Option Block 596: Disastrous 1x3 Call Spreads

Trading Block: Earnings earlier this week. Tuesday - Potbelly, T-Mobile Wednesday - PepsiCo, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., Groupon, Marriott International Earnings today. AVP - Crush, stock down 17% intraday.

Odd Block: Calls trade in Himax Technologies, Inc (HIMX), Calls trade in Health Care SPDR (XLV), Calls and puts trade in Mondelez International Inc (MDLZ).

Mail Block: #Options #QuestionOfTheWeek - Trading single #Calls and #Puts is fine, but smart #Options traders use spreads. What is your go-to spread? - Vertical/Ratio Vertical - Calendar/Diagonal - Butterfly/ Iron Butterfly - Iron Condor Question from Gramercy - So I am interested in $ATVI ahead of earnings. I buy 1 Feb 39.50 call for $1.50. The stock opens up the next day and I sell it out for $5. What am I missing? Why does everyone say this earnings stuff is so hard? Question from NIZ - Are there options on Snap? *Note from IPO filing - “Like many burgeoning tech startups, Snap warned that it “may never achieve or maintain profitability.” Question from Mark Tucker - You think MaxPain was the reason to hold $AAPL below $132.40 for closing? Rest of Nasdaq seemed bright green. Thoughts? Thank you. Question from Richard R. - At 14:00 of episode 553 you stat that a $6 straddle was pricing an 8% move following earnings. Is this just the current ATM straddle?

Around the Block: The market will be closed Monday, February 20 for Presidents Day. This week in the market - Feb 16: Jobless Claims, Housing Starts Earnings next week - TSLA, BIDU