Monday, August 11, 2025
Tech stocks have the started the new year with elevated volatility and quite a bit of selling pressure. The most popular tech index, Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), is down 5% for the year and has seen a handful of large percentage moves already. One strategist is looking to take advantage of the volatility by using […]
While the markets were slow for the holiday season, it didn’t stop options in FuelCell Energy (FCEL) from trading quite briskly. The hydrogen fuel cell company released earnings last week and reported a wider than expected loss on lower revenues. The share price fell nearly 14% on the day with over 200,000 options trading. The […]
Dear Investor, Share buybacks have become the rage for companies with large amounts of excess profits or free cash flow. Wall Street analysts love share buybacks as a way to “return capital to shareholders,” and many boards of directors give a lot of weight to what the analysts who follow their companies say. My opinion […]
Dear Reader, The recent stock market volatility reminds me again of the power of reinvesting the income from your dividend investment strategy. Once you understand the compounding power of dividend reinvestment, you realize that it’s very good for your long-term wealth when the stock market goes through a period of decline. It’s something my Dividend […]
Market volatility has been at its highest since February. Small cap stocks have been particularly volatile lately. Keep in mind, small caps tend to get sold early when there is a flight to quality. The popular small cap stock ETF, iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) dropped from a 52-week high near $245 all the way […]
Dear Reader, “It’s different this time” might be the four of the most dangerous words in investing. Market crashes occur when investors believe that traditional valuation metrics no longer apply. Another way to put it is that grossly overvalued investments eventually come back to earth, often violently. Yet, I am going to go out on […]
Networking giant Cisco Systems (CSCO) dropped 5% the day after earnings were released last week. The company’s’ guidance was disappointing to investors and revenues were lower than expected. However, one trader used this opportunity to enter a covered call trade. The trader purchased 1.35 million shares of CSCO (at $51.77) while selling 13,500 calls that […]
“Options are the same as stocks, just cheaper!” Ever heard a pitch start like that? Well, it’s wrong. Crazy wrong. Options trade much differently than stocks, and thus why it’s easier to lose money with options. (and this is coming from a 20+ year options trader). One key difference is options use of “implied volatility.” […]
One thing that I’ve learned in the many years that I’ve traded options is that most investors hate hedging. It’s not the idea of hedging (i.e., protecting a portfolio’s downside) that’s the issue. It’s the cost. Hedging can be expensive over time. Investors generally are not fans of things that are meant to lose money […]
What’s my favorite moving average? It’s not too volatile… but also the juiciest trends are found in this timeframe. When prices break above it, I’m buying. When it drops below, I’m staying away. Since early 2020, this moving average worked well for getting in and getting out of stocks. We’re in a choppy market so […]
