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NikTam

CML TradeMachine Trade Ideas

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@cuegis  Then I consider myself to be in very good company!  I agree that price is the thing that matters -- it's the only real thing in the market at the moment.  And, yes, I am also deeply enmeshed in time frames when I look at a chart for an entry or an exit.  I would say that the indicators I value the most are actually extensions/extrapolations of price.   I like to think there is some value in gauging market sentiment -- for instance with the relationship of bollinger bands and keltner channels (John Carter's Squeeze is based on this) but I agree -- the multi-time frame charts and the candles are the main thing.

I also like your vertical idea in that you buy the 50 delta instead of the 40 and offset the increase in cost with premium from the short position.  Makes total sense.  It's very easy to see that your profit target is within the range of the long and the short.

And when you invent that "mouse" let me know!

Edited by NikTam

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For what it's worth: I like SEE for 3 day P-E and TDG for 3 day and and "inside" 7 day since the earnings is 11/9 BMO. (Not 11/13).  And based on charts, ICUI for 7 day even though getting in Monday will make it a 3 day  -- so another inside the margins play.  (I will call them inside straights -- seems appropriate!) 

http://tm.cmlviz.com/index.php?share_key=20171106005422_ZNAjIdGRxWMd8ikq

http://tm.cmlviz.com/index.php?share_key=s_0_20171104092854_NBez0MaUdKTUUBEn

http://tm.cmlviz.com/index.php?share_key=s_0_20171104092326_k7ilfEPQdNJhIDcx

Except maybe for SEE, these are not textbook plays -- but I like the charts and will take a closer look tomorrow.

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10 minutes ago, NikTam said:

For what it's worth: I like SEE for 3 day P-E and TDG for 3 day and and "inside" 7 day since the earnings is 11/9 BMO. (Not 11/13).  And based on charts, ICUI for 7 day even though getting in Monday will make it a 3 day  -- so another inside the margins play.  (I will call them inside straights -- seems appropriate!) 

http://tm.cmlviz.com/index.php?share_key=20171106005422_ZNAjIdGRxWMd8ikq

http://tm.cmlviz.com/index.php?share_key=s_0_20171104092854_NBez0MaUdKTUUBEn

http://tm.cmlviz.com/index.php?share_key=s_0_20171104092326_k7ilfEPQdNJhIDcx

Except maybe for SEE, these are not textbook plays -- but I like the charts and will take a closer look tomorrow.

Thanks for posting. Please continue to post these setups as I learn a lot from these. What do you mean "inside" and "inside the margins" here ?

 

Also, the ICUI does not have that great a win ratio so what do you like about it ?

Edited by siddharth310584

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I mean that I would be entering inside the 7 day parameters.  I would do this if the chart looks good but there hasn't been much gain yet.

ICUI chart has some indicators I like.  It's not a perfect set up on CML.

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I just saw the mention of SEE. Since I have no way of being able to analyze but a limited amount of stocks (etf, commodities too).....I just looked at a daily chart of SEE ( which I would never have had on my radar).......and it looks beautiful. Then, I moved back in time ...(weekly and monthly charts). This indicated to me (for whatever it is worth), that this stock is clearly positioned (in the big picture) to be moving a LOT higher. The only problem,when viewing it from this longer term perspective....is that it could remain in a trading range (with an upward bias), for a longer period of time. But, I brought it down to a 60 and 15 minute chart, and it looks like it is getting closer, in time, to what looks like, an inevitable breakout. But, for the immediate (capital I) moment, it has turned down, on the 5 minute, which could be allowing a great opportunity to enter. Since the long term picture is very good, but the immediate timing is questionable, the next step is how to get into a long delta position, that allows plenty of room to avoid time decay as much as possible, and be positioned for an eventual bull move. I'll examine this further and give you my best estimate for how to best position yourself. Or, I could be completely wrong, and the stock just plummets. But, that is part of directional trading. The rewards are quite amazing though, when you plan it correctly. This is where you can have 30-40% wins, and be extremely profitable over the long run.

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SEE only has monthlies.

But, here is an example, off the top of my head, to get long , and not suffer much, if any, time decay , when you are not sure of the timing of the breakout.

The stock is at $44

Buy the Jan $44 calls for $1.90, and sell the Dec $46 calls for .75.

