# Top Trades for October 23, 2026: What Our Best-Scoring Callers Are Saying Before the Open

> 1 Options move and 3 day-trade ideas from public X calls in the last 48 hours, weighted by track record.

By MCAFax · Published October 23, 2026
Section: Markets & Main Street › From Wall Street · Series: Top Trades (https://mcafax.com/trades)
Canonical: https://mcafax.com/notebook/top-trades-2026-10-23
Source: MCAFax, The Broker's Notebook (https://mcafax.com/notebook). MCAFax is not a lender or a law firm.

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**Not investment advice.** This page tallies public stock calls posted on X by investors we track. We do not recommend any trade. Do your own research.

## Summary

- Window: public X posts from Oct 21 5:58 AM to Oct 23 5:58 AM Arizona time (48 hours before the 9:30 a.m. ET open on October 23, 2026).
- Calls in window: 36 logged; 22 were long or short (neutral leans are not counted).
- Top options moves (1): USO long.
- Top day-trader trades (3): AMD long, MU long, SMH long.
- Each caller's vote is weighted by their record on the matching MCAFax scoreboard: the Options scoreboard for options moves, the Day Trading scoreboard for day trades. Only callers with a positive or still-building record can put a trade on the list; callers with a negative record (15+ scored calls, shrunk win rate 50% or lower) only add a small consensus bonus when they agree with a positive caller. Callers with no scored calls in that category get a baseline vote of 0.50.

## Top 10 Options Moves

Only 1 options call (posts naming calls, puts or a spread) qualified in this window, so this list has 1 entry, not 10. We do not fill gaps with made-up trades. Any field the caller did not state is marked 'not stated'.

| # | Ticker | Direction | Option type | Expiry | Strike | Stated trigger or target | Score | Callers (weight) | Disagree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USO | Long | Call | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 0.50 | [Mr Neutral Man aka "Howard Marks of REITs" (@Mr_Neutral_Man, building, weight 0.50)](https://x.com/Mr_Neutral_Man/status/2112922269274062973) | None logged |

## Top 10 Day-Trader Trades

Only 3 US-listed long or short calls qualified in this window, so this list has 3 entries, not 10.

Day-list rule (from 2026-10-20): only explicit short-horizon trade calls (a stated entry, target, stop or trigger, or a today/this-week/intraday timeframe) on liquid US-listed stocks (NYSE, Nasdaq, NYSE American, NYSE Arca or Cboe; price $2 or more; 20-day average dollar volume $10M or more) qualify. Fund-letter, holdings and long-horizon value mentions, OTC names and calls from company insiders are left off.

| # | Ticker | Direction | Score | Callers (weight) | Stated target or catalyst | Disagree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMD | Long | 0.61 | [EliteOptionsTrader (@EliteOptions2, building, weight 0.61)](https://x.com/EliteOptions2/status/2112891695700287750) | Trigger: holds above 540; target 560 (author) | None logged |
| 2 | MU | Long | 0.61 | [EliteOptionsTrader (@EliteOptions2, building, weight 0.61)](https://x.com/EliteOptions2/status/2112891695700287750) | Trigger: above 950; target 1000 (author) | None logged |
| 3 | SMH | Long | 0.61 | [EliteOptionsTrader (@EliteOptions2, building, weight 0.61)](https://x.com/EliteOptions2/status/2112891695700287750) | Support 539; target 600 (author) | None logged |

## Callers and Weights

| Caller | List | Category record (W-L) | Category rank | Status | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Neutral Man aka "Howard Marks of REITs" (@Mr_Neutral_Man) | Options | No scored calls yet | Building track record | Building | 0.50 |
| EliteOptionsTrader (@EliteOptions2) | Day Trading | 1-0 | Building track record | Building | 0.61 |

