Earnings reports are coming fast and furious, but did you happen to catch the move Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) made today?
After reporting a double beat Wednesday after the close, Chair Dr. CC Wei said the magic words (in bold)…
“The surge in AI-related demand in 2023 supports our already strong conviction that the structural demand for energy-efficient computing will accelerate in an intelligent and connected world. TSMC is a key enabler of AI applications,” he said.
And just like that — BANG!
TSM closed around $102 on Wednesday and ripped as much as 8.5% Thursday, helping spur a big 3.3% surge in the Semiconductor ETF (SMH) and Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) along with the chip stocks.
This should come as no surprise to you, but… Somebody knew! In fact, several “somebodies” knew because look at all this call buying that hit the News Flow Scanner in the hours leading up to the report!
Each of these orders blasted off today, but none more so than the weekly $99 calls that were bought at 11:24 a.m. ET. At that time, they were around $3.30 a contract.
Today, they peaked over $12.50 a contract.
As for Thursday’s top flow, we didn’t see any orders for companies that were about to report today or Friday, but we did see an interesting order in SoFi (SOFI)…
After jumping over $10.25 a share in late December following a banner year for the stock in 2023, SoFi has hit the skids, falling over 26% the past month, and nearly 15% the past week.
And a big-money trader stepped in to scoop the Feb. 9 expiration, $7.50 strike puts with the stock trading right at $7.50 a share.
So these are in the money, which I like best when it comes to puts. SOFI popped about $1.25 after its last earnings report to close out October.
As always during earnings season, trade small and respect the risk!
Thursday’s Top Order Flow:
- SOFI Feb24 9th Strike: 7.5 Puts premium: $102,136 ASK BEARISH
Trade Date: January 18, 2024 Trade Time: 10:16 am - BA Jan24 26th Strike: 205 Puts premium: $106,134 ABOVE ASK BEARISH Trade Date: January 18, 2024 Trade Time: 11:51 am
- CVE Feb24 Strike: 15 Calls premium: $693,413 ABOVE ASK BULLISH
Trade Date: January 18, 2024 Trade Time: 9:45 am
Note: If no date is listed after the month, it’s the monthly expiration (third Friday).
Lance Ippolito Trading Team
Lance doesn’t want the CCP spying on him, so you’ll never find him on TikTok. Same goes for other social media sites, which are filled with impersonators, scammers and crypto bros.
You can only find him on his personal YouTube Channel — smash that Subscribe button! https://www.youtube.com/@LanceIppolito
And in his private Telegram channel: https://t.me/+-gVwEIwGJhplMTgx
*This is for informational and educational purposes only. There is inherent risk in trading, so trade at your own risk.
P.S. How to Leverage Wall Street’s Big Moves for Quick Flips
I’ve been showing regular folks how to FLIP some of Wall Street’s biggest transactions…
And turn them into trades that target an extra $500 in cash or more, based on a $2,500 starting investment.
Just this week, we entered GOOG Wednesday morning at $2.67 a contract…
Turning that into a nice 53.18% gain* and a profit of $1,329.59 (on a $2,500 investment)!
Or how about GM, which we entered on Jan. 10, exiting on Jan. 12 for a quick 22.16% gain and a $554.05 profit (on a $2,500 investment).
Naturally, not every trade works out, we’ve had some losers, too. That’s to be expected — no one wins them all.
But this new way to “flip” some of Wall Street’s BIGGEST transactions into what could be extra cash is all thanks to a phenomenon happening all across the market.
It’s Based on Something I Call the ‘Knockout Line’
From 5/19/22 through 1/12/24 on closed trade signals, the average win rate is 71%. The average return per position (winners and losers) is 5.88% and over a 30.33% average winner with a 6-day average hold time. Past results are no guarantee of future results and you can lose money.