It is fairly liquid, and if you can get this as close to $1.00- $1.10 ...it allows you to be long ATM, and not have to worry too much, about the timing.

This is assuming it will sit for anywhere from 1 week- 5 weeks, before breaking out.

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Also, look at this.  TGT Long Strangle.  I've compared Straddle and Iron Condor but Strangle has best return in back-testing.  The 3 year doesn't look that good -- but things have changed more recently for TGT so I'm discounting that time period.  I think the chart pattern is looking similar to last few patterns pre-earnings.  So a 7 day straddle that will -- or will not -- be profitable in 3-4 days and then i would expect to get out unless price pattern is compelling to stay.  Small position, not betting the farm.

http://tm.cmlviz.com/index.php?share_key=20171106045140_NRgH3IcSz9Ecd9cn

Edited by NikTam
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On 10/25/2017 at 10:31 PM, greenspan76 said:

On the trades I've taken from the blogs and such, by the time I download the trades and sort through them on a spreadsheet to determine if the trade has promise, it takes too much time to only average 2-3% gains, even for short holding periods. Just for the sake of accuracy, my numbers were after trading costs using IB, but I looked a little closer and realized I had duplicated some trades in those numbers (where I made the same trade in my brokerage and IRAs), so it was actually 45 total closed trades and an average holding period of almost 14 days. The only reason I'm still trading them is because a handful of trades skewed both the average gain downward and the average holding period upward, and I'm inclined to believe that more selective trading would produce reasonable results.

Just to follow up a bit on this point about my personal results with CML trades. I'm up to 62 total CML trades so far with an average holding period of 12 days and an average gain of 4.1%.  I realized after looking a little closer that if I removed the post-earnings short put spreads and the iron condors, my results were actually pretty good. For pre-earnings calls, I've made 21 trades with an average holding period of 4 days and an average gain of 5%. For straddles (most pre-earnings, but a few post-earnings), I've made 12 trades with an average holding period of 11 days and an average gain of 16.3%. I'm just going to keep going. Have limited time and don't want to hijack the thread, so I'll just try to post aggregate results after 6 months and maybe after a year of trading them.

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4 minutes ago, greenspan76 said:

Just to follow up a bit on this point about my personal results with CML trades. I'm up to 62 total CML trades so far with an average holding period of 12 days and an average gain of 4.1%.  I realized after looking a little closer that if I removed the post-earnings short put spreads and the iron condors, my results were actually pretty good. For pre-earnings calls, I've made 21 trades with an average holding period of 4 days and an average gain of 5%. For straddles (most pre-earnings, but a few post-earnings), I've made 12 trades with an average holding period of 11 days and an average gain of 16.3%. I'm just going to keep going. Have limited time and don't want to hijack the thread, so I'll just try to post aggregate results after 6 months and maybe after a year of trading them.

How do you follow the trades from the blog ? Do you change the parameters or just follow them and try to make the trade near eod. How do you determine if theyhave promise ?

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1 minute ago, siddharth310584 said:

How do you follow the trades from the blog ? Do you change the parameters or just follow them and try to make the trade near eod. How do you determine if theyhave promise ?

I made a spreadsheet with every blog trade that has been posted. I just follow the trade and try to enter near eod. I'm sure @NikTam's method of using charts to aid in his entries probably produces better results, but I wanted to see how the trades actually perform vs how they are reported to perform. I first look at the overall numbers, then I download the trade data from the backtest to a spreadsheet and see if the results appear consistent and reasonable or if there are a couple trades heavily skewing results. Then, I look at whether it would have made sense to enter the trade at the point of entry. For example, if one cycle, I was trading a $5 put spread and could only get a $0.25 credit, there's no way I'm entering that trade. Also, I am interested to know whether the stock price has changed significantly during the life of the trade and if the current setup is relatively favorable compared to prior successful setups.

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3 minutes ago, greenspan76 said:

I made a spreadsheet with every blog trade that has been posted. I just follow the trade and try to enter near eod. I'm sure @NikTam's method of using charts to aid in his entries probably produces better results, but I wanted to see how the trades actually perform vs how they are reported to perform. I first look at the overall numbers, then I download the trade data from the backtest to a spreadsheet and see if the results appear consistent and reasonable or if there are a couple trades heavily skewing results. Then, I look at whether it would have made sense to enter the trade at the point of entry. For example, if one cycle, I was trading a $5 put spread and could only get a $0.25 credit, there's no way I'm entering that trade. Also, I am interested to know whether the stock price has changed significantly during the life of the trade and if the current setup is relatively favorable compared to prior successful setups.

