The weakest cohort on the desk got weaker: $HRL crashed into the oversold band (a 13-point single-scan drop to RSI 25.7, just above the capitulation line) and $TSN dropped into the band alongside it, while the oversold band's two other members, $WMT and $XLU, only partially recovered. The long-trend picture hasn't improved either — $HD, $MCD, $LOW, and $HRL are all still below their own 200-day average with a negative year-over-year return, and $WMT, $XLU, $T, $TSN, $PPC, $COST, and $ECL all show a flat-to-negative year with weak alpha even where RSI looks unremarkable. Only $TGT, $SBUX, and $VZ still read as genuinely healthy long trends, and $TGT cooled sharply this scan (RSI 76.0 to 63.5) after its recent extension.

Data as-of the 2026-08-28 close (Friday's settled session) — every name in this cut carries a fresh bar this scan.

Source: defensive.json. Prior scan: 2026-08-22-defensive-scan.

$HRL was this scan's clearest casualty: RSI fell from 38.7 to 25.7 — a 13.0-point drop — on a 8.9% weekly decline, putting it just above the capitulation threshold and making it the deepest print in the cut. Its year-over-year return is negative (-14.5%) against a badly negative alpha (-34.3), which rules out reading this as a simple oversold buy-the-dip setup; the long-trend numbers say the name is structurally weak, not just having a rough week.

$TSN joined the oversold band for the first time this scan, dropping 14.7 RSI points on a 5.3% weekly decline. It's now sitting at 36.9 with a near-flat year-over-year return (-1.3%) and a badly negative alpha (-21.2) — another name where the RSI level alone understates how weak the underlying trend is. $WMT and $XLU, the two names that crashed into the oversold band two scans ago, only partially recovered this time (WMT 29.6 to 33.2, XLU 32.6 to 35.8) and remain below their own 200-day averages.

The weakness extends well beyond the oversold band. $HD, $MCD, and $LOW are all below their 200-day average with negative year-over-year returns (-19.0%, -15.1%, and -19.2% respectively) and alpha readings between -35 and -39 — badly lagging the tape over the past year. $COST and $ECL sit closer to their 200-day but still carry near-flat year-over-year returns (+0.1% and +2.8%) with weak alpha. $T's RSI (68.9) looks like one of the cut's healthier prints, yet its one-year return (-10.1%) and alpha (-30.0) are both worse than $HRL's before this scan's crash — the same misleading-RSI pattern flagged repeatedly in this cohort.

The exceptions remain real, though fewer of them are extended. $TGT is still up 68.6% over the year and 35.2% above its 200-day — the one unambiguously healthy long trend in this cohort — but it cooled sharply this scan, RSI dropping from 76.0 to 63.5 after its recent run. $SBUX (RSI 55.4, up 22.5% on the year, 11.0% above its 200-day) and $VZ (RSI 65.8, up 14.1% on the year, 10.1% above its 200-day) both continue to clear the test cleanly. $PPC's rally has faded from overbought (RSI 69.7 two scans ago to 62.0 now) while the trend underneath remains down 27.4% over the past year and below its 200-day — still a bounce, not a reversal.

• $HRL crashed into the oversold band. RSI 38.7 → 25.7 (-13.0), price down 8.9% for the week — now the cut's deepest print, just above the capitulation threshold.
• $TSN dropped into the oversold band for the first time. RSI 51.6 → 36.9 (-14.7), price down 5.3% for the week.
• $WMT and $XLU both partially recovered but remain below their 200-day. WMT: 29.6 → 33.2 (+3.6). XLU: 32.6 → 35.8 (+3.2).
• $TGT cooled sharply from an extended level. RSI 76.0 → 63.5 (-12.5), price $165.44 → $163.18 — still the cut's cleanest long trend.
• $PPC's rally continued to fade. RSI 69.7 → 62.0 (-7.7), still down 27.4% over the past year and below its 200-day.
• $T and $VZ both extended slightly. T: 67.6 → 68.9 (+1.3). VZ: 67.1 → 65.8 (-1.3).
• The oversold band grew from three names to four. $HRL (25.7), $WMT (33.2), $XLU (35.8), and $TSN (36.9) — versus three two scans ago.
• No stale bars this scan — every name carries a fresh 2026-08-28 close.
• Universe unchanged. Same 15 tickers as the prior scan.

RSI measures how stretched a stock is over the past 14 sessions — under 30 signals oversold, over 70 signals overbought. vs SMA20 is the price gap to the 20-day average. 1Y% and vs SMA200 are the numbers that separate a genuine breakdown from a rough week: a name below its 200-day with a flat-to-negative year and a badly negative alpha — like $HRL, $WMT, $XLU, $HD, $MCD, $LOW, and even the higher-RSI $T — is structurally weak regardless of how this week's RSI reads. This scan is another clean example of why the RSI number alone can mislead: $T's RSI (68.9) is one of the cut's healthiest prints, but its 1-year return and alpha are both worse than $HRL's, which just crashed into the deepest print in the cut.

None — $HRL at 25.7 is just above the line.

$HRL (25.7), $WMT (33.2), $XLU (35.8), $TSN (36.9) — four names, up from three two scans ago. All four are either below their 200-day or carry a negative/near-flat year-over-year return, so none of these reads as a clean buy-the-dip setup on the RSI alone.

• Genuine breakdown (below 200-day, negative 1-year): $LOW, $HD, $MCD — three clean breakdowns among the higher-RSI names, unchanged from the prior scan.
• Flat/negative 1-year despite decent RSI (weak alpha, watch closely): $COST, $XLP, $ECL, $PPC, $T — five names where the year-over-year number and alpha undercut a more constructive-looking RSI.
• Genuinely healthy long trend: $SBUX, $TGT, $VZ — the same three names that clear both the 200-day and the 1-year alpha test cleanly.

• $HRL crashed into the deepest print in the cut this scan — does it find a floor, or does it cross into capitulation territory (RSI < 25) next?
• $TSN newly joined the oversold band — is this a one-scan wobble or the start of a longer decline like $HRL's?
• $TGT cooled sharply from an extended level (RSI 76.0 to 63.5) — does the cleanest long trend in the cut find support here, or does the pullback deepen?
• Seven of fifteen names in this cut show a flat-to-negative year with weak alpha regardless of RSI level — does the defensive complex broadly stabilize, or does more of the cohort deteriorate next scan?

• Tape data (price/RSI/SMA/returns): full-scan pre-computed summaries as of the 2026-08-28 close — defensive.
• Prior scan for comparison: 2026-08-22-defensive-scan.