For more regarding ZOLT see my recent pre-earnings trade in ZOLT. (more…)
Bullish on drug maker Affymax (AFFY)
Company profile: Affymax, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of drugs for the treatment of serious and life-threatening conditions in the United States. It offers OMONTYS (peginesatide) Injection for the treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease in adult patients on dialysis. OMONTYS is a synthetic, peptide-based erythropoiesis stimulating agent designed to stimulate production of red blood cells. The company has strategic alliance agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited to develop and commercialize OMONTYS. Affymax, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. (more…)
Bullish Triangle breakout – HCA Holdings (HCA)
A bullish breakout from a 60 day ascending triangle in HCA occurred today. A short-term trade can take advantage from a breakout above the $32 level. I’m not sure for the exact reason behind the breakout, but there are a few possible bullish factors: (1) JPM healthcare conference going on this week, which may be encouraging analyst interest in select healthcare companies like HCA, (2) Nationwide flu epidemic is bringing attention to the health sector, and some investors could be betting that hospital operators like HCA will benefit by reaching higher utilization rates with more patients needing to be attended to this winter. (more…)
High on the HOG (Harley Davidson) ahead of ER
Harley Davidson reports earnings tomorrow morning (10/23) before the bell. I’m taking a bullish options trade on it ahead of the Earnings release because I think that the positives outweight the negatives right now. (more…)
URI, rebound from earnings report, heavy volume
Range bound, heavy volume…placed entry quite a bit above the high, want to make sure stock has some upward momentum before I get in. Do not usually listen to news, but earnings came out below expectation due to an acquistion of RSC Holdings, which the company says will increase its customer base and pay off in the end (that is my lame attempt at following news, sorry). Also, if anyone wants to assist me I am attempting to make my system work with options. As a a matter of fact I am actually buying the call option for this stock but I will follow my entry and exit strategy on the underlying. We’ll see.
Speculative call option activity in SSYS
The only stocks I have interest in right now are the ones with strong EPS growth. Ultimately, those are the ones that are showing strong sales and strong cost controls. Those are the cream of the crop. I really like 2 companies in the 3d printing space – SSYS and DDD. I already own DDD and today bought some July calls in SSYS. Think or swim has a nice new feature that I noticed today, which shows some very interesting data points. Taking a close look at the options activity today in SSYS, notice the calls to puts ratio (1180:145). Strong volume in the calls today. Next look at the % of volume traded on the bid, the ask or in between the ask and bid, and 89% of volume was on the ask or in between the ask an bid. Only 11% traded in the bid. This indicates to me that traders were anxious for these trades to fill which is a sign of strong demand. Then take a look at the “Delta between” data. 77% of the call volume has been in options with a delta between 21 and 40%. That’s a large proportion of OTM calls that were bought compared to ITM calls. Then take a look at the most active call option today – it’s the near month (July) $55 (OTM) call. Strong signs of some very bullish speculation. I went long this call @ 1.70 today. It’s trading at 1.95 right now. It expires in 15 days, and I need price to at least reach $56.70 to break even by expiration (more…)
Potash – Buying at support for a 6 month options trade
Prosperous inventories of grains, combined with a strong dollar have brought down some of the high beta Potash names. I don’t think I can kid anyone that I know that the Euro will go up from here, but I do think that there is cyclicality in the grains business, and there will be a time again when there is an under-supply, which will stimulate demand for Potash again. Potash (POT), from a TA perspective is trading at an important level. I have pasted the 2 year chart here. Back in Aug 2010, it gapped up from these levels, and we find ourselves back down/filling that gap now. This level was also successfully re-tested during the October selloff. I’m going long a few Call contracts in the June 45 contract at 2.35. (more…)
Auxilium Pharma – a biotech bucking the market downtrend
The biotech space has been outperforming the broader market notably since the middle of November. Names like Pharmasset, Celgene and Amgen have outperformed the SP500 since Nov 21. Auxilium Pharma is a small cap biotech stock benefiting from the rising biotech space, has strong fundamentals (experiencing Q/Q Sales and EPS grow increases), saw a recent insider CFO purchase, and a recent CEO change to one with experience in maximizing shareholder value (aka has put up other biotech companies for sale to buyers successfully). Technically, it’s emerging from a 3-4 month consolidation phase ($14 – $18 range), with a b/o from an inverse H/S pattern occurring at the end of November. A series of higher highs and higher lows (uptrend) has been in play since that time.
Increasing Profits with Covered Calls on LEAPS
Many investors trade covered calls on stocks and ETFs, but you can amp up your trading returns by trading covered calls on LEAPS.
Continue Reading
Exercise Assignment and Expiration for Option Traders
Options buyers and sellers need to understand the terms expiration, exercise and assignment before trading options. This video will help.
Continue Reading