All Star Options Articles

This past weekend, I finished reading an illuminating book titled "Empires of Light" (see what I did there?), that dug into the origins of modern electric power as viewed through the lens of the first titans of industry to bring it to the masses: Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla. It was a fantastic read. And one that hit home due to the fact I grew up less than 20 miles away from Niagara Falls, a location which figures prominently in the birth of the nation's electric grid and modeled how to spread electricity transmission throughout the world.

So, it must be kizmit that the best idea on the table for me to choose from today comes from the energy space -- a $170B company that generates, distributes, and sells electric power to customers in North America.

A stock recently got on our radar after share prices exploded higher following a recent earnings report.

Now that the market has given players in this stock some time to marinate in the new reality presented during this last quarterly report, options premiums are beginning to return to normal (ie "low") prices. And this is making it more compelling for us to position for what we feel is another leg higher.

Well, once again we saw a little downside action this week and the noise-makers on the twitter and the teevee got all revved up. Cool. Whatever drives clicks, you maniacs.

Meanwhile, those of us who keep our heads about us while others are going insane are looking for opportunities to sell some premium into the somewhat elevated volatility premiums we see in options during times like this.

So, I did my periodic scan across the ETF landscape to see which sectors were sporting the highest relative implied volatilities while also showing the potential for rangebound activity over the next several weeks.

And I like what turned up...

That's right, I'm on the couch, settled in for a nice rom-com with the wife, passing the chip dip, and thinking about the stock dip I'm about to buy.

Sometimes, this is where and when my best ideas hit me. How about you?

But in the case, it just so happens the All Star team was already one step ahead of me on today's idea as they covered it in their recent Monthly Charts Strategy Session last week. At least now I get to enter at a better price!

I'm already groaning at the Dad Pun I'm trying to pull off here with this post's title.

The team put out a new The Short Report highlighting stocks that are ripe for getting short. Yes, we might be in a bull market, but its a "market of stocks" and if you look hard enough, you can always find stocks going in either direction, regardless of the macro market environment.

And the idea from the report that stands out best to me is now the victim of my bad pun.

The ASC team put out their latest International Hall of Famers list late last week. Here's what you need to know about these stocks: These are the 50 largest US-listed international stocks, or ADRs, which the team has applied technical filters to in a way that the strongest stocks with the most momentum rise to the top.

And one that caught my interest just recently got its last quarterly earnings reveal out of the way and it is now trading above the level where we want to take action.

The team is out with a bearish piece on US Treasuries this week. Have a read. In it, they lay out the case why we should be looking to position for further downside trading action in a variety of Treasury instruments.

It's been a while since I've had an opportunity to put a Bear Put Spread on, and these setups look like good candidates for them.

Shame on me for using the word "Hope" in the headline for this post, but I cannot resist a good pun ;)

We've got a play here in an old school Aerospace & Defense company that is on the verge of making new all-time highs. And it just so happens it's approaching the magical $100 a share price point that often tends to act as a price magnet. We call this the hundred-dolla-roll!

This is the video recording of October 8th 2021 Weekly Jam Session with Sean McLaughlin.

One thing the team and I have observed during recent market volatility is how well big banks have held up. Yes, they've pulled back like everybody else. But their relative strength remained in tact, and most charts in the sector held above significant support levels. In other words, the big picture is still pointing to higher prices.

So with that being the world we're living in right now, its time to place a bullish bet on a name everyone loves to hate.

If one were to simply observe the daily charts for $SPY or $QQQ while listening to the teevee, one would easily conclude the sky is falling. And that would be an easy conclusion to come to.

But when we take a step back from the noise and look elsewhere, the details under the hood are suggesting a different story. And that is giving me some confidence to fade the hysteria here.

This is the video recording of October 1st 2021 Weekly Jam Session with Sean McLaughlin.