May 5, 2022

Intraday Update: PSX, ADSK, ACI, SQ

Well, today was unexpected. A huge drop off the open this morning has erased most of yesterday's rally, and many stocks that were up sharply yesterday are down sharply today. It will likely be a busy session of updates so stay tuned:

  • Let's book more money on PSX. The stock is into the second target quickly, so the plan will be to close the current Jun17 $95 - $100 call spread and roll up to a lower debit Jun17 $100 - $105 call spread. This is the second roll up, though, so be sure to plan your size accordingly.
  • The ADSK May20 $185 - $177.50 put spread needs to be closed. The stock surged into the close yesterday, and while it is red today, it is not down enough to justify holding the position. We can revisit a new strategy after the upcoming earnings report

The selling is continuing across the market as indices now probe the lows from yesterday. There are a couple of more updates:

ACI is sliding through the 200day sma this morning, and that means the Jun17 $34 call needs to be closed. This was the critical support level, and we are not going to let the stock begin to build momentum on a breakdown.

SQ has been back-and-forth for two weeks now, and after a great close yesterday, the stock is down sharply today. The lack of direction has given no opportunity to cut back risk on the May6 strangle, so with earnings after the close and the position down a little, the smartest thing to do now is close the trade. If you'd like to take some risk into the report, be sure to plan your size on the options accordingly

  • Close May6 $115 - $120 call spread
  • Close May6 $85 - $80 put spread

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