day and fails to quickly reclaim it, particularly given how extended price is from the 200-day. A deeper pullback toward the 200-day would not break the primary trend but would represent a more meaningful test of investor conviction. Until then, the burden of proof remains on sellers, not holders. The old resistance level in the $850’s area became support in November. I don’t want to own it on a breach below. Traders can use the more recent low at $900 as their line in the sand. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, or its parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL’S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. 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