To The Moon

Key Points:A married put protects downside of $MicroStrategy(MSTR)$.Selling a put generates income and perhaps a better price to buy more.MicroStrategy has become a prominent Bitcoin owner.  Short seller Andrew Left pointed out in a post on X, buying MSTR stock made sense several years ago as a way to invest in cryptocurrency without putting all your eggs in one basket. But now MicroStrategy’s valuation has come unglued from Bitcoin.“Now that Bitcoin investing is ‘easier than ever,’ MicroStrategy’s volume ‘has completely detached from BTC fundamentals,’ Citron wrote in an X post, adding that ‘while Citron remains bullish on Bitcoin, we’ve hedged with a short $MSTR position,” BNN Bloomberg reported.  While Left makes the point t

Will $Nvidia(NVDA)$’s much-awaited earnings report on Wednesday reignite the AI trade?Investors are positioning for another big run in the graphic-chip maker’s stock following the report. The composite implied volatility of NVDA options soared to 94.9 ahead of earnings, up around 60% from a month ago.Source: Market ChameleonNvidia Options Are Somewhat ExpensiveThe spikes in implied volatility are mostly related to earnings announcements. As the chart shows, the options are beginning to jump higher in terms of implied volatility. The stock price often gaps after the earnings because there are some surprises in the earnings report. Nvidia's dominance in the AI-driven technology trade has turned its earnings into a barometer for overall market sentim

$Alphabet Inc.(GOOG)$ stock has been treading water for the past month. GOOG closed at $167.93 per share on Monday, about flat with the price on July 26 of $168.68, a month ago. It is only slightly lower since releasing its Q2 results on July 23 (closing the next day at $174.37).So it’s reasonable to take advantage of this lull, especially if you are already a shareholder in GOOG stock. The idea is to sell covered call in nearby expiry periods. DoJ Mulling Move to Break up Google Hurt Stock PerformanceThe U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly mulling plans to rein in Google's dominance in online search including a break up after a recent court ruling determined that the company monpolized the online search market.The potential breakup

$Tesla(TSLA)$ stock made it 11 consecutive gains on Wednesday (July 10) by the skin of its teeth. Investors digested news about market share and from Wall Street.Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney increased his price target on Tesla stock to $248 from $175, and kept his Hold rating.Price target bumps typically help stocks. Battling target price increases is news that Tesla’s market share in the U.S. fell below 50% for the first time since it started selling electric vehicles, according to data provider Cox Automotive.Here are two distinct options trading strategies applied to Tesla stock against the backdrop of heightened Implied Volatility (IV). Each is designed to exploit the IV environment to potentially benefit from the volatility contraction

$Palo Alto Networks(PANW)$ stock continued to surge over 5% in early trading on Tuesday after Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi disclosed that she bought positions in the cybersecurity company. Palo Alto stock had risen about 15% in the past three trading days.Pelosi purchased between $500,000 and $1M worth of call options in the Nikesh Arora-led company, according to a congressional trading form filed by Pelosi. The purchase was made on Feb. 12.The 83-year-old Pelosi also disclosed a call option purchase worth between $100,000 and $250,000. The purchase was made on Feb. 21, the same day shares plummeted after the company lowered its full-year revenue and billings guidance.A total number of 468,609 options related to

$Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$ shares surged 20.3% to a record high on Friday after issuing its first dividend days ahead of the 20th anniversary of its Facebook unit.There are 2.38 million Meta option contracts traded on Friday, 6.6 times higher than the equity's 90-day average volume. Option order flow sentiment implies that traders are wagering strong bullish bets in META stock on-balance. After converting the options volume into an equivalent number of META shares bought or sold, we can find that traders bought a net equivalent of 2,195,902 shares of META stock on Friday.Source: Market ChameleonShorting OTM Puts for META StockIn any case, short-put income plays are now very popular for shareholders. This is based on a contrarian reaction to

$Apple(AAPL)$ is expected to report its 1Q FY'24 results earnings on Thursday after market close. Analysts expect Apple's revenue to be $117.97 billion, adjusted net income to be $32.32 billion, and adjusted EPS to be $2.105, according to Bloomberg's unanimous expectations.Apple's 1Q results will likely indicate iPhone sales pressure in the greater China region amid increased competition from Huawei and reduced consumer spending. Furthermore, the guidance for the current quarter is expected to miss estimates on softening hardware demand.AAPL option order flow sentiment implies that traders are wagering bearish bets in AAPL stock on-balance. After converting the options volume into an equivalent number of AAPL shares bought or sold, we can find tha

$Tesla(TSLA)$ recently reported weaker-than-expected Q4 earnings, sending shares tumbling more than 12% the following day. Lackluster growth, margin headwinds, and the lack of a clear outlook were the driving forces for the selloff.Despite already being down 23% in 2024, it seems that the path of least resistance is not upside. Elon Musk's $55 billion pack package at electric vehicle maker Tesla was voided by a Delaware judge after a shareholder lawsuit claimed his hefty pay package was unduly approved. Tesla shares fell 2.94% to $184.96 in premarket trading on Wednesday.Since Tesla stock is facing some obstacles. This is good for near-term expiring covered call option plays. Investors can make extra income with these trades.Selling covered call o

$Microsoft(MSFT)$ will report its Q2 FY24 earnings after the US markets close on 30 January. Analysts expect Microsoft’s revenues to come in at $61.144 billion. Adjusted earnings are likely to come in at about $2.775 per share, according to Bloomberg's unanimous expectations.Microsoft's management anticipates Azure's growth to reach 26% to 27% in the second quarter. The company continued its upward trajectory in January 2024, surpassing Apple to become the world's most valuable company with a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion. This reflects investor confidence in the future development of the artificial intelligence field.Recently, Microsoft announced the launch of Copilot Pro for the M365 Family and Personal edition, priced at $20 per month

Microsoft’s stock market value ended a trading session higher than Apple’s for the first time since 2021 on Jan 12, making it the world’s most valuable company as worries about demand hit the iPhone maker’s shares.Apple crept up 0.2 per cent on Jan 12, while Microsoft added 1 per cent. With that, Microsoft’s market capitalisation stood at US$2.887 trillion, its highest ever, according to LSEG data. Apple’s market capitalisation was US$2.875 trillion, calculated with data in a filing on Jan 11.Source: Tiger Trade AppWorries about smartphone demand have pushed Apple’s shares down 3 per cent so far in 2024 after rallying 48 per cent in 2023. Microsoft is up about 3 per cent year to date after surging 57 per cent in 2023 in a rally driven in part by its lead in generative artificial intelligen