03/08/2024

Hey Trader,

The market gave us some shakes but we quickly bounced back after the Fed and the jobs report came to the rescue! 🙏

I could tell the bigwigs want this market to go down so badly, for that much needed correction, but prices held in my original thesis and we never got that volume profile breakdown.

After closing and making profits on Dollar General (always be closing!) for a 50% gain, I led the Closers in a few very gutsy and bull market minded names that were begging to reverse. 

I’ll give you a hint: one of them is our favorite search engine and we’ve already cashed in on that one this morning! Thank you jobs report for giving us the boost.

And my oh my, our GE calls are flying now. Look at this thing!

DG was a top shelf trade, hence why we HAD to take it! 

During Trade to Close, we bought the DG April 19, 2024 150-165 Call spread for less than 5.00 on Monday (3/4/24) and sold them at 7.50 yesterday!

We also just closed our GOOGL March 15th 2024 $134 Calls from yesterday (3/7/24) for 120% this morning! Talk about overnight gains!

I’ll be back next week with more Volume Profile market moves!

Mark’s up next with opportunity in our beloved strangle strategy…

Strangle Strategy Deep-Dive and Big Money Flow Spotlight: HPE

By Mark Sebastian

• When thousands of options are traded all at once for the same stock, that’s what I call a Big Money Move.

• It’s usually made by someone who knows insider info. This is a strong sign that the stock might make a huge shift up or down.

• Many traders might not catch onto it, but I focus on finding, understanding, and using Big Money Flow for smart trading and making money.

Before I get to our Big Money Flow, I wanted to break down the strangle trade and why it’s so useful.

We are at all time highs and S&P volatility is up two points. There is call chasing – there is serious FOMO happening, and I think it is setting up for something ugly as we head into March Options Expiration next week.

I like owning S&P 500 strangles. On the more volatile days, we hop into these trades live during our Trade to Close show. 

Buying a strangle is an options trading strategy when you buy a call option and a put option with the same expiration date but different strike prices. And here’s why I love strangles so much…

We Profit from Volatility: When the market is going wild with big price swings in any direction, strangles thrive. Since you buy a call and a put, all you need is for the market to move. So, whether the market goes up or down, there's potential to cash in on a big move. And it’s even better if you see a move both ways.

There’s Limited Risk: Unlike some other strategies that might keep you up at night worrying about huge losses, strangles are a bit more laid-back. You're buying out-of-the-money options, which usually have lower premiums. Translation? The upfront cost is lower, meaning your risk is limited. Even if the market doesn't budge much, your loss is capped at the premium you paid for those options.

There’s No Directional Bias: With strangles, you don't need to be some market psychic predicting which way it's going to swing. You just need to expect some serious movement either up or down — or best case, both! In a market that's as unpredictable as a rollercoaster, that lack of directional bias is like having a superpower.

There's Massive Flexibility: You're not locked into one position come rain or shine. You can adjust your strategy based on how the market's behaving. If volatility suddenly drops or you want to lock in profits or cut losses, you've got the freedom to tweak or close out your position. 

The Potential for High Returns: In a market where prices are jumping around like crazy, the potential for making bank is pretty high. If the market makes a big move in one direction, you've got a leveraged way to capitalize on it with strangles. And if the market then swings back the other way, you could profit on the other side too. 

Now, strangles aren’t perfect in every situation. Sure, they can be a goldmine in volatile markets, but there's always the chance things won't go your way. If the market doesn't budge, you could lose what the strangle cost. That’s why Voz and I always take a look at the market from both sides — her volume profile and my volatility expertise — to pick the best times to go in on a strangle. And in less volatile markets, we have other strategies that work even better. 

If you are not a Trade to Close member, you should change that. We are offering a FREE TRIAL right here since you are our Trading Today reader…and we expect the next few weeks will be crucial for trading volatility. 

Now to the big money flow… there’s LOTS of bull flow in HPE…

We also are seeing bull flow in HPQ…So someone’s betting big that good news is coming for Hewlett Packard. I'd look for bullish confirmation here then go long.

Until next time…

Always be closing,

Olivia Voz and Mark Sebastian