Welcome back to Smash, Trash, or Stash.

This is the no-BS series where I run through stocks/cryptos suggested by readers and give my recommendation.

• SMASH the Buy button → Strong Buy / High-Conviction Stock

• TRASH that stock → Hard Pass / Avoid for now

Or…

• STASH that stock on the watchlist → Keep on watchlist / Not ready yet but worth tracking

Let’s get to it:

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS): Smash the Buy Button

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) is building a space-based cellular network designed to connect your everyday smartphone directly to satellites.

No towers. No dead zones. Just broadband from space.

However, that vision hit a speed bump over the weekend when a Blue Origin launch carrying one of ASTS’s communications satellites failed to place it into the correct orbit.

The press release says the satellite will soon be “de-orbited,” which is a nice way of saying it’s going to fall out of the sky and burn up on re-entry.

Not ideal. But also not thesis-breaking.

This morning, I got notes from James Altucher and Ray Blanco.

James: “ASTS is a buy here.”

Ray: “Only down 11%. I was hoping to pick up more in the 60s.”

That tells you how they’re viewing this: not as a failure… but as an opportunity.

I’m with them.

Smash the buy button on ASTS.

Intel (INTC): Trash It

Intel is up 78% this year and tracking its best month since 1974.

The rally is being driven by a surge in server CPU demand, fueled by the rise of agentic AI.

That’s one corner of the market where Intel still matters, alongside AMD.

But here’s the disconnect: earnings expectations still haven’t moved.

Meanwhile, Intel still trades at 122x this year’s earnings and 62x next year’s earnings.

That’s pricey.

There are better ways to play AI than betting on Intel finally figuring it out.

Sorry… but INTC is a TRASH.

Sandisk (SNDK): Smash the Buy Button

SanDisk (SNDK) is one of the key players in memory and storage chips – the hardware actually holding all the data behind AI.

Micron Technology (MU) is the other major US-based name in the space.

Both stocks have gone parabolic. SNDK is up roughly 2,800% over the past year, while MU has surged about 530%.

The driver is simple: demand for high-bandwidth memory is exploding. Supply hasn’t caught up. And estimates for how long this imbalance lasts range anywhere from 2027 to 2030.

So the question is… do you chase it here?

This is a risky trade. Memory cycles always are.

But in the near term, the tailwinds are real.

Smash the buy button.

Lumentum (LITE): Smash the Buy Button

Lumentum Holdings (LITE) is one of the most important companies most investors have never heard of.

They don’t make AI chips. They make the lasers and optical components that connect those chips together.

As AI data centers scale, LITE has been on an absolute tear – up 1,600% over the last year.

This is a similar setup to Sandisk and Micron. As long as the AI buildout continues, LITE should continue to see outsized demand for their products.

In the same vein though. I don’t love buying stocks after they run 1,000%+.

But again… in the near term, the tailwinds are real.

Smash the buy button.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) – SMASH the Buy Button

Bitmine is an Ethereum holding company.

It’s following a playbook similar to Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) by building its balance sheet around direct crypto ownership.

The company is led by Tom Lee, a long-time technology bull I’ve followed for years.

He reminds me of James Altucher in a way – bold, optimistic, and sometimes ridiculed, yet often proven right over time.

I’ve been outspoken about the premium Wall Street has assigned these crypto treasury stocks, causing stocks to trade at double the value of their crypto holdings.

But that premium has vanished.

In fact, BMNR trades below the value of its Ethereum holdings.

That’s rare and a clear opportunity.

Let’s SMASH the buy button and ride the next crypto rebound.

Have a Stock or Crypto You Want Covered?

Send me an email at AskDavis@paradigmpressgroup.com with your pick.

No filters. No fluff.

Just real analysis from someone who watches markets every single day.