QUNR announced earnings a little more than a week ago, and IVR/IV remains high (76/74). With this particular underlying, I'm potentially looking for a fairly quick volatility contraction and may not hold all the way to 50% maximum profit: the strikes are a bit unworkable where I would ideally want them for the Jan 15 expiry (I just can't tweak them to that 16%...
CNX has been totally hammered and with an IVR of 100 and an IV of 119, I can't resist a play. 100 Shares CNX at 6.61 1 Jan 15 7 short call Total Package: 6.00 debit ($600) Max Profit: (If Called Away at 7 -- $100, excluding fees/commissions).
With oil absolutely tanking, a wide variety of premium selling plays in oil and gas have come to the forefront. I'm going to play the increased volatility in this sector via OIH short strangle (IVR 62/IV 41). Ideally, I'd wait for IVR to pop to 70+, but my thinking is that oil will drop and then proceed to consolidate, after which volatility will collapse: Jan...
Having announced earnings about two weeks ago, IVR/IV in GME remains high (70/55). The standard setup -- the short strangle: Jan 22 27.5/38.5 short strangle POP%: 71% Max Profit: $113/contract BPE: ~$333/contract Break Evens: 26.37/39.63 Look to take it off at 50% max profit and move on ... .
Some stuff hits my high IVR/high IV radar over and over again. WYNN is one of those, with an IVR currently at 100 and an IV at 81. Some caution is in order, though, since ordinarily I like going 45 days out and WYNN's earnings are due to be announced on 2/2, so I want any setup to expire somewhat before that so I don't get caught in a volatility expansion (that...
And, before you research this underlying, the answer is, "No, it is not the bordering-on-porn men's magazine, Maxim"; it's an integrated circuit company. This is another longer-term play I'm looking to work to bridge the gap between now and the beginning of next earnings season. In any event, MXIM post-earnings IVR/IV is currently at 91/38. Standard short...
Although most of the ideas I've published recently have involved earnings announcement plays, I'm always on the lookout for volatility in the SPDR's or other sector ETF's. Currently, the highest IVR SPDR that pops up on my screener is XOP. XOP, OIH, and related individual underlyings have continuously been at the volatility forefront for several weeks running...
Only two earnings plays stick out to me this coming week -- FDX and ORCL, both of which announce earnings on 12/16 (Wednesday) after market close, so look to put on setups before NY close on Wednesday. Currently, FDX's 52 week IVR is at 54 (IV 34), which isn't stellar, but it's at 92 for the past six months. Moreover, there is pretty good credit to be had...
You know what they say, one's man's junk is another man's treasure ... . With an IVR of 100 and an IV of 18, this may be as good as junk is going to get for premium selling (don't quote me on that; further sell-off could be on the horizon ... ). HYG Jan 29 74/84 short strangle POP%: 75% Max Profit: $109/contract BPE: ~ (Undefined/After Hours) BE's: 72.91/85.09
TOL -- Tuesday before market open, but it doesn't look promising with an IVR of 44 and an IV of 31. COST -- Tuesday after market close. I would like higher volatility in it if I am going to play. Currently, IVR is at 31 and IV 30. LULU -- Wednesday before market open (so put your setup on on Tuesday before market close). IVR looks good at 75, with IV at 63....
AVGO announces earnings tomorrow before market close, and it looks to be a juicy one. Although its IV rank is 56, this underlying is volatile, with an IV currently at 70. Because I have the buying power available, I am going to go short strangle, but wider than usual to hopefully avoid a debacle at the end of earnings season. It's gone pretty good this season...
With an IVR/IV of 100/101 and price within 5% of its 52-week low, I'm looking for a 45 DTE play in this extremely liquid, beaten down underlying to bridge the gap between earnings seasons, as well to ride out what appears to be a thin market opportunity wise for premium selling. SWN Covered Call Buy 100 shares Sell Jan 15 9 short call Looking for a 7.92 fill for...
The last play I found for next week is ULTA (IVR/IV 71/48). It announces earnings on Thursday after market close. The unfortunate thing is that weeklies aren't available, but the Dec expiry is near enough in time to not be too much of a problem. Here's the setup, which may need to be tweaked between Monday's open and the announcement: Dec 18 150/190 short...
AMBA (IVR/IV 48/92) announces earnings on Thursday, 12/3, after market close, so look to put on any play before NY close on that day. In this particular case, the IV is higher than the IVR (which is in the 48th percentile for the IV range for the past 52-weeks. so the IVR could conceivably pop even higher preearnings than it is currently; this will make for even...
MDT's current IVR/IV (35/29) doesn't make it worthwhile for a premium selling play; the standard setup (1 SD short strangle, 72/80.5 Dec 11 expiry currently only goes for a .54 credit), so its volatility will need to pop either pre-earnings or post in order for me to bother with it. Playing it to stay within its "expected move" of between 74 and 79 (Dec 11th...
AVGO (IVR/IV 52/61) announces earnings on Wednesday (12/2) after market close, so look to put on a play before market close if you want to take advantage of the volatility crush post-earnings. Here's the standard setup, which in all likelihood will have to be tweaked between now and earnings: Dec 11 115/145 short strangle POP%: ~70%+ Max Profit:...
Unfortunately, there isn't much worthwhile left to play this earnings season in terms of premium selling. Here's what I'm looking at in underlyings that have fairly good liquidity in their options and that offer weekly option expiries: QIHU -- announces earnings on 11/30 (before/after to be determined) (the only way I'll play this one is if it is Monday after...
DE (IVR/IV 72/40) announces earnings on Wednesday morning before market open, so if you're going to play this, look to put on your setup on Tuesday before market close. Here's my tentative setup, which is subject to tweaking depending on whether it moves much in Tuesday's session: Dec 11th 68/81.5 short strangle POP%: 75% Max Profit: $107/contract BPE:...