We’re heading into the thick of earnings season, with a few of the big players out of the way already but more on deck.
We have Apple (APPL) reporting after the close along with Intel (INTC), Visa (V) and others, so let’s take a look at some bullish flow into Intel (INTC) today…
First, as always, we respect the risk around here. Case in point, the trades we covered Wednesday.
Two of the three hit nice winners. First, Southwest Airlines was trading around $1.09 when this newsletter hit your inbox. Today, it popped up to $1.65 a contract — not bad at all!
Western Digital (WDC) also got a nice pop this morning — but as we pointed out Wednesday, the order that came across the tape in the $69 strike was outside the market maker’s expected move, which means that order went to $0.
Which is why we said this:
With market makers expecting a move of $4.67 higher or lower on the announcement, we’d look at those $67.50 strike calls — IF we felt strong about this play being a smart trade. They’re going for around $1.70 a contract this afternoon.
That $1.72 in the $67.50 strike call popped to $2.17 this morning. Once again, not bad!
The third play was in UPS, which used to have a slogan, “What can brown do for you?” Well, ol’ brown took a 15% dump on earnings today, and those calls went straight to $0 on the open.
So the lessons here are to always take a look at and consider the market maker move before deciding on your entry, and always respect the risk — especially weekly options! They can and will turn on you in a flash if wrong or the stock doesn’t move enough.
Let’s get back to what’s coming in today with Intel…
We saw several bullish bets in the chipmaker, which is about as beaten-down as you can get right now after falling 55% the past year, and 12% the past three months to under $20 a share.
But, lo and behold, we have some buyers looking to go long in a longer-dated play, one big order that expires tomorrow, and several smaller orders.
A bullish trader dropped a big $814k on the May monthly expiration, $25 strike calls, which are going for a couple of cents over $1.00 a contract — our favorite price for one contract!
The second big order is in the weekly $19.50 calls, so right smack in the money for about $216k in premium — a hefty chunk for such a risky overnight bet. These are going for around $1.24 apiece as of 1:10 p.m. ET, so that will change by the time this hits your inbox, but may be close.
Now, we don’t generally hold anything for four months like the May play, but it is within the market maker’s expected move of $5.26 higher or lower by expiration, so if that’s your thing and you feel strongly about Intel, it may be worth a look — that’s a big premium for this stock, so a confident buyer.
We each click our own mouse to enter trades, so whatever blows your hair back.
Several orders also hit the Penny Options Dashboard (listed below), so the bulls are out en masse for Intel today.
Just remember that’s no guarantee. So what do we do? Respect that risk!
We also saw two bullish bets in Baker Hughes (BKR) in the February $46 calls with shares trading just over $44 today. Market makers expect a move of $1.72 higher or lower on the report, and $3.16 higher or lower by expiration.
I sent this out to Shadow Trader members earlier today and it was mentioned on CNBC, so the trade popped big time and we got out of half of our position, leaving the other half on for earnings.
Be sure and check out Shadow Trader!
3:10 update: We officially closed out all of BKR — this is why we follow the flow!
Order Flow:
*This is for informational and educational purposes only. These are not official alerts issued by Lance, but rather some interesting orders picked by the team at Lance Ippolito Trading.
There is inherent risk in trading. Trade at your own risk.
Note: If no date is listed after the month, it’s the monthly expiration (third Friday).
The team at Lance Ippolito Trading
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*This is for informational and educational purposes only. There is inherent risk in trading, so trade at your own risk.
P.S. Expect massive stock momentum this Earnings season!
As companies release their quarterly earnings, you can now take advantage of the coming momentum to target wins on 24-hour trades!
Here’s how to get started today!
