The Week Ahead : 17th - 20th February 2026

Highlights: Fear in the Air, FED, Earnings

Author

Irish Born Investor
February 15, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

The Week Ahead : 17th - 20th February 2026

Highlights: Fear in the Air, FED, Earnings

Sources & Services I Use in my Trading:

Week Overview

Market Setup: Choppy/Negative Markets. QQQ & SPY Below the Moving Averages.

Key Themes: Earnings has been ‘‘okay’’ in terms of catalyst reactions. Probably better than expected considering the overall market sentiment. I’m not seeing anything wonderful this week. Charts flagged below. I felt like I was reaching while going through earnings charts which usually isn’t a good sign. Some pockets of strength in Infra, Industrials and Energy. Also Notable how strong REITS are which is usually a Low Rates trade.

There is a lot of fear in the air. Traders who couldn’t get away from the Speculative names and the Tech software names have been destroyed. I think sentiment is low and people are very bearish. I try my best to take note of this stuff but not be influenced. My experience in the last two weeks has been relatively positive. I’ve seen plenty of follow through in the names I’ve been holding (for the most part). I also note that the Put/Call Ratio is ramped which usually occurs at the bottom not the top. I still have to lean bullish and not be influenced by the carnage in certain areas. Try remove the noise and focus on the stocks you’re watching. VIX is stubbornly high, main focus on a downside move.

I am cautious on new positions and trimming strength on existing names. We’ve had some great trades the past 2 weeks. FSLY, GLW, STM, MPC, CGNX, NKTR, ROIV, PLBY.

  • Earnings - Pockets of Strength: Industrials, Infrastructure, Energy, REITS

  • FED - FED Minutes release this week along with Core PCE. A dovish boost to the lower rates narrative may kick start a move.

  • Fear in the Air - Potential Bear Trap?

Focus Areas: Caution, Highly Selective, Monitoring Existing Positions - Earnings and News. Focusing on non extended names, new leadership.

Calendar Notes: Market Closed Monday 16th February, FOMC Minutes Wednesday, Core PCE for December on Friday

Macro Events (Eastern Time)

Wednesday, February 18, 2026:

  • 08:30 AM - Building Permits Prel (NOV): 1.411M (prev: 1.36M)

  • 08:30 AM - Building Permits Prel (DEC): 1.42M (prev: 1.31M)

  • 08:30 AM - Durable Goods Orders MoM (DEC): 5.3% (prev: -1.8%, consensus: -3.4%)

  • 08:30 AM - Housing Starts (NOV): 1.246M (prev: 1.27M)

  • 08:30 AM - Housing Starts (DEC): 1.33M (prev: 1.29M)

  • 02:00 PM - FOMC Minutes

Friday, February 20, 2026:

  • 08:30 AM - Core PCE Price Index MoM (DEC): 0.2% (prev: 0.4%, consensus: 0.2%)

  • 08:30 AM - GDP Growth Rate QoQ Adv (Q4): 4.4% (prev: 3%, consensus: 3.5%)

  • 08:30 AM - Personal Income MoM (DEC): 0.3% (prev: 0.3%, consensus: 0.1%)

  • 08:30 AM - Personal Spending MoM (DEC): 0.5% (prev: 0.4%, consensus: 0.0%)

Earnings Highlights

Monday After Hours: OTTR, SON

Tuesday Before Open: USAC, SUNC, SUN, KRYS, ALLE, SXC, HLMN, MDT

Tuesday After Hours: IOSP, QUAD, MCY, LZB, ACLS, TOL, RSG, GSM, EQT

Wednesday Before Open: BLCO, COCO, OSW, OGE, SEDG, DINO, PUMP

Wednesday After Hours: MATV, JACK, SPNT, TPL, WH, WES, OXY, CDE

Thursday Before Open: PRAX, MD, CHH, POOL, XPRO, ITGR, YETI, TALK, LKQ, W, SO

Thursday After Hours: HHH, PLSE, VICR, WKC, HLIT, TXRH, GH, WSC, ONTO, ST, LYV, ARDX, INDI, RNG, OPEN

Friday Before Open: LAMR

Full Earnings Watchlist: TradingView Link

Biotech Catalysts

Expected This Week:

  • CADL, ANRO, AVBP, KPTI, TBPH, MLTX, ARQT, TARA, XENE, BFRI, PEPG, SYRE, ORKA

Chart Assessment: Charts from Full Biotech Watchlist that are setting up. Nothing that looks incredible. Data may arrive at any time.

Note: Never front-run biotech catalysts. Wait for the catalyst to hit, then assess if the reaction is tradable. Dates are estimates and can shift.

Full Q1 Biotech Watchlist: TradingView Link

Theme Watch

YTD Sector Strength: Oil and Gas (Energy), Precious Metals, AI Infra

Emerging Themes:

  • Homebuilders showing Strength coinciding with REIT strength,

  • Rebound on some Software - Setup not there yet. But we’ve seen the strength in NET, FSLY. I’m seeing Cybersecurity lead the bounce in Software. I need setups to form on these but monitoring names like MDB, NET, DDOG which should be winners in Agentic AI

  • Energy names and sub sectors have a lot of strength. Not really what we want to see but I will focus on what is working.

Delayed Reaction/Anticipation Watchlist:

Monitoring:

  • WULF

  • ZM

  • SGML

  • EGHT

  • DECK

  • VRT

Have a Great Week!

Born Investor

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PS: There are many ways to trade stocks in play. It does not have to be the one that keeps going straight up and sometimes it doesn’t even have to be day one of the catalyst. Everyone must find a setup, timeframe and method that works for them. This list is supposed to educate on the criteria I use and the methods in which I find Stocks in Play. Yours may differ and that is completely okay.

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