Scott Redler’s Apple Pie: When Low Expectations Get Surpassed

One of the big market stories earlier in the year was Apple's (AAPL) big guide down on January 2. 

That led to a big mystery - whether expectations were low enough ahead of the January 29 earnings print.

I took calls into the report because I thought the stock could clear $159 if it was just in-line. With calls, I had defined risk. I don't take stock into earnings because of the open-ended risk.

AAPL was deemed 'good enough' and the stock gapped up big on 1/30.

The 1/30 low of $160.23 became the spot to trade against for new longs. That level needed to hold to keep the move intact.

AAPL then held higher and formed a bull flag over $169, which was another opportunity to add:

With the big up move, I've been trimming stock and I turned my calls into a spread. This is when we manage the trade with a Tier system.

Looking forward, there's a chance the stock can work to $183ish in time. But as always, we'll take it day by day in Redler All-Access, as we're doing with dozens of names each day. (sign-up info below)

Positions Disclosure: as of 2/5/19 at 10:14 a.m. ET, Scott J. Redler was long NIO, CRBP, FB, TWTR, NBEV, IQ, BAC, ETSY, TWTR calls, SPY puts, AAPL calls; is short SPY, AAPL calls