It's been an interesting couple of weeks, eh? Tesla put on a show, Coronavirus, we've gotten a little two-sided action in the broader markets, and volatility reminded us it still exists. But as we know, volatility fades. And right now, there is some elevated premium levels too tempting to ignore. So we're selling some premium here.
"It's a Miracle!" has probably been uttered through tears by stock market bears, news watchers, and particularly Tesla $TSLA bears repeatedly in recent weeks. We're not sorry. If you ignore price action, well... that's on you, friendo.
That said, we've got our own "miracle" play that is setting up nicely...
Well here we are, the first "panic" of 2020. Markets are selling off a bit, the TV and twitter birds are chirping, trying their best to get you to act irresponsibly in your portfolio. And maybe you're even feeling a bit of unfamiliar heat on some of your long positions. Time to get scared, right?
Maybe. I dunno. But this I do know -- fear subsides. And in options trading parlance, volatility mean reverts. I'm stepping in and selling the fear today.
In a recent piece, JC laid out the case for why we should be considering some bullish plays in the Utilities sector. A bunch of the stocks mentioned have already broken out, but another one is setting up nicely today so we're getting to work here.
Looks like a stock that trades in sympathy with the Homebuilders sector (which we're bullish on) is finally breaking out and ready for us to spring to action.
What a run we're having in our Long May 100-strike calls in $BYND purchased on December 20th for $4.00 when the stock was trading below $77/share.
I wish I could say this was a regular occurrence, but of course we know this isn't true. However, this I know with absolute certainty: stepping up to the plate and taking our swings in trades with proper reward-to-risk setups, appropriate position size, and a plan for risk management again and again allows us to "get lucky" every once in a while. And sometimes it only takes one or two trades to make your month or your year. This $BYND trade certainly has a solid chance to become one of those year-makers.
Back to luck, there's a big difference between true "luck" like winning the lottery, and manufacturing your own luck through Best Practices. Which luck would you rather have?
I've been contacted a bunch by people who followed us into this trade and the general feeling I get from people is that they are scared -- scared of letting these enormous open profits get taken away by the evil Mr. Market.
Earlier this week, we entered a trade in Intercontinental Exchange $ICE because we're loving that stock and loving the sector. Well, there's more stocks setting up here that are worthy of our attention. And another beauty is setting up with low volatility pricing in relatively cheap calls.
So we've been keeping an eye of the Broker/Dealers space, and one of the names we have a close eye on has triggered our entry. Here's Bruni:
Intercontinental Exchange ($ICE) is consolidating tightly since August and now pressing up against all-time highs. A breakout above 95.50 would signal the continuation of its long-term uptrend and target 103.50 over the next 3-6 months.
There's a household name setting up for a bullish breakout to all-time highs sporting the lowest implied volatility in options prices in nearly three years! How do I not play this one?
These are my favorite types of setups and I get to play them simple.
Until further notice -- given to us by price action -- there is no reason to be on the hunt for bearish setups. There's no award handed out for being the first to catch the turn. More than likely, you'll needlessly exhaust a ton of capital -- both money and emotional -- taking hit after hit.
Let somebody else take the body blows.
One of the bullish setups JC and I discussed in the latest All Star Options monthly conference call is setting up and I feel like it's getting ready to spring into action.