## Methodology

1. **Source.** We log public stock calls from tracked investors on X into the MCAFax Market Calls database. Each row has the post link, time, ticker and direction (long, short or neutral).
2. **Window.** Calls posted in the 48 hours before the 9:30 a.m. ET open. Neutral leans are skipped.
3. **Caller weight.** Options moves use the Options scoreboard; day trades use the Day Trading scoreboard. A short-horizon win means the stock moved in the called direction by the close, within 5 trading days, or (options with a stated expiry) by expiry. Raw weight = 2 x hit rate, kept between 0.25 and 1.75, so a coin-flip record is 1.0. With n scored calls, weight = 0.50 x 10/(n+10) + raw x n/(n+10), so a new caller starts at a 0.50 baseline and moves toward their real record as calls are scored. Ranked players (15+ scored calls in that category) get x1.10.
4. **Caller status.** With 15+ scored calls in the category, a caller is **positive** if their shrunk win rate (wins + 5) / (scored + 10) is above 50% (on Long-Term, average edge vs the S&P 500 must also be above zero), otherwise **negative (consensus only)**. Fewer than 15 scored calls = **building**. Status is recomputed every trading day, so a caller whose record turns positive gets full weight back automatically.
5. **Who can put a trade on the list.** Positive and building callers. Building callers are allowed because the Day Trading and Options scoreboards are new and almost nobody has 15 scored calls yet. Negative callers never originate a trade.
6. **Trade score.** Sum of the weights of positive and building callers on one ticker and direction, plus 0.15 for each negative caller making the same call when at least one positive caller is on it (all negatives together add at most 0.50), minus half the weight of positive and building callers on the opposite side. Negative callers on the opposite side subtract nothing. Only scores above zero are listed. Ties go to more callers, then the earlier post.
7. **Options vs day trades.** A call is an options move when the post names calls, puts or a spread; we record the type, strike and expiry exactly as stated. Watchlist triggers like calls over $150 count, with the trigger level shown. Other calls go in the day-trader list only if they are explicit short-horizon trade calls (stated entry, target, stop or trigger, or a today/this-week/intraday timeframe) on a liquid stock listed on NYSE, Nasdaq, NYSE American, NYSE Arca or Cboe (price $2+, 20-day average dollar volume $10M+). Calls by company insiders are excluded.
8. **No invented data.** Prices, targets, strikes and expiries appear only if the caller stated them. If fewer than 10 trades qualify, the list is shorter.

**Not investment advice.** MCAFax tallies public calls and reports how past calls performed. Past results do not predict future ones.

## Questions readers ask

**What is the MCAFax Top Trades list?**

A daily pre-market tally of public stock calls from investors we track on X. It ranks the top options moves and day-trade ideas by a weighted vote.

**How are callers weighted?**

By their record on the matching scoreboard: Options for options moves, Day Trading for day trades. Positive and building callers vote with weight 0.50 x 10/(n+10) + clip(2 x hit rate, 0.25, 1.75) x n/(n+10), x1.10 if ranked. Callers with a negative record (15+ scored calls, shrunk win rate 50% or lower) cannot put a trade on the list; they add 0.15 each when they agree with a positive caller, 0.50 at most, and subtract nothing when they disagree.

**What counts as a win?**

For day trades and options, a call wins if the stock moved in the called direction by the close or within 5 trading days, or by the stated option expiry. Our Long-Term scoreboard keeps the 180-day beat-the-S&P 500 rule.

**Why are there fewer than 10 trades on a list?**

We only list calls that were actually posted in the window. If fewer than 10 qualify, we show fewer instead of making trades up.

**How do you tell an options move from a day trade?**

A call is an options move if the post names calls, puts or a spread. We record the strike and expiry only when stated. Other long or short calls on US-listed stocks go in the day-trader list.

**What window does the list cover?**

Calls posted in the 48 hours before the 9:30 a.m. ET open on the publish date.

**Is this investment advice?**

No. This page tallies public calls by other people and reports their track records. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell anything.

**Where can I see each caller's full record?**

On the three MCAFax Market Calls ranking pages: Day Trading, Options and Long-Term. Each links to the original posts.