How do you determine this “the current setup is relatively favorable compared to prior successful setups.”

 

also, as I understand it, from what you are saying, you do not comparable results to what the back tests imply. 

 

Why hat would you not trade the 25 cents. Is it because the risk reward is too skewed to risk !

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NTES is gapping up to 296 in pre-market.  I'm holding the vertical call 285/282.50 on this one which means I would be maxed out.  Ready to pull the ripcord at open.

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6 hours ago, siddharth310584 said:

How do you determine this “the current setup is relatively favorable compared to prior successful setups.”

 

also, as I understand it, from what you are saying, you do not comparable results to what the back tests imply. 

 

Why hat would you not trade the 25 cents. Is it because the risk reward is too skewed to risk !

-There's not a one-size fits all answer to this one, so let me give you an example: Let's say the trade is a pre-earnings call and each of the last 8 trades, the IV was between 21 and 26% at the designated entry time, but this time it is at 48%. There may be a good reason for the elevated IV, but now the trade is not similar conditions to the backtested results, so I'll skip it.

-I don't know how comparable the actual results are to the backtested results because the backtested results are based on end of day pricing and prices are going to be different an hour before close or 30 minutes before close, etc.

-I don't like the risk/reward of the $0.25 credit vs $4.75 loss because my max gain is just over 5% and my max loss is 100%. I suppose it is possible that the deltas indicate a greater than 95% chance of success, but I don't believe delta is an accurate measure of the likelihood of something occurring, so I'm not interested in that risk/reward ratio. Again, that was just an example to make a generic point. It is hard to talk specifics because every single trade has a whole lot of individual components to look at. That's why I commented a while back that the time spent on each trade is too much to justify small gains.

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9 hours ago, NikTam said:

@cuegis I like the vertical idea.  And I would look for a break out sooner than later with earnings in view. 

I can't believe how forgetful I can still be, even after all these years.

I put up the Jan 44/Dec 46 diagonal on my quote screen this morning, with a bid at .90 ( the spread closed at $1.15)...and I forgot to check when they have earnings (in 2 days).

I think 2 days is too little time to benefit, maybe not.

Earnings are Nov 8th BO.

I might do a few and get out tomorrow.

Then depending where it is after earnings, I might put something back on again, as it was interesting a bullish/directional trade to begin with.

Edited by cuegis

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9 hours ago, NikTam said:

@cuegis I like the vertical idea.  And I would look for a break out sooner than later with earnings in view. 

I am also holding MAR, based on the "Discover" article in Trade Machine.

Earnings are tomorrow AC

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9 hours ago, NikTam said:

@cuegis I like the vertical idea.  And I would look for a break out sooner than later with earnings in view. 

I'm also hold K (Kellogg) which I got from a CML scan of "Bear Squeeze". A 100% history of profits. A very short history!

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Out of NTES at 50% gain.  I think I could have waited longer for higher gain but I've been burned too often with this mentality.  So I stick to my plan of profit exits at 40%-50%.

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2 hours ago, NikTam said:

I've entered 11/17 TDG 280 long call at 8.97.  Also 11/17 SEE 44/46 vertical at .76  Details later.

SEE -  1/17 SEE 44/46 vertical at .72 and 45 CALL for 65. Will see.

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5 minutes ago, IgorK said:

SEE -  1/17 SEE 44/46 vertical at .72 and 45 CALL for 65. Will see.

SEE earnings are BO on wednesday. Are you planning to exit before that?

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1 hour ago, cuegis said:

SEE earnings are BO on wednesday. Are you planning to exit before that?

Yes. At least from call..

@cuegis Actually expiration is on Nov17s. Does it make sense to keep longer if price is not going up?

Edited by IgorK

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On 11/6/2017 at 3:08 PM, Djtux said:

Which chart are you refering to ? On volatilityhq.com ?

