Alex Desjardins

Professional Trader, 10+ years experience - Founder at and

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

Alex's PF performance. - May 2026 📊🛡️
MTD ( +23.3% )
YTD ( +26.8% )
YTD benchmark QQQ ( +10.5% )

Hey guys!

What a month —best monthly return since 2020 for me — another cruise month, back to back after April, and I'm very happy with my execution overall. We can always be better and keep improving, but this was a clean follow-through on everything I talked about last month: trust the system, trust the process, get size in the right names, and let the trend do the work.
The one thing I'll flag on myself is that I went into that mid-month pullback a bit too exposed. I took some heat and drew down more than I wanted — but I played it well from there. I recognized the constructive action, held my positions, and stayed patient, which let me recover from the drawdown super quickly and push my EC into a fresh all-time high. That's the difference between reacting to noise and trusting what price is actually telling you.

This month really came down to two things. First, adding to my core positions and trading around that core in what I see as the liquid leaders of the leading groups and themes — I did more of that and it paid well. Second, having real size in those leaders and staying patient with it, trusting the trend even when it looked extended. There's a lot of money to be lost trying to anticipate the end of a move, and I did well by simply not trying to do that.

The win rate came in at 44.4% with a 1.94 RRR, and I pushed +36.2R in profits on the month. Lower hit rate than April, but it didn't matter — my winners did the heavy lifting at a 10.8% avg gain (biggest +47.6%) while I kept my losers tight at -4.3% avg. That asymmetry is the whole game: let the winners run, cut the losers fast.

Now it's about staying disciplined and capturing the best part of this trend for as long as it lasts. Let's kill June, let's go! 💪

Cheers, Alex ✌️

• Every entry, exit, and trims are taken in real time in the PrimeTrading Discord community, with educational explanations for all trades.
• I share all my trades and monthly trading performance results since January 2020 for transparency.

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

The Prime Report - 11/11, by @PrimeTrading_ https://t.co/C2yCvVRTXv

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

Liquid Leaders 21dma-structure Pullback RECLAIM sorted by RS Rank.

$CAKE, $W, $ETSY, $IOT

By @TradersLab_

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

Liquid Leaders 21dma-structure Pullback sorted by RS Rank.

$RAL, $M, $NTSK, $S, $IOT, $TOST, $FOXA, $PHM, $GME, $GDDY, $DHI, $SNPS

By @TradersLab_

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

Liquid Leaders Scan sorted by RS Rank.

$CROX, $SN, $PCOR, $GEN, $BBY, $FIGS, $ZETA, $LTH, $ASO, $FROG, $CDW, $KSS, $MHK, $U, $XYZ, $CHYM, $RCL, $VFC, $BSY, $TXN

By @TradersLab_

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

Themes Lab — 11/11 🧪

Themes Lab ranks 180+ themes by relative strength. This post sorts by 8-week RS change instead of RS level. RS level tells you who's on top, the change tells you who's getting stronger.

BIGGEST RS GAINS — LEADING (8w)

• Hospitality +50.4 → RS 72
• Self-Storage REIT +50.0 → RS 75
• Travel +32.6 → RS 68
• Animal Health +31.0 → RS 71
• Engineering + Consulting +22.8 → RS 73

Self-Storage REIT has the highest RS on the list at 75.05, +14.0% 1M and +8.9% 3M. Hospitality and Travel are one chain, with Hotel REIT (+20.4) right behind them.

Animal Health and Engineering + Consulting are turns, not extended moves. Both are up on 3M (+11.3%, +8.9%) but flat to down on 1Y (+5.3%, −9.9%).

BIGGEST RS GAINS — EMERGING (8w)

• Design & Engineering Software +38.2 → RS 62
• Equipment Rental +33.7 → RS 64
• Housing +25.8 → RS 54

Equipment Rental and Housing back up the cyclical side, with Aviation (+23.8) next in line. Design & Engineering Software is the odd one out: $ADSK leads at 94, $CDNS and $SNPS sit at 34-36.

BIGGEST RS LOSSES (8w)

• Oil & Gas Refining −40.5 → RS 52
• Connectivity Semiconductors −36.5 → RS 19
• Foundry −36.5 → RS 11

Refining and chips are getting sold. Refining is −20.4% over 1M. DevOps & CI/CD is the one high-RS theme tagged Fading, RS 70.21, −8.8 over 8 weeks.

SETUPS @ 21dma-structure area

$KMB 67 — Consumer Goods [Emerging]
$SNPS 34 — Design & Engineering Software [Emerging]
$CTSH 61 — Global IT Consulting [Leading] (trophy carry)

Setups are in Emerging themes: staples and design software. Hospitality, Self-Storage REIT, Travel and Animal Health have no trophies. Extended, not setting up.

TAKEAWAY

RS is in travel, self-storage and animal health. Setups are in staples and design software. Watching $KMB 67, Consumer Goods +15.9 over 8 weeks, pulling into the 21dma-structure area.

