Visa (V) Regains Momentum Following Earnings Report

Visa’s earnings report in the past week has boosted sentiment among analysts. The following two articles include two upward price target revisions and a case for why the stock can continue to strengthen from here – Visa Analysts Encouraged By Q4 Results, 2020 Guidance and Visa stock gains after forecast paints a picture of continued strength in 2020.

The rally that followed the earnings report has lifted Visa’s stock back above all of the commonly looked at moving averages (20, 50 & 100-day). What’s appealing about V is the long-term trend and that dips have been shallow over the year which points to strong demand. There was a correction lower since early September, but the post-earnings upward momentum suggests the stock may have resumed within its broader uptrend.

Visa Chart October 2019

If you agree there’s further upside ahead for V, consider this trade which is a bet that the stock will continue to advance over the next five weeks, or at least not decline very much.

Buy To Open V 29NOV19 175 Puts (V191129P175)
Sell To Open V 29NOV19 177.5 Puts (V191129P177.5) for a credit of $0.99 (selling a vertical)

This price was $0.02 less than the mid-point of the option spread when V was trading near $178.  Unless the stock rallies quickly from here, you should be able to get close to this amount.

Your commission on this trade will only be $1.30 per spread.  Each contract would then yield $97.05 and your broker would charge a $250 maintenance fee, making your investment $152.30 ($250 – $97.05).  If V closes at any price above $177.5 on November 29, both options would expire worthless, and your return on the spread would be 63% (730% annualized).

Changes to Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) Top 50 This Week:

IBD Underlying Updates October 26, 2019

We have found that the Investor’s Business Daily Top 50 List has been a reliable source of stocks that are likely to move higher in the short run.  Recent additions to the list might be particularly good choices for this strategy, and deletions might be good indicators for exiting a position that you might already have on that stock.

As with all investments, you should only make option trades with money that you can truly afford to lose.

Happy trading,

Terry