 

 

Edited by krisbee

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11 minutes ago, krisbee said:

ANET

 

Sell puts after earnings

https://tm2.cmlviz.com/index.php?share_key=20171106195526_9wwb03OWMp8s7jRb

 

@Djtux Earnings today's chart looks crazy. please check for ANET.

Noticed earnings was Nov 2nd. We should have seen this setup on Nov 2nd. I just got alert on this. My bad on typing it as today's earnings. 

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@cuegis  I am also now looking at K for a bear put debit spread.  The CML back-testing is not compelling except for the 2 year period.  But the chart is compelling to me -- this looks like a very bearish stock right now.  Great risk to reward ratio. 

Post Earnings Put Debit Spread -- buy 55 delta and sell 10 delta.  So 11/17 expiration 57.5/60 strikes.  Close a few days before expiration.

This is mostly charts and indicators, less so the CML Trade Machine.

http://tm.cmlviz.com/index.php?share_key=20171106230150_bfSlxI3jTORlQgCU

I have a BTO at .45 but I would pay .55.  So I risk $550 for max gain of $1950.

Edited by NikTam

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1 hour ago, NikTam said:

@cuegis  I am also now looking at K for a bear put debit spread.  The CML back-testing is not compelling except for the 2 year period.  But the chart is compelling to me -- this looks like a very bearish stock right now.  Great risk to reward ratio. 

Post Earnings Put Debit Spread -- buy 55 delta and sell 10 delta.  So 11/17 expiration 57.5/60 strikes.  Close a few days before expiration.

This is mostly charts and indicators, less so the CML Trade Machine.

http://tm.cmlviz.com/index.php?share_key=20171106230150_bfSlxI3jTORlQgCU

I have a BTO at .45 but I would pay .55.  So I risk $550 for max gain of $1950.

I can see how you are getting a bearish reading from the daily chart.

This trade came onto my radar from a scan , under "Pro Scan" , in the category of "Bear Squeeze".

I shouldn't have done anything with this until I had a better understanding of what "they" mean by "squeezes".

But, just based on the daily chart, as far as getting into a "short" position,...I would be a little concerned about the possibility of a potential large "gap" bottom having been just a few days ago, and now we have been sliding back down to fill that gap that was left behind.

I would probably wait, until I see how that "gap" situation plays itself out.

Also, on the weekly chart, an outside key reversal week was completed last week, which also could point to a potential bottom.

But, that's just me.

I think there might be something to this "squeeze" scan worth pursuing.

Edited by cuegis

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I think I will look at it again. :-)

 
I have the squeeze indicator on my TOS platform and I don’t see a squeeze going on except on the 15 minute chart.   I would like to see the squeeze on more than one timeframe before giving it much weight.  
And  I Need some details on how CML is using this indicator in their back testing.  Could be a good combination.

 

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1 hour ago, NikTam said:

I think I will look at it again. :-)

 
I have the squeeze indicator on my TOS platform and I don’t see a squeeze going on except on the 15 minute chart.   I would like to see the squeeze on more than one timeframe before giving it much weight.  
And  I Need some details on how CML is using this indicator in their back testing.  Could be a good combination.

 

Yes...that's my issue too. I really don't know how CML handles the whole "squeeze" thing.

There is a wide open field of how one would get o a candidate, especially having viewed several time frames, before placing it on their radar.

But, for the moment, we can use Trade Machine as a way of opening the door to possibilities, and then it is up to us to draw our own conclusions from that shaky knowledge.

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4 hours ago, cuegis said:

Yes...that's my issue too. I really don't know how CML handles the whole "squeeze" thing.

There is a wide open field of how one would get o a candidate, especially having viewed several time frames, before placing it on their radar.

But, for the moment, we can use Trade Machine as a way of opening the door to possibilities, and then it is up to us to draw our own conclusions from that shaky knowledge.

https://tm.cmlviz.com/faq/squeeze_technicals.php in case you hadn't seen it yet...

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11 hours ago, NikTam said:

Here's a classic Bull Squeeze.  Interrupted by a huge move due to earnings.  I will watch the aftermath for another squeeze -- PCLN has a great track record for the Squeeze.

http://tm.cmlviz.com/index.php?share_key=20171107023951_rVelAPbMQspFqCTA

Am I looking at the same thing/ From your link, the results I'm seeing are 5/4 (60% wins), with the average win not that much bigger than the average loss.

