Short Strangle Starbucks Statistically speaking, it doesn’t get much better than the short strangle. Many professionals claim it’s the ultimate options strategy. And there is no doubt it is the bread-and-butter options strategy among most traders that take a quantitative, or mathematical approach to trading options. A short strangle is a neutral, range-bound options strategy… Read more »
Author: Andy Crowder
Andy Crowder is a professional options trader, researcher and Chief Analyst of Crowder Options. Formerly with Oppenheimer & Co. in New York, Andy has leveraged his investment experience to develop his statistically based options trading strategy which applies probability theory to option valuations in order to execute risk-controlled trades. This proprietary strategy has been refined through two decades of research and real-world experience and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Seeking Alpha, and numerous other financial publications. Andy has helped thousands of option traders learn and implement his meticulous rules-driven options trading strategies through highly attended conferences, one-on-one coaching, webinars, and his work as a financial columnist. He currently resides in Bolton Valley, Vermont and when he's not trading, teaching and writing about options, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, backcountry skiing, biking, running and enjoying all things outdoors.
Trade Idea: Applying a Bear Call Spread on the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ)
Bear Call Spread QQQ Over the past two weeks, it seems the market has shrugged off all bearishness. The Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) has climbed an incredible 12.5% since March 15 and the many sentiment measures have quickly turned from bearish to bullish. But I’m not focused on the so-called bearishness or bullishness that drown the… Read more »
How to Use a Jade Lizard Options Strategy to Trade the S&P 500 (SPY)
The market has pushed significantly higher over the past two weeks. As a result, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has pushed into a short-term overbought state. When I see this type of set-up occur, I typically use a bear call strategy. As many of you know, it’s often my bread-and-butter trade when the market… Read more »
High-Probability Mean Reversion Indicator (ETFs Heading into the Week of March 28, 2022)
Below is my list of ETFs with the most liquid options for the week of March 28. Here are the various levels I use to determine if an ETF is in an oversold or overbought state. Very Overbought – a reading greater than or equal to 90.0 Overbought – greater than or equal to 80.0… Read more »
Trade Idea: My Strategy for Walgreens Boots Alliance’s (WBA) Upcoming Earnings
I mentioned in my weekly post, Top Options Plays for the Week, that Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) offered a potential earnings trade next week. As I’ve stated in the past, I hope that by going through a few examples of various options strategies every earnings season we can start to build a solid foundation on how to appropriately… Read more »
Top Earnings Options Plays for the Week (3/28 – 4/01)
We are inching closer and closer to earnings season. Until then we still have a few opportunities that are worthy of a look. This week Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) offers one of those opportunities, among a few others which I will discuss in several follow-up posts. WBA is due to announce before the open on… Read more »
The Problem with Trying to Hit Home Runs on Every Trade
I don’t really care for market opinions. Oftentimes, they aren’t objective, just simply self-serving. I’ve traded professionally for over 20 years and it amazes me the lack of forethought that goes into actual investment strategy. I mean, come on: Don’t boast about returns over the past three years when we’ve seen the market skyrocket to… Read more »
How I Approach a Trade in an Overbought ETF
Each week I send out my High-Probability Mean Reversion Indicator which includes roughly 25-35 highly liquid ETFs. In the next few months, I’ll be doing the same with a highly liquid list of stocks as well. The list contains the overbought/oversold levels of each ETF as well as the current implied volatility and IV rank.… Read more »
Trade Idea: My Strategy for Nike’s Upcoming Earnings
I mentioned in my weekly post, Top Options Plays for the Week, that Nike (NKE) offered a potential earnings trade next week. As I’ve stated in the past, I hope that by going through a few examples of various options strategies every earnings season we can start to build a solid foundation on how to appropriately apply options… Read more »
Top Earnings Options Plays for the Week (3/21 – 3/25)
We are officially in the doldrums between earnings seasons. But an opportunity or two can still be found each week. And while the offseason earnings trades oftentimes lack all of the necessities for an actual trade, it’s still worth taking a look at potential trades as we patiently wait for another upcoming earnings season, if… Read more »