By: @TradersLab_

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

Prime Report — Wed. Nov. 11th

📌 Today's Highlights — Wednesday, November 11

$NVDA's leadership crisis reached the boardroom after the close. The Wall Street Journal reported the board is preparing to oust Jensen Huang and could meet as soon as tonight, after the New York Times reported a second affair, with Nvidia executive Kimberly Powell. The stock, up 3% in the session, fell more than 8% after hours to a 52-week low.

$CRWV gave the AI trade its relief first. The stock jumped 25% on Tuesday night's beat-and-raise, revenue of $3.66B and a higher 2026 outlook easing the financing fears that pushed its bonds to distressed levels last month.

Chips followed it up. $AMD gained 7% as Goldman named it among three attractive semis, $INTC rose 7.5%, and the Nasdaq added 1.6% with bonds shut for Veterans Day. $AAPL closed at a record.

🗓️ Tomorrow — Thursday, November 12

Cash Treasuries reopen into claims and the 30-year, with $NVDA's board decision pending and two AI-supply-chain prints after the close.

💼 [8:30 AM ET — Initial Jobless Claims]
Consensus: 194K, after 189K; continuing 1,720K. Focus: whether layoffs hold near cycle lows with a December hike fully priced.

🏠 [10:00 AM ET — Existing Home Sales (October)]
No consensus could be verified. Focus: the first month to fully reflect mortgage rates above 7%.

💵 [1:00 PM ET — $25B 30-Year Bond Auction]
The last 30-year cleared 5.618%. Focus: indirect demand on the first cash session since CPI, after Tuesday's 10-year tailed on the biggest drop in foreign bids since 2016.

💻 [4:01 PM ET — $AMAT Applied Materials FQ4 2026]
Consensus: EPS $4.05–4.06, revenue $10.30B against a $10.25B ±$0.5B guide. Options imply ~±14.4%. Focus: the January-quarter guide and China, after a 7% drop on its last beat.

💻 [After Close — $CSCO Cisco FQ1 2027]
Consensus: EPS $1.32, revenue ~$18.1B, up about 22%. Options imply ~±8.7%. Focus: AI networking orders and the full-year guide, with the stock down about 14% in a month.

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

@john__coltrane Another affair of Jensen was not on my radar tho 🤣

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

Good place to watch if we get that FTD between day #4-7 is using the Follow-Through Day board of Tlab.

Can we have a bit of fun in 2026 please :) too much to ask probably loll

[AD. @Tradeplicity]

Follow-Through Day (FTD) Watch!

Will be looking for a 1.5%+ advance with higher volume than today. (we'll even take a 1%+ with higher volume)🤫

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

PORTFOLIO UPDATE 11/11
$ETSY $TOST $NTSK $DOCU $CAKE $SWKS $SNPS $VEEV $CTSH $ZETA $GME

Hey guys,

Interesting day. The bigger trend is still down and $QQQ / Growth remain Risk-Off, but underneath the surface we continue to see some constructive improvement.

$QQQE reclaimed its 21ema, breadth gave us another strong thrust, MCSI hooked back above its 10dma, VIX is now below the 21dma-structure, and credit spreads broke their recent higher-low structure. Still early, but definitely a better internal picture than we had a few days ago.

I stayed engaged and continued building around the individual names giving me traction.

You’ll probably notice more activity than usual lately, and that’s directly related to the tighter risk approach I’m using in this difficult environment. I’m initiating with much smaller EC risk, using tighter invalidation levels, and taking 1/2 off at 1R. That allows me to test more names and recycle risk faster without letting overall NER get out of control. More trades doesn’t necessarily mean more portfolio risk.

Today’s action:
ADDED: $GME
NEW: $NTSK, $SWKS, $CAKE, $DOCU, $TOST, $ETSY
TRIMMED: 1/2 $SNPS @ 1R, 1/2 $SWKS @ 1R, 1/2 $DOCU @ 1R, 1/2 $NTSK @ 1R, 1/2 $TOST @ 1R
OUT: —

Ending fully exposed with ~0.92% NER, while today’s trades added roughly +0.75% EC.

Still treating this as a rally attempt until the market proves otherwise. The internals are improving, but the real test is still ahead around the declining structures.

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

@john__coltrane this morning EMS session was just posted too friend ;) enjoy!

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

Liquid Leaders 21dma-structure Pullback RECLAIM sorted by RS Rank.

$WSM, $RAL, $TTAN, $CTSH

By @TradersLab_

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

Liquid Leaders 21dma-structure Pullback sorted by RS Rank.

$M, $RAL, $FOXA, $GME, $GDDY, $DHI, $CTSH, $CDNS

By @TradersLab_

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

Liquid Leaders Scan sorted by RS Rank.

$CROX, $SN, $ASO, $PCOR, $LTH, $BBY, $SIRI, $GEN, $KSS, $ZETA, $BSY, $MHK, $RCL, $VFC, $LEVI, $CDW, $U, $XYZ, $CART, $ABNB

By @TradersLab_

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

Themes Lab — 11/10 🧪

Themes Lab ranks 180+ themes by relative strength. This post sorts by 8-week RS change instead of RS level. RS level tells you who's on top. The change tells you who's getting stronger.