The total , combined, profit is 33%.

Do you really think that these numbers stick out compared to the results of so many of the other CML backtests?

If you just do a "scan by strategy", you will wind up with a decent number of results in the 90-100% level.

Or, am I missing something here?

 

I have a feeling that we are not looking at the same thing!

Edited by cuegis

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On 11/1/2017 at 10:49 AM, IgorK said:

Bought earlier NVDA 215 Nov10 call for 6.40. Was 40 delta at this point.  Looks like was a mistake.  Oh well...

Out at 6.50.  Let's see what SEE does. 

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I'm just out of SEE at a 15% loss - not much time left for it to turn-around. 

 

NVDA is looking good.   @IgorK why did you get out?

Edited by NikTam

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1 minute ago, cuegis said:

Well, that is a totally different one than the original one you listed.

Sorry! Not sure how that happen.

Edited by NikTam

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3 minutes ago, NikTam said:

I'm just out of SEE at a 15% loss - not much time left for it to turn-around. 

 

NVDA is looking good.   @IgorK why did you get out?

Because of such a drastic turnaround, from down, to up on the day, I'm going to give it a few hours before I start getting out.

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12 minutes ago, NikTam said:

I'm just out of SEE at a 15% loss - not much time left for it to turn-around. 

 

NVDA is looking good.   @IgorK why did you get out?

I have 2 meetings today. And as you said NVDA is a beast.  Plus Intel and AMD joining against NVDA. So not sure what  stock is going to do.

Why you got out of SEE so early? Charts not looking good?

So far it's not looking good.

Edited by IgorK

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You might want to look at SQM. I didn't get it from CML but, I have been trading it , from the long side, since the summer, and as you can see, it has been a monster.

They are the largest lithium provider in the world (I think). They are in Chile.

Just look at the chart. I think you will see what I mean.

 

As you can see, it has run into resistance. I'm even questioning whether the whole bull move is over.

But, it is a nice "trading" stock (it's options).

Edited by cuegis
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I just don't see any positive momentum with SEE.  The moves usually happen in the morning or the last part of the trading day. I don't want to wait until late in the day.

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28 minutes ago, NikTam said:

@cuegis  Interesting!  I see your point, though -- it's at all time highs and may have run it's course for awhile.  3 day P-E looks interesting.

http://tm.cmlviz.com/index.php?share_key=20171107150815_hhCcfX53QgCvNwGE

This example ends in Aug 2017, when the stock was at $44. This dosn't show everything that happened when the thing exploded , in Aug, and basically went into the $60's, without any significant .pullback.

This period reminded me of the value of leverage, because I was either buying calls only...or verticals. And, my average "hold time" for each trade was 1-2 days, or less.

There was a period of time , that lasted nearly 2 months, where you could could get long, on any little pullback (usually, it seemed to happen late in the day), and it would open .80 cents higher, nearly everyday, then spike.

It really showed the huge amount of money one can make, on such a tiny cash outlay, with only a $1-$2 move.

I didn't do anything special,....just followed a strongly trending market, and get out quickly during spikes.

These are THE best trades (when you can find them)

 

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      PREFACE 
      Trading options in Fabrinet (NYSE:FN) using a short window before earnings are released has been a staggering winner over the last several years. 

      This is it -- this is how people profit from the option market. Identifying strategies that are tightly risk controlled, take no stock direction risk and no earnings risk. Strategies that are immune from a bull or bear market. 

      STORY 
      Everyone knows that the day of an earnings announcement is a risky event for a stock. But the question every option trader, whether professional or amateur, has long asked is if there is a way to profit from this known implied volatility rise. It turns out, that over the long-run, for stocks with certain tendencies, the answer is actually, yes. 
        Yes, there is a systematic way to trade this repeating phenomenon, without making a bet on earnings or stock direction.

      THE SET UP 
      What a trader wants to do is to see the results of buying an at the money straddle a couple of weeks before earnings, and then sell that straddle just before earnings. Here is the setup: 
       

      We are testing opening the position 14 days before earnings and then closing the position 1 day before earnings. This is not making any earnings bet. This is not making any stock direction bet. 

