War, Safe Havens and AI: 3 Stocks to Buy That Traders Shouldn’t Ignore

In a dramatic move, President Donald Trump greenlit a U.S. airstrike on key Iranian nuclear sites, generating alarming headlines across the world. It’s a contentious issue, with the matter splitting Trump’s otherwise loyalist base. Many prominent figures supported the decision to get directly involved with Israel’s conflict against its regional neighbor. Others criticized the decision, worried about yet another costly, drawn-out campaign in the Middle East.

Ahead of the market open, it’s difficult to assess how Wall Street will respond. In terms of the cryptocurrency market, the total value of all digital assets slipped about 1% over the past 24 hours, per CoinMarketCap. By logical deduction, investors may reasonably expect volatility to be the theme of the hour.

Nevertheless, it’s also possible that certain sectors may pragmatically and cynically benefit from the escalated tensions. Predictably, Tehran has denounced the U.S. attack, promising a retaliatory response. This could include a range of actions. Domestically, fears run deep about a potential terrorist attack. Economically, Iran may attempt to effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for the global oil trade.

Still, narratives only don’t provide much specificity, especially under the context of options trading. For speculators interested in extracting short-term profits, it’s vital to overlay probabilistic analysis on the target dataset, such as price action. However, in order to accomplish genuine statistical analysis, the measurement metric must speak a unified language.

It’s here that the conversion of price data into market breadth or sequences of accumulative and distributive sessions forcibly imposes measurement stationarity. Subsequently, market breadth — which is a representation of demand — can be easily categorized and quantified, thus facilitating true conditional probabilistic analysis.

From an empirically quantitative perspective, the below stocks to buy should be on your radar amid the geopolitical paradigm shift.

Palo Alto Networks (PANW)

A multinational cybersecurity firm, Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) arguably makes for a strong case for stocks to buy amid the turmoil. As it stands, it’s already performing decently well relative to benchmark indices. Since the beginning of the year, PANW stock has gained roughly 10%. In contrast, the S&P 500 is up only 1.47% during the same frame.

With the Middle East conflict dramatically escalating, Palo Alto should see a relevance boost. As Politico recently reported, cyberattacks represent one of the tools of Iran’s asymmetric warfare. By logical deduction, both government agencies and private enterprises have every reason to consider bolstering their cyber defense capabilities. Naturally, this dynamic suits PANW stock.

Over the past two months, PANW printed a “7-3-U” sequence: seven up weeks, three down weeks, with a net positive trajectory across the 10-week period. This pattern has materialized 61 times in the trailing decade. In 60.66% of cases, the following week’s price action results in upside, with a median return of 2.08%.

Should the bulls maintain control of the market, it’s possible that PANW stock could exceed the $206 level over the next two to three weeks. However, given the tremendous fundamental catalyst inherent in the present geopolitical environment, the bulls may push for the $210 level.

Aggressive speculators may consider the 200/210 bull call spread expiring July 18, which requires a net debit of $400 to enter the trade. However, if PANW stock rises through the short strike price ($210) at expiration, the maximum reward is $600, a payout of 150%.

Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM)

With the latest geopolitical flashpoint, gold represents a natural safe-haven asset. However, owning gold outright can be cumbersome for a variety of reasons, including its weight (high density) and necessity for storage, security and perhaps insurance. A more convenient approach is to consider mining enterprises, such as Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM).

Technically a streaming specialist, Wheaton provides upfront capital to miners in exchange for an agreed-upon portion of the metal production. Since the terms are stipulated contractually, Wheaton generally offers superior predictability relative to pure-play miners. For those interested in exposure to gold and silver but without some of the hiccups, WPM could be a solid idea for stocks to buy.

In terms of market breadth, WPM stock printed a 6-4-U sequence: again, that’s six up weeks, four down weeks, with a net positive trajectory across the period. Over the trailing decade, this pattern has materialized 87 times. In 56.32% of cases, the following week’s price action results in upside, with a median return of 2.54%.

Assuming that the bulls maintain control of the market, WPM stock could potentially move toward $93 over the next three weeks based on past analogs. With the latest geopolitical rumblings, though, the performance of WPM could exceed empirical expectations, perhaps reaching the $95 level.

Aggressive traders may therefore consider the 90/95 bull call spread expiring July 18. This trade requires a $185 net debit. However, if WPM rises through the short strike price at expiration, the max reward is $315, a payout of over 170%.

Palantir (PLTR)

A controversial entity, Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) deserves serious consideration for speculators. So far this year, it’s been one of the top stocks to buy. Since the January opener, PLTR has gained almost 82%, absolutely obliterating the benchmark S&P 500. At the same time, there are concerns about the security being overheated. Right now, PLTR trades around 600-times trailing-12-month earnings.

While it’s a conspicuously hot ratio, supporters might argue that Palantir is fundamentally relevant. Thanks to its Gotham platform, the company has been raking in government contracts. With Iran threatening a response to the U.S. airstrike, it would seem that demand for Gotham will only accelerate.

From a trading perspective, PLTR stock is admittedly a trickier asset to dissect. In the past two months, the security printed a balanced profile of 5-5-U: five up, five down, positive trajectory. Ordinarily, this pattern wouldn’t be something to jump on but in PLTR’s case, it’s a relatively rare sequence, having only materialized 21 times since its public market debut.

What’s more, in 57.14% of cases, the following week’s price action results in upside, with a median return of 5.83%. On Friday, PLTR stock closed at $137.30. Should the implications of the aforementioned sequence pan out, the stock could exceed $145 in short order.

Given the market intelligence above, aggressive traders may consider the 141/145 bull call spread expiring July 11. This trade requires a net debit of $185. If PLTR stock rises above the short strike price at expiration, the max reward is $215, a payout of over 116%.