We're already long some domestic semiconductor stocks via options (the trend is working). However, perhaps we've set our sights too close to home.

International stocks have been on a tear recently, showing even greater strength than the U.S. So maybe we should be looking for the strongest stocks, in the strongest sectors, in the strongest countries?

With this in mind, today's trade takes us to Switzerland.

I'm an amateur chartist, at best. If you want charting experts, I'll refer you to my team here at All Star Charts.

That said, I've got my eye on what appears to be a bullish flag forming in a hot Chinese stock and it looks ready for liftoff. Coupled with cheap options pricing, we can neatly define our risks and position ourselves for a big win.

[9/7: updated stop to 56]

As promised during yesterday's The FLOW show, I'm following up on a possible trade idea we discussed.

However, after Strazza and I put our heads together with the rest of the Analyst team this morning, we're going to attack an opportunity in Schlumberger $SLB from a different angle -- one that can be rewarding regardless of which direction the stock takes.

A little pullback in stocks today has opened up the window for us to sell some options premium as a nice portfolio hedge for our predominantly long portfolio.

We don't need a long preamble here. The plan is simple: I'm going to enter a delta-neutral credit spread in an ETF that is currently atop my list of ETFs sorted by implied volatility.

Earlier this week, we took our original risk capital out of our Micron Technologies $MU position, and now we're enjoying a #FreeRide into the summer.

We've got a somewhat more conservative bullish bet going in Analog Devices $ADI via a call calendar spread.

As you can see, we've already got exposure to the semiconductors space. But there is a ton of bullish action here so as long as it keeps working, we're going to wade a little deeper in the semis pool for our next trade. 

Chinese content? What?

Look, I don't know. I just follow Price. They are all just letters and numbers to me. If it trades, it's liquid, and there's a good technical setup -- that's all I need.

It just so happens that this particular company is engaged in creating Chinese internet content. Ok.

But man oh man do I like the potential reward-to-risk setup here so let's get straight to the point...

The Bull has been rolling. Have you noticed? Judging by the response I got from an innocent little bullish tweet last week during the midst of a mild pullback for stocks, you'd think I'm insane for thinking stocks have a chance to go up.

So many angry people looking for lower prices.

Maybe they'll be right someday? Chances aren't zero.

Meanwhile, I'll just keep paying attention to price and relative strength which is an excellent guide to point me into winning trades in any direction.

So for today's trade, we're going to ignore the digital assaults on our senses by the angry bears and get analog in our approach to riding this bullish wave.

Me and Strazza did The Flow show earlier in the week, and one of the names we discussed as being a possible trade to get into has finally popped its head above the trigger I was waiting for.

This one has the potential to be a quick mover, so let's get right to it!

Look, I get it.

Maybe you have some long-term holdings showing significant gains that you don’t want to pay taxes on. But you want to squeeze some additional income out of these positions because either you’re greedy (fine) or you want to practice responsible risk management (a better reason).

That’s fine. Go ahead and continue selling covered calls from your yacht. You do you.

This post is aimed at the rest of you knuckleheads who seem to think entering covered call trades as tactical short-term plays is a productive use of your time and capital.

Yes, you! You know who you are.

Let me show you two pictures.

With the NFL Playoffs getting underway this weekend (Go Bills!), it's time we put the offense on the field!

I was kicking around a bullish idea in a consumer staples name during our Analyst meeting today. The chart looks great. The setup is good. We can position for a nice potential reward versus the risk we'd incur to put the trade on. Everyone agreed that its probably a good trade.

But... is it aggressive enough?

Answer: No, it's not.

The thinking that emerged from our chat was that risk is back on in the stock market; therefore, we need to get into the most reasonably aggressive names we can. And one of the areas where risk is most definitely "on" is in the homebuilders sector.

If all we did was watch the evening news or listen to the inflation and interest rate scaremongers, we'd reasonably conclude that a long-term and painful bear market for real estate and housing in particular is a slam dunk. No contest.

If a severe real estate bear market was in the cards, would we be seeing homebuilders ripping of their recent lows the way we have over the past couple of months?

Check out this chart of Toll Brothers $TOL...

In the Spring of 2022, JC came to me and said: “What do you think about managing an options income portfolio for me? I’m looking for some more strategy diversification in my portfolios. It doesn’t need to be anything sexy, just steady.”

Ok, I’m probably paraphrasing a bit, but that was the gist of his ask.

So I got to work on putting a plan together for him. When we looked at it together, it became obvious that we should offer this portfolio to the All Star Charts community who might also be interested in some further diversification. Even if people don’t take our trades, it could be a productive learning experience for everyone.

So we got to work and we launched the All Star Options Paid-to-Play (P2P) service in May 2022.

Each trading day, we either enter a new delta-neutral options credit spread in a liquid ETF (from a list of the most liquid Index and Sectors ETFs), or we play defense on an open position with an adjustment to put us in a better position to win. And we leave resting GTC (good-till-canceled) limit orders to close our credit spreads at profit targets which get filled periodically at the whim of the markets.

So far...

No doubt Gold Bugs have been enjoying the price action in gold instruments recently. It has been a profitable few months to be long just about anything shiny -- even silver!

The All Star Charts research team published a continued bullish piece on the sector today.

Today's options trade is a conservative bet on a continuation of this pattern. Let's get right to it.