      Once we apply that simple rule to our back-test, we run it on an at-the-money straddle: 

      RETURNS 
      If we did this long at-the-money straddle in Fabrinet (NYSE:FN) over the last three-years but only held it before earnings we get these results: 
         
      Click here to see the back-test live

      That's a 162% return over the last three-years, with 9 winning trades and 3 losing trades. But, let's take a step toward risk reduction before we move forward. 

      While we are looking at this same trade, let's also set a rule that if at any point in the two-week period the straddle loses 25% of its value, we just close it and wait for the next pre-earnings cycle. While we're at it, we will do the same with the upside -- that is, if at any time during the two-weeks the straddle goes up 25%, we take the profits and close the trade. 

      For clarity, this is what we test: 
       

      And now we can see the results over the same three-year period: 
         
      Click here to see the back-test live

      While we are taking 75% less risk, we are seeing about the same results -- we will continue down this risk adjusted path for the rest of this dossier. 

      Digging Deeper 
      Now we can see the results over the last two-years: 
         
      Click here to see the back-test live

      That's a 126% return and 7 winning trades with 1 losing trade. Remember, this trade takes no stock direction risk and no earnings risk -- this is completely agnostic to a bull or bear market. 

      Even further, that 126% actually came on just 16 weeks of trading (2-weeks per earnings cycle, 8 earnings cycles), which is over 400% annualized returns. 

      Now we look at the last year: 
         
      Click here to see the back-test live

      We see a 65.2% percent return on 3 winning trade and 1 losing trade. 

      Finally, we can look at the last six-months: 
         
      Click here to see the back-test live

      That's 40.1%, winning both of the last two pre-earnings trades. 

      WHAT HAPPENED 
      This is it -- this is how people profit from the option market. Identifying strategies that are tightly risk controlled, take no stock direction bets or earnings risk. It's preparation, not luck. 

      To see how to do this for any stock we welcome you to watch this quick demonstration video: 
      Tap Here to See the Tools at Work 

      Thanks for reading. 

      Risk Disclosure 
      You should read the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. 

      Past performance is not an indication of future results. 

      Trading futures and options involves the risk of loss. Please consider carefully whether futures or options are appropriate to your financial situation. Only risk capital should be used when trading futures or options. Investors could lose more than their initial investment. 

      Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The risk of loss in trading can be substantial, carefully consider the inherent risks of such an investment in light of your financial condition.
    • By Ophir Gottlieb
      How to Profit from Trading Options in Autodesk Inc Right After Earnings
       


      Date Published: 2017-05-18 
      Written by Ophir Gottlieb 

      LEDE 
      While Autodesk Inc (NASDAQ:ADSK) just crushed earnings again, sending shares soaring in the after hours trade, one option trade after earnings has been a consistent winner. It takes no earnings risk, little stock direction risk and over the last year has never lost while returning over 160% annualized returns. 

      The Trade After the Excitement 
      While most of the focus is on the actual earnings move for a stock, that's the distraction when it comes to the option market. For Autodesk Inc, irrespective of whether the earnings move was up or down, if we waited one-day after the stock move from earnings, and then sold an out of the money put spread, the results were very strong. 

      We can examine this, objectively, with a custom option back-test. Here is our earnings set-up: 
       


      Rules 
      * Open short put spread 1 day after earnings 
      * Close short put spread 29 days later 
      * Use the option that is closest to but greater than 30-days away from expiration 

      Here are the results over the last year: 
       


      That's a 47.3% return, with 4 winning trades and 0 losing trades. The total holding period was less than 4 full months, meaning the annualized return was over 160%. No earnings risk was taken -- this is not a coin flip over earnings. 

      The Logic 
      This strategy works beautifully in many companies where heavy stock volume follows the earnings release. The logic behind this trade follows a narrative that even after a bad earnings release, if we wait a day after, we find the stock at a point of equilibrium. 

      If it gapped down -- that gap is over. If it beat earnings, the downside move is already likely muted. Here's how this strategy has done over the last 6-months: 
       


      That's a 21.3% return, on 2 winning trades and 0 losing trades. Since this is a total of a two-month holding period, that 21.3% is actually over 120% annualized. 

      If you're curious, yes, this also produced positive returns over the last 3-years. Here are those results. 
       


      Now we can find some comfort in this approach where is shows 9 winning trades and just 2 losing trades over the last three-years. 

