The Perfect Way to Play the Apple Earnings Announcement

Apple (AAPL) options continue to fascinate me.  Today I would like to discuss a set of calendar spreads designed to capitalize on the escalating AAPL option prices that will come into play when Weeklys which expire just after the January earnings announcement become available. Those Weeklys will come on the scene on the Thursday before the January 2013 options expire the next day.

Check it out.

The Perfect Way to Play the Apple Earnings Announcement

Apple (AAPL) is due to announce earnings on January 22, 2013 (although this is currently unconfirmed). A year ago they announced earnings on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 just after the monthly options expired. The January 22, 2013 date would be consistent with that pattern. Of course, this is the big quarter when iPhone 5 and the iPad Mini results will be known for the first time.

A year ago the market responded favorably to the announcement and the stock moved $26 higher on the news (and then continued to move up more slowly for several months).

Who knows what will happen this time around?  I sure don’t, although I expect it will be higher than it is today.  I have devised a strategy for those of us who really don’t know where Apple will end up a month from now. 
My strategy is fully explained in a Seeking Article I published yesterday –

The Perfect Way to Play the Apple Earnings Announcement

The key thing to remember here is to buy calendar spreads at a variety of strike prices to increase the odds that the stock ends up near one of those strikes during the second half of January.

Happy trading.