The earlier post about the PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQQ) spurred me to do a little digging into this barometer of the tech sector. For the most part, the Nasdaq-100 Trust (QQQQ) hit a bottom in late-January. The cubes did flirt with those lows in mid-March but at that point we had transitioned to a sideways range as opposed to the downtrend that had been in place. To get a feel for what stocks have led, I pulled the returns for the NASDAQ 100 (NDX) stocks from the January lows through yesterday's close. What I found was that Research In Motion Limited (RIMM), Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR), and Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) were among the leaders. Here is a list of the top 25 performers.

In addition to the performance, I pulled the short interest to float as well as analyst rankings. I set up my spreadsheet to then bold (in blue) data points that I would consider interesting in terms of high short interest or low analysts rankings. The analyst rankings in particular are interesting to me if we have a leading stock with relatively low enthusiasm on the Street. For example, Akamai is one of the better performing stocks but isn't overly loved (yet) by analysts. This could set the stage for upgrades. The fact it also carries a relatively high level of short interest could mean short covering could be a factor here too. Short interest could also be a factor for Baidu.com. I plan on exploring these stocks in additional posts.

As part of my research, I also stumbled across the monthly chart of the PowerShares QQQ Trust and thought it was worth commenting on.

Chart Courtesy of Thomson Financial

This shows the long-term trend in place. When viewed in this context, the QQQQ looks somewhat encouraging. In November 2006, we have a breakout above the early-2006 highs. The recent downtrend that ended in January brought the PowerShares QQQ Trust back to test that former resistance as support. Now we have a bounce off that zone.

The point to remember here though is that this is a monthly chart. What seems like a quick pullback and bounce is six months worth of action. In other words, you might not want to base a short-term view on this chart. Just a tip to keep in mind.

Lastly, I came across a different bit of research. For an interesting take on the next big thing in the tech sector, check out Barry Ritholtz's post - Like Watching Dinosaurs Mate. I clicked on it because, well how could I not with a title like that. He touches on the whole Microsoft (MSFT)/Yahoo (YHOO) fiasco but has some interesting thoughts about the future. In the video he mentions the Silicon Alley Insider top 25 - here is a link for that.

The list contains some of the usual suspects you might expect - Facebook, Wikipedia, LinkedIn - as well as some names you might not be familiar with. While this isn't really "actionable" information right now, getting familiar with these companies now can give you some personal insight when/if the IPO buzz starts.

I know that LinkedIn has been rumored to be eyeing an IPO for awhile. There was some excitement about this site awhile ago which prompted me to join (find me here). I think a Facebook IPO would be the most hyped but I think a LinkedIn IPO could be interesting. But that is a discussion for the future.