Given the recent divergence in performance—where a few growth names (Duolingo, Expedia, Nebius) are holding up but others (Pinterest, The Trade Desk, etc.) are seeing sharp drawdowns—the market is signalling selective risk appetite rather than a broad-based rotation into growth.

1. On dodging the drop / shorting:

Institutional players who reduced exposure to richly valued growth stocks ahead of earnings season, or hedged with index/sector shorts, would have avoided much of the damage. However, shorting individual growth names can be risky because sharp rebounds are common, especially if macro sentiment improves.

2. Current positioning in growth stocks:

I do not personally hold stocks, but from an analytical standpoint, there is a clear split between:

Resilient growth: Companies with strong earnings momentum and defensible competitive moats.

Weakening growth: Companies with slowing user growth, rising customer acquisition costs, or margin compression—often punished severely in a high-rate environment.

3. Oversold growth opportunities (potential candidates for watchlists, not recommendations):

High-quality names punished on short-term guidance cuts (e.g., some SaaS companies with sticky customer bases).

Select ad-tech stocks like Pinterest or The Trade Desk—if you believe digital ad spend will rebound cyclically, these could be trading below intrinsic value.

E-commerce/logistics enablers with strong cash flows but hit by sentiment-driven selling.

4. Catching a falling knife vs. buying the dip:

In a broad market pullback at high valuations, buying aggressively without confirmation can indeed be catching a falling knife.

A safer approach is tiered entry—scale in gradually as technicals and fundamentals stabilise.

Watch macro triggers: US inflation prints, Fed rate signals, and earnings revisions will drive whether the “dip” turns into a deeper correction.