BIGGEST RS GAINS — LEADING (8w)

• Hospitality +52.6 → RS 72
• Self-Storage REIT +50.5 → RS 75
• Travel +31.5 → RS 68
• Animal Health +28.0 → RS 70
• Global IT Consulting +21.7 → RS 79

CRO + AI is still #1 by RS level at 84.57, up 6.2% over 1M and 20.6% over 3M. The gains above aren't one group. Hospitality, Travel and Hotel REIT (+20.7) are the whole travel chain moving together.

Self-Storage REIT is the other move: +50.5 in 8 weeks, but only +8.0% over 3M after +14.9% in the last month. That's a turn, not an extended move.

BIGGEST RS GAINS — EMERGING (8w)

• Design & Engineering Software +37.0 → RS 61
• Equipment Rental +34.4 → RS 64
• Housing +25.6 → RS 54

Equipment Rental and Housing back up a construction-cycle bid. Design & Engineering Software is the odd one out: $ADSK at 94 carries it while $CDNS and $SNPS sit at 34 and 33.

BIGGEST RS LOSSES (8w)

• Oil & Gas Refining −39.4 → RS 53
• Foundry −36.1 → RS 12
• Connectivity Semiconductors −32.1 → RS 20

Refiners and semis are getting sold. AI Infrastructure (−31.0) and Memory (−28.9) are right behind. At the top, DevOps & CI/CD (RS 68) is tagged Fading, −9.8 over 8 weeks.

SETUPS @ 21dma-structure area

$CRL 99 — CRO + AI [Leading]
$SUNB 69 — Equipment Rental [Emerging]
$CDNS 34 — Design & Engineering Software [Emerging]
$RVTY 80 — Life Sciences Tools [Leading] (trophy carry)
$S 70 — Cybersecurity [Leading] (trophy carry)

Setups cluster in healthcare and software. Hospitality, Self-Storage REIT, Travel and Animal Health have no trophies. Extended, not setting up.

TAKEAWAY

The RS change is in travel and storage. The setups are in healthcare and the Emerging cyclicals. Watching $CRL: RS 99, CRO + AI +6.4 over 8 weeks, sitting at the 21dma-structure area.

By: @TradersLab_

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

@SosaKayser666 It does look very good ;)

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

@SosaKayser666 Still no trend indeed.

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

Very good delayed reaction for $ZETA today. +8.2% with a clean entry off the DTL breakout & 21d reclaim this morning.

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

PORTFOLIO UPDATE 11/10

Hey guys,

Still a Risk-Off market overall. $QQQ remains below the declining 21dma & 10wma structures, while Internals and Growth are still Risk-Off as well.

That said, I got enough individual traction today to selectively rebuild some exposure while keeping risk very tight. I’m also adjusting management for this environment — smaller initial risk and taking 1/2 off at 1R instead of waiting for 2R.

Today’s action:
ADDED: $ZETA, $CTSH, $VEEV, $SNPS
CLOSED: $NTSK -3.0%
TRIMMED: 1/3 $ZETA +5.34% / 2R, 1/2 $VEEV +0.74% / 1R
Current positions: $GME, $ZETA, $CTSH, $VEEV, $SNPS

Ending around 50% exposure with only ~0.5% NER.
Still very much in prove-it mode here. I’ll keep building only if the market and my positions continue earning more exposure.

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

@wey_how12640 Yeah we all did loll

You got this, you are one of the best trader I know, keep it up. 💪

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

The longer my trading career goes on, and the more I see learning traders come and go, the more I realize my biggest edge probably has very little to do with technicals.

It’s resilience.

The market stops me out, fakes me out, gaps me down. I go through bad stretches, drawdowns, weeks or even months where very little seems to work. And I’m still here.

Still executing the same edge. Still respecting risk. Still trading like myself instead of completely changing who I am every time the market makes things difficult.

That comes from understanding the nature of trading. Probabilities, variance, statistical distributions — and the fact that even a real edge will go through ugly stretches.

I think this is where a lot of traders eventually disappear. Not because they couldn’t learn technical analysis, but because they get discouraged, lose conviction, start changing everything, or simply stop showing up. The ability to survive those stretches and keep executing when the outcome temporarily stops validating you is probably one of the biggest edges you can build.

You don’t need to win all the time.

You need to still be there when your edge starts paying again.

[Alex Desjardins @PrimeTrading_]

I think one of the hardest things in trading is how quickly confidence can disappear.

You can go through a stretch where nothing works, get stopped out a few times in a row, miss the one move that actually runs, and suddenly you start hesitating on setups you would normally take without thinking twice. The problem is that once confidence gets hit, it starts changing your behavior. You size smaller when you should size normally, you pass on good trades, you enter late, you manage differently... and then even when your edge starts working again, you’re not really there to take advantage of it.

For me, the big realization over time has been that confidence can’t come only from recent results. If it does, you’re always going to be mentally chasing your own P&L. Confidence has to come from knowing your process, knowing what your edge looks like, understanding that losing streaks are part of the game, and knowing that you’ve been through this before.

That doesn’t mean being blindly confident or ignoring when something is actually wrong. It means not letting a bad stretch convince you that you suddenly forgot how to trade.

I think a lot of traders lose their edge mentally before they ever lose it technically.