This week we are looking at another of the Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) Top 50 List companies. We use this list in one of our options portfolios to spot outperforming stocks and place option spreads that take advantage of the momentum.
Last week was an awful one for the market. SPY fell 4% after whip-sawing both up and down all week. Most option portfolios probably suffered as well. We were delighted that our newest portfolio which trades options on MSFT notched a gain of 20.4% for this otherwise bad week for the market. Chalk up another victory for well-executed option strategies.
Terry
Can PayPal (PYPL) Continue It’s Earnings-Driven Momentum?
PayPal received a recent boost from it’s earnings report and these Seeking Alpha articles suggest it can continue the upside momentum – PayPal: It’s A Buy and It’s Not Too Late To Buy PayPal.
Payal appears to be supported near the $83 price point which was where the stock gapped up to following their earnings report earlier this month. The 20 and 50-day moving averages are converging in this area as well to offer further technical support. In the event of a dip lower, further support near the psychological $80 handle is likely to trigger strong buying as technical traders often look to position following a gap close.
*source Tradingview.com
If you agree there’s further upside ahead for PYPL, 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 PYPL 30NOV18 80 Puts (PYPL181130P80)
Sell To Open PYPL 30NOV18 83 Puts (PYPL181130P83) for a credit of $1.06 (selling a vertical)
This price was $0.02 less than the mid-point of the option spread when PYPL was trading near $83. 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 $2.50 per spread (the rate charged by thinkorswim for Terry’s Tips’ subscribers). Each contract would then yield $103.50 and your broker would charge a $300 maintenance fee, making your investment $196.50 ($300 – $103.50). If PYPL closes at any price above $83 on November 30, both options would expire worthless, and your return on the spread would be 53% (605% annualized).
Changes to Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) Top 50 This Week:
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
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