Author: Jay Soloff

Trade of the Week: First Solar

Trade of the Week: First Solar

For the first time in a while, First Solar (FSLR) showed up on the unusual options volume radar. The domestic solar company has seen its stock price perform nicely since 2020 and the push for more green energy solutions in the US. The options on FSLR traded 6x the normal volume on a day last […]

Trade of the Week: Zoom

Trade of the Week: Zoom

There was 3.5x the normal volume of options in Zoom Video Communications (ZM) on one day last week. 64% of the trade were calls, which suggests a slightly bullish bias. ZM had dropped quite a bit recently after releasing disappointing earnings. However, Cathie Wood and her ARKK fund decided to use the opportunity to buy more ZM shares. This […]

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Use Options to Get More out of Your Banking Shares

The banking sector can be challenging to trade when interest rates are near zero. On the one hand, banks tend to earn more profits when interest rates are higher. On the other hand, if low interest rates lead to economic improvement, that’s good news for banks. The reason ultra-low interest rates are typically not the […]

Trade of the Week: IWM

Trade of the Week: IWM

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) is a very popular product that tracks the performance of small cap stocks. While it trades over 500,000 contracts on average per day, there are some interesting block trades that hit the tape now and then in IWM options. In this case, a 26,000 block of March covered calls […]

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Get Paid While Owning Gold Exposure

Throughout history, gold has been the asset to which investors flocked in times of economic uncertainty. Although gold’s direct impact on currencies has diminished over the last century, the precious metal is still a very important asset. Undoubtedly, gold remains relevant as a safe-haven asset. Gold has served as a hedge against just about every […]

Trade of the Week: CBOE

Trade of the Week: CBOE

Last week, for a brief period, there was some extreme options action in Cboe Global Markets (CBOE). The options traded 12x the normal volume, with 91% of the volume in calls. That many calls trading tends to be a bullish signal. In this case, the action was due to a rumor that CME had made […]

An Alternative Way to Use Covered Calls for Higher Returns

An Alternative Way to Use Covered Calls for Higher Returns

Covered calls are popular and powerful trading strategies for many reasons. Above all else, an overwriting system can work in just about any type of market. There aren’t many strategies that offer a benefit in most market environments. As a reminder, investors make covered calls when they buy a stock (in blocks of 100 shares) […]

Trade of the Week: MRNA

Trade of the Week: MRNA

Two of the big COVID vaccine producers, Moderna (MRNA) and Pfizer (PFE), saw a significant amount of options activity last week. On one day, with MRNA down nearly 6%, its options traded 4x the normal volume. Most of the activity was still on the call side of things though, which tends to be a bullish […]

Getting Cash From AAPL While You Wait For The Next iPhone

Getting Cash From AAPL While You Wait For The Next iPhone

Covered call trading is a commonly used strategy to generate cash flow and help normalize equity returns. A multitude of research suggests a basic covered call trading plan, from a risk-adjusted standpoint, outperforms long equities. However, covered call trading can be used situationally as well. There are times when short-term overwriting can be a powerful […]