TD Ameritrade (AMTD): A Stable and Consistent Player

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.

Terry

TD Ameritrade (AMTD): A Stable and Consistent Player

Several analysts have a bullish outlook for TD Ameritrade, here are two of them: TD Ameritrade Rating Reiterated by Goldman Sachs Group and TD Ameritrade PT Raised to $61.00

AMTD faced some volatile price action in February as the global equity markets fell under pressure and broadly corrected lower.  In the past week, AMTD broke to a fresh 19 year high prior to pulling back.  The bullish break is suggesting the stock has resumed higher within its broader uptrend while the pullback offers an entry point against support from the 20-period daily moving average.

AMTD Chart March 2018

*source Tradingview.com

If you agree there’s further upside ahead for TD Ameritrade, 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 AMTD 6APR18 54.5 Puts (AMTD180406P54.5)
Sell To Open AMTD 6APR18 57.5 Puts (AMTD180406P57.5) for a credit of $0.98 (selling a vertical)

This price was $0.02 less than the mid-point of the option spread when AMTD was trading near $57.50.  Unless the stock rallies quickly from here, you should be able to get close to this amount.

If you use our favorite broker for this trade, tastyworks, your commission on this trade will only be $1 per opening contract ($2 per spread) (and there is no commission on closing trades, only the $.10 clearing fee).  Each contract would then yield $0.96 and your broker would charge a $210 maintenance fee, making your investment $110 ($206 – $96).  If AMTD closes at any price above $57.50 on April 6, both options would expire worthless, and your return on the spread would be 52% (597% annualized).

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

IBD Underlying Updates March 1, 2018

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