      WHAT HAPPENED 
      There are patterns to stock behaviors before and after earnings and those patterns reveal opportunities in the option market, without taking the actual risk of earnings. You can find them, stock by stock, Apple, Google, Netflix and of course Autodesk Inc are just a handful of examples. There has been edge here with this strategy. 

      To see how to do this for any stock and for any strategy with just the click of a few buttons, we welcome you to watch this quick demonstration video: 
      Tap Here to See the Tools at Work 

      Thanks for reading. 

      Risk Disclosure 
      You should read the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. 

      Past performance is not an indication of future results. 

      Trading futures and options involves the risk of loss. Please consider carefully whether futures or options are appropriate to your financial situation. Only risk capital should be used when trading futures or options. Investors could lose more than their initial investment. 

      Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The risk of loss in trading can be substantial, carefully consider the inherent risks of such an investment in light of your financial condition. 

      The author has no position in Autodesk Inc (NASDAQ:ADSK) as of this writing. 

      Back-test Link
       
       
       
       
       
    • By Ophir Gottlieb
      How to Trade Options Before Earnings in Broadcom Limited (NASDAQ:AVGO)

       
      How to Trade Options Before Earnings in Broadcom Limited (NASDAQ:AVGO)
      Date Published: 2017-05-15 

      PREFACE 
      Trading options in a short window before earnings are released benefits from the rising implied volatility but avoids the risk into the actual earnings release and also avoids any kind of stock direction risk. 

      This approach has returned a annualized rate of 198%. Now that's worth looking into. 

      STORY 
      Everyone knows that the day of an earnings announcement is a risky event for a stock. This can be explicitly seen in the option market, where the implied volatility (the expected stock move) rises into the earnings event. 

      The question every option trader, whether professional or amateur, has long asked is if there is a way to profit from this known volatility rise. It turns out, that over the long-run, for stocks with certain tendencies like Broadcom Limited (NASDAQ:AVGO) the answer is actually, yes. 
       
      Yes, there is a systematic way to trade this repeating phenomenon, without making a bet on earnings or stock direction.

      THE SET UP 
      What a trader wants to do is to see the results of buying an at the money straddle a few days before earnings, and then sell that straddle just before earnings. The goal, is two-fold: (i) to benefit from that known implied volatility rise, and (ii) to own the straddle for a very short period of time when the stock might move 'a lot,' but taking no earnings bets. 

      If either of those two phenomena occur, there's a very good chance this wins, if neither occur, the amount risked is normally quite small. Here is the setup: 
       


      We are testing opening the position 6 days before earnings and then closing the position 1 day before earnings. This is not making any earnings bet. This is not making any stock direction bet. 

      Once we apply that simple rule to our back-test, we run it on an at-the-money straddle: 

      RETURNS 
      If we did this long at-the-money (also called '50-delta') straddle in Broadcom Limited (NASDAQ:AVGO) over the last three-years but only held it before earnings we get these results: 
       
      Long At-the-Money Straddle * Monthly Options * Back-test length: three-years * Open 6-days Before Earnings * Close 1-day Before Earnings * Holding Period: 5-Days per Earnings   Winning Trades: 5 Losing Trades: 7 Pre-Earnings Straddle Return:  17.1%  Annualized Return:  102% 
      We see a 17.1% return, testing this over the last 12 earnings dates in Broadcom Limited. That's a total of just 60 days (5 days for each earnings date, over 12 earnings dates). That's a annualized rate of 102%. 

      We can also see that this strategy hasn't been a winner all the time, rather it has won 5 times and lost 7 times, but here's the key -- it wins about half of the time, but the average gain per winning trade is substantially larger than the average loss on a losing trade: 
       


      Consistently Successful 
      This idea has also been a successful approach over the last two-years:
      Long At-the-Money Straddle * Monthly Options * Back-test length: two-years * Open 6-days Before Earnings * Close 1-day Before Earnings * Holding Period: 5-Days per Earnings   Winning Trades: 4 Losing Trades: 4 Pre-Earnings Straddle Return:  22%  Annualized Return:  198% 
      Now we see a 22% return, testing this over the last 8 earnings dates which is a annualized rate of 198%. 

      Yet again, we see a trade that wins about half the time, but the average win is much larger than the average loss: 
       


      If you really want to see how we found this, and how to do it for other stocks like Apple, Google and Amazon, here is a 1-minute and 34-second video that every professional option trader would rather that you don't see. 

