August 15, 2022

Intraday Update: T, JETS, WMT, SNAP

  • After a week of refusing to crack 18, T is now beginning to lift off the recent low, and the early move above the 8day ema is forcing an exit of the Sep16 $19 put. The bearish trade revolved around the stock riding the 8day ema lower, so as it begins to reclaim that moving average, the thesis for the trade has changed.
  • We are going to wrap up the JETS trade as the ETF lifts off. JETS has made a nice run since it cleared 18 and the 50day sma two weeks ago, and this morning's 1%+ rally is sending it into the 100day sma for the first test since early May. The Sep16 $19 - $21 call spread roll up will be closed into strength as a pause/pullback appears likely in the near term.
  • WMT is once again back at the ~133 level, showing remarkable resilience after warning only a few weeks ago. The company will report results before the open tomorrow, though, and after a rollercoaster couple of months of action, it is hard to get a feel for the setup. The Aug26 strangle was rolled multiple times on both sides, so a large chunk of money has been booked on the trade. With little conviction going into the print, the smartest thing to do is close the remainder of the trade and take the risk off the table.
    • Close Aug26 $136 - $139 call spread
    • Close Aug26 $118 - $114 put spread
  • A 4.5%+ rally has SNAP solidly above 12 and the second target range, so we will lock in some more money on the Sep16 $12 - $15 call spread roll up to a tighter Sep16 $13 - $15 call spread. The next target is 13.25+. The bear portion of the strangle will continue to remain open.

Open Positions

* The following Open Positions pertain to the Options In Play trade ideas from this and previous editions. Disclosure of the Trader Co-Author’s actual portfolio holdings, as of the date of each publication, is made below under "Trader Author Portfolio Holdings.".

Trader Author Portfolio Holdings

**As of the date and time of publication