[Options] MSFT Earnings Leaves the Stock Stranded
There are still good options premiums available in out-of-the-money strikes, which makes it worthwhile to sell premium.
Under normal market conditions, I'd probably lean towards selling a strangle. This would involve both naked puts and naked calls. But given the dicey market backdrop, I'm concerned about downside risk, and less concerned about $MSFT printing new all-time highs before December options expiration.
So we're going to sell a strangle and protect the downside.
Here's the Play:
I like selling a $MSFT December "protected" strangle. I'm selling equal amounts of the 310 puts and 360 calls, and I'm also purchasing an equal amount of 300 puts. All in, I can get a net credit of around $5.50:
I'll be looking to take the entire position off when I can close it all for about a $2.75 debit. This will represent a capture of 50% of the premiums I collect today. I'm looking to take the cream off the top and then move on to the next best opportunity. I won't want to hold this all the way to expiration, as the longer I keep this position on, the more likely $MSFT will have a chance to break out of its range.
Meanwhile, if $MSFT loses the $310 support level, I'll be looking to exit the trade, win or lose, because that is my signal that my rangebound thesis is broken. Similarly, if $MSFT makes a run back at all-time highs and closes above $360 per share, I'm out.
If you have any questions on this trade, please send them here.
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