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We’ll discuss the differences between day and swing trading and how to pick what’s best for a particular play, what to do if you’re late to the party, see what signals K.I.R.A. is flashing and more [tap to join us for Stonkamania]!
Let me tell you a story that completely changed how I approach buyout plays. And trust me, this one stings.
A buddy of mine — we’ll call him Heath — was tracking unusual options flow in Kraft-Heinz (KHC) about 10 to 15 years ago. For three months in a row, he saw the same pattern: someone dropping a couple hundred grand on KHC calls. Each month, Heath followed the flow and loaded up.
And every single month, those calls went to zero. No news. No merger. Nothing.
After losing roughly $60,000 to $70,000 over those three months — doing $20,000 to $30,000 positions each time — Heath finally threw in the towel.
“I’m done with Kraft,” he said, “I’m never buying calls on this thing again.”
You can’t blame the guy — three straight losses with that much money will do that to you.
Then Came the Fourth Month
The fourth month rolls around, and KHC calls hit again. Same flow pattern. Same setup.
Heath passed. He was burnt out, frustrated and convinced it was a losing play.
Two weeks later, Kraft and Heinz announced their merger. The stock jumped about 20% to 30%, and those calls he would’ve bought were up roughly 3,000%.
If he had stuck with his normal trade size, he would’ve made hundreds of thousands of dollars. Instead, he watched the exact trade he’d been chasing finally pay off — without him in it.
That story crushed him. And it stuck with me.
Other Buyout Plays With the Same Pattern
The more I traded, the more I realized this wasn’t an isolated situation. The same kind of persistence showed up in other names too. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) went through a similar setup before Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) bought them out. The flow kept hitting, the timing looked early, traders lost patience — and then the buyout finally landed.
Whole Foods Market (WFM) was another one. When Amazon (AMZN) stepped in with a buyout, the stock saw roughly a 30% bounce. Anyone who’d been tracking the accumulation and staying ready for a deal scored big, even if the early signals didn’t pan out right away.
These are perfect examples of how buyout flow often works. It’s messy. It fails repeatedly. It makes you question your sanity. But when it hits, it pays with interest.
Ever since hearing Heath’s story — and seeing these other deals play out the same way — I always keep some exposure when buyout flow refuses to die. I size appropriately, manage my risk and stay ready for the moment the market finally confirms what the flow had been hinting at for months.
Because the one time you quit could be the one time it finally pays off.
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.
When you look at these plays, always take the market maker move into consideration.
You can be right on the direction but still lose money if the stock doesn’t move enough. That’s where the market maker move comes in clutch.
With puts, they’re often downside hedges in case a stock tanks, especially around earnings. The further out of the money they are, the more likely they are to be hedges.
Also be sure and check when the company’s earnings date is because many of the plays we post here are centered around earnings!
If a stock is really expensive, consider a spread to lower the cost.
And finally, always remember the golden rule when it comes to buying calls: Buy dips, sell rips — and don’t chase!
If a stock’s moved a ton already today, maybe wait for a pullback.
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
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
Important Note: No one from the team at Lance Ippolito Trading, New Money Crew or any of its associated brands will ever contact you directly on Telegram.
*This is for informational and educational purposes only. There is inherent risk in trading, so trade at your own risk.
P.S. Register Now to Attend the Can’t-Miss KIRA AI Trading Summit
I’ve been showing everyone who will listen a glimpse of what K.I.R.A. is actually capable of over the past couple of weeks.
It’s an AI-driven trading engine designed to scan, process and interpret market data at a level that’s simply uncanny.
And if you’ve been attending Stonkamania, you probably even took a couple of trades yourself.
However, while I’ve had a couple of masterclasses where I put K.I.R.A. on the stand…
I deliberately held back the deeper details for the Official AI Trading Summit at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday — save yourself a seat here.
I’ll be live with Jack Carter, and we’re going all in on:
- How to use this tool in your day-to-day trading and why it’s been 88% accurate on live tracked signals.
- Why I’m giving away FREE access (NO catch, NO credit cards needed).
- How the AI can read subtle data points and outline how a stock is likely to perform over the next couple days.
- And why its top signals have produced insane returns in as little as 48 hours.
No guarantees in trading, of course…
But if you’re going to evaluate this properly, you need to see the full breakdown.
Register now and I’ll save you a seat for Saturday’s Launch.
Save Your Seat for the World Premiere Here
We develop tools and strategies to the best of our ability, but no one can guarantee the future. There is always a risk of loss when trading. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Stated results are from live tracked signals From 2/25/26 to 4/25/26. The win rate has been 89% on the options with an average return of 80% over a two-day hold time.
