Every spring, Wall Street recycles its favorite piece of advice: “Sell in May and go away.” It’s tidy, it rhymes, and for a lot of traders, it’s gospel. But here’s what it leaves out — the actual data. And right now, the data is telling a very different story.

The “sell in May” rule was born in a slower era, when summer trading volumes dropped, desks sat empty, and the broad indexes drifted. That market no longer exists. Today’s market moves in sectors, rotates aggressively, and doesn’t wait for anyone. The investors who step aside in May aren’t resting — they’re leaving money on the table while institutional money quietly positions itself for the next leg up.

Case in point: KLA Corporation (NYSE:KLAC), one of the most important names in semiconductor manufacturing, is sitting on a pattern that has appeared 10 years in a row — right in the exact window you’ve been told to avoid. Here’s what the chart is showing, why it matters, and how to trade it.

The phrase “sell in May and go away” comes from a real historical trend. For years, the markets often performed better from November through April than they did during the summer months. Decades ago, that made sense. Trading volume slowed to a crawl in the summer, with empty desks for weeks at a time.

But markets change. They evolve.

Today’s markets are faster, more global, and far more sector-driven than they were when this phrase first caught on. You can have the broad indexes chopping sideways while individual sectors quietly heat up. You can have volatility in one corner of the market while money rotates aggressively into another.

That’s why blindly following an outdated slogan could be one of the biggest mistakes traders make in 2026. And it’s why investors can’t afford to simply “go away” this summer — not when patterns are still showing opportunity beneath the surface.

One I’m watching closely right now: KLA Corporation (NYSE:KLAC).

KLA is one of the names behind the semiconductor boom that most traders never think about. Its technology helps manufacturers inspect wafers, catch defects, improve yields, and keep production moving — and it sits right in the middle of one of the most critical areas of the modern market: semiconductors.

The semiconductor cycle doesn’t move in a straight line. But when equipment spending comes back into focus and the same early-summer pattern keeps appearing year after year, that’s exactly the kind of setup worth having on your radar.

And it’s exactly what the Money Calendar is showing right now with KLAC: this historical pattern has appeared 10 years in a row during this exact seasonal window.

That’s not a guarantee — no pattern ever is. But when the same tendency repeats year after year, especially during the stretch investors are supposedly told to avoid, I pay attention. And you should, too.

Because this is exactly why blindly “selling in May” can become dangerous. You risk missing the very setups institutional money may already be positioning around.

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How to Trade This Pattern Without Buying the Stock Outright

One of the reasons I like pairing the Money Calendar with options is leverage with defined risk. Instead of buying hundreds of shares outright, traders can use call options to gain exposure to a potential move higher while risking only the premium paid for the contract.

For KLAC, one approach is an at-the-money call option aligned with the seasonal window. Another is a bull call spread — buying one call while selling another at a higher strike price. That strategy reduces the upfront cost while still letting you participate in a significant portion of the upside if the pattern plays out.

The goal isn’t reckless speculation. It’s defined risk — and keeping more of your edge when the setup is right.