      Learn more here: Try the Back-tester Yourself

      WHAT HAPPENED 
      There are patterns to stock behaviors before and after earnings and those patterns reveal opportunities in the option market, without taking the actual risk of earnings. You can find them, stock by stock. This is how people profit from the option market -- it's preparation, not luck. 

      To see how to do this for any stock we welcome you to watch this quick demonstration video: 
      Tap Here to See the Tools at Work

      Thanks for reading. 

      Risk Disclosure 
      You should read the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. 

      Past performance is not an indication of future results. 

      Trading futures and options involves the risk of loss. Please consider carefully whether futures or options are appropriate to your financial situation. Only risk capital should be used when trading futures or options. Investors could lose more than their initial investment. 

      Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The risk of loss in trading can be substantial, carefully consider the inherent risks of such an investment in light of your financial condition. 

      Back-test Link
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
    • By Ophir Gottlieb
      The Secret Behind Options Pre-Earnings Trading in Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
       
       
      Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC): The Wonderful Secret Behind Options Pre-Earnings Trading
      Date Published: 2017-05-4

      PREFACE 
      There is a wonderful secret to trading options right before earnings announcements in Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) , and really many stocks, that benefits from the rising implied volatility but avoids the risk into the actual earnings release and also avoids any kind of stock direction risk. 

      THE WONDERFUL SECRET 
      What a trader wants to do is to see the results of buying an at the money straddle a few days before earnings, and then sell that straddle just before earnings. 

      The goal, is two-fold: (i) to benefit from that known implied volatility rise, and (ii) to own the straddle for a very short period of time when the stock might move 'a lot,' but never take the risk of actually owning options during the earnings release. 

      If either of those two phenomena occur, there's a very good chance this wins, if neither occur, the amount risked is normally quite small. Here is the setup: 
       


      We are testing opening the position in Intel Corporation 6 days before earnings and then closing the position right before earnings. This is not making any earnings bet. This is notmaking any stock direction bet. 

      Once we apply that simple rule to our back-test, we run it on an at-the-money straddle: 

      RETURNS 
      If we did this long at-the-money (also called '50-delta') straddle in Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) over the last three-years but only held it before earnings we get these results: 
       


      We see a 47.8% return, testing this over the last 12 earnings dates in Intel Corporation. That's a total of just 72 days (6 days for each earnings date, over 12 earnings dates). That's a annualized rate of 242%. 

      We can also see that the win/loss rate is split with 6-wins and 6-losses, yet the return is enormous. That means the winning trades are much larger than the losing trades, which is exactly what a successful trading strategy attempts to do. No magic bullets -- rather smart methodologies for wealth creation. 

      MORE TO IT THAN MEETS THE EYE 
      While this strategy is benefiting from the implied volatility rise into earnings for Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), what it's really doing is far more intelligent. 

      The ideal stocks for this strategy have a couple of common characteristics: 

      (i) The companies rarely pre-announce earnings -- this is an investment that does not look to make an earnings bet, so an earnings pre-announcement is the opposite of what we're hoping for. 

      (ii) The underlying stock price of these companies tend to move a lot (or some) as earnings approach and various institutions and traders shuffle the stock price around in anticipation of the earnings result. The more one sided the outside world starts betting on direction -- up or down, the better it is to own the straddle. 

      WHAT HAPPENED 
      This is it -- this is how people profit from the option market -- it's preparation, not luck. 

      Test the results on Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc, and the results are staggering. 

      To see how to do this for any stock and for any strategy with just the click of a few buttons, we welcome you to watch this quick demonstration video: 
      Tap Here to See the Tools at Work 

      Thanks for reading. 

      Risk Disclosure 
      You should read the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. 

      Past performance is not an indication of future results. 

      Trading futures and options involves the risk of loss. Please consider carefully whether futures or options are appropriate to your financial situation. Only risk capital should be used when trading futures or options. Investors could lose more than their initial investment. 

      Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The risk of loss in trading can be substantial, carefully consider the inherent risks of such an investment in light of your financial condition. 

      The author has no position in Intel Corporation Inc (NASDAQ:INTC) as of this writing. 

      Back-test Link (does require custom earnings settings).
       
       
       
       
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