Markets closed flat on Wednesday, with the S&P adding .02% in a choppy session. Asia markets closed mixed overnight while Europe indexes are mostly lower this morning. U.S. futures are pointing to a lower open, The Dollar is in the red, while Yields, Oil, and Gold are higher.
I did a quick pre-market rant here: https://www.optionmillionaires.com/jb-pre-market-rant-april-25th-2024/
And here is what UPB is reading this morning: https://www.optionmillionaires.com/morning-reads-440/
And here is my rant from yesterday if you missed it: https://www.optionmillionaires.com/jb-morning-rant-april-24th-2024/
Markets opened higher on Wednesday, only to give back all the gains and trade to lows at 1pm before embarking a bounce to finish nearly flat on the day. After the close META reported a strong beat but then issued up some cautious guidance as they invest into AI. The stock tumbled 15% and pulled the Nasdaq futures down with it. IBM also reported after the closed and missed on revenues, pushing that stock down as well. All this does is add more importance to the earnings after the bell from GOOGL, MSFT, and INTC. The GDP number came out this morning weaker than expected and futures added to their losses. Surprising, one would think that would add some ammo for the Fed to cut rates. Either way, hopefully markets can find some footing at the open. We also get PCE data tomorrow morning. I actually prefer red opens like today, as opposed to gaps and fades, just not this red:
Still watching the amount of S&P names over their 50dma and they are still tending higher:
And lastly, despite the gap down today, the VIX is up 5.5% so far this morning - a muted move and a good sign.
Markets opened higher yesterday and AVAV rallied with it, trading up to $162.81. I used the move to lock some of my calls in for over 100%. The market then fell into the afternoon and again, took AVAV with it. I did not want to lose the profits so I closed the last of my calls out for some gains. Still love the setup on AVAV and may look to reenter calls on strength. This time likely $170 strikes:
I also entered TRUP calls, one of my old favorite names. The stock is trading near 52 week lows - mostly because of the contigent of shorts who have been attacking the name for years now in the hopes of making the company go bankrupt so they can make money on the short side. They are trying to do the same with RILY with a disinformation campaign filled with personal attacks, defamation, false accusations, and any other lies they can to get RILY to fall. They have shorted RILY to the tune of 75% of the float, an insane number. Needless to say some of the reason I added TRUP yesterday was because I figured some of the shorts in TRUP would have to cover their position for margin calls from RILY or to free up capital to cover the loss. I think TRUP should be $35+ at minimum and likely higher, They report earnings next week. Will look too close some of my calls to cover costs and possibly ride the rest into earnings:
I also added a few spec calls on RILY. In hindsight I should have added later strikes once my Apr calls expired but nothing I can do about that now. Think RILY continues its ascent especially in the next 2 days as folks just get the margin call letters/emails/calls from their brokerage. Also, there are zero shares available to short right now, meaning most have not covered yet. Think $35-40+ by weeks end, if not higher:
VKTX reported earnings after the close yesterday. Well not really earnings, though they do provide updates on their loss as they do not generate any revenues. The big items from their report is their cash positions, which they have $963 million. And then they gave updates on their studies. There wasn't much to add to what we already know, but thankfully no negative comments. Now it is a waiting time for the NASH data, which will be out before the end of the Q. Hopefully VKTX can find legs today and trade back over $70 this week and then start working its way back to $100 in the coming weeks:
I added a small spec position in AI yesterday. The stock surged over 30% after its last earnings report but has since been nearly cut in half on no new news or catalysts. Think it is ready to bounce possibly back to its 50dma and beyond. May also look to add some strikes to encompass their earnings at the end of May:
POOL reported a strong beat this morning along with some rosy commentary. The stock is gaping higher this morning, Think it trades north of $400 after the report so may look to add some calls depending on the premiums. The spreads have been wide, which makes it hard to enter, and more importantly, be able to exit. If they tighten up I will add something. It is a great story especially heading into their normally strong season:
GWW posted a mixed back of earnings this morning so will likely pass on adding anything this morning while URI reported a strong beat and raise. URI is not gapping too much this morning. May look at some calls at the open. Should be back over $700 soon:
And here is what I am watching today: POOL, URI, AI, VKTX, TRUP, RILY, SE, CDLX, DELL, AVAV, