NEXT WEEK'S EARNINGS TO WATCH: LC, VRX, M, JWN, NVDAWith broad market volatility ebbing, the place to sell premium is with earnings plays for now.
Next week, look to put on options plays shortly before the earnings announcement to capitalize on post-announcement volatility contraction. This little fellahs currently look best for plays:
LC: 5/9 (Monday) after market close. Due to the price of the underlying, short straddle it, if anything. Neither a short strangle or iron condor will be productive unless you go with a larger number of contracts.
VRX: 5/11 (Wednesday). I don't show it as before or after market right now.
M: 5/11 (Wednesday) before market open.
JWN: 5/12 (Thursday) after market close.
NVDA: 5/12 (Thursday) after market close.
I also looked at a couple of others, but decided that they were problematic for one reason or another:
TEVA ... is scheduled to announce on Monday, is an ADR. I'm not a huge fan of ADR's, since they're basically free to tentatively schedule an earnings announcement and then move it back a week or two. For a volatility contraction play, which I want to put on immediately before the announcement, this does me no good ... . Moreover, the spreads are wide on the options; if they're wide going in, they're going to be wide trying to get out ... .
SCTY ... will announce on 5/9 after close. I would love to play this little fellow, as it's plenty full of premium given its relatively modest price. That being said, it's another "spread wide" situation ... .
AGN ... announces on 5/10 before market open. You would think an underlying that trades 4.9 million shares on a daily basis would have fairly decent spreads on their options. Nunh-unh ... .
RAX ... 5/9 after market close is the announcement. You guessed it -- illiquid options.
I'll post actual setups as we get closer to earnings ... .
