The Week Ahead — Week 26, 2026

Reading the Tape

Index off 10.3% on the week, but the momentum board doesn't look like a market in retreat — every name in our top six is printing accelerating gains, and four of them carry scarcity scores in the high 70s or better. That's the tell worth chewing on: capital isn't fleeing, it's rotating into thinner books. When listings shrink and a handful of items still climb against a red tape, the setup usually rewards patience over chasing.

The Callouts

Varsity Jacket — 69.7 · $11.40 Up 43% over seven days with a 91/100 scarcity read, and the tape is still steepening rather than flattening. The setup suggests continuation into the week if listings stay tight; a sudden wave of new sellers near current prices is what would break the thesis.

Halloween Hoodie 2025 — 69.2 · $19.06 A 45.8% weekly move on a scarcity-89 item — the kind of profile that tends to keep grinding while the float stays small. Watching for a clean hold above the recent breakout shelf; a stall there with rising listings would tell us the move's done its work.

Telecom Conspiracist Helmet — 68.9 · $17.74 Highest scarcity in the top six (92/100) paired with a 46% weekly gain — structurally the cleanest setup on the board. Likely to keep trending if volume holds, but thin-float names cut both ways, and a single distribution day would matter more than usual here.

Pirate — 68.3 · $1.97 A 105% weekly move at sub-$2 is more about thin liquidity than a real bid, so we'd hedge this one hardest. The acceleration signal is real, but at this price tier a couple of cheap relists can undo the print fast.

Volume Worth Flagging

Fluffy Slippers is running 4.9× normal turnover without yet pushing into our momentum top six — that's the kind of divergence that either resolves into a price move next week or fades quietly. Crash Test Dummy at 3.7× is the other one worth a watchlist slot.

The Frame

A down-index week where the leaders are all accelerating low-float names is a market telling you where the conviction actually lives. We'd treat this week as a test: if the index stabilizes, these setups likely extend; if the bleed continues, scarcity alone won't keep them aloft.

Full Momentum Ranking

1. Neck Tattoo — 74.4 · $1,724.97
2. Varsity Jacket — 69.7 · $11.40
3. Wizard Beard — 69.4 · $8.78
4. Halloween Hoodie 2025 — 69.2 · $19.06
5. Telecom Conspiracist Helmet — 68.9 · $17.74
6. Pirate — 68.3 · $1.97
7. Skull Helmet — 67.2 · $81.20
8. Halloween Jeans 2025 — 67.2 · $6.59

This is our forward-looking take, not a trade recommendation. Published Mondays; the Friday companion wraps up what actually happened. Subscribe to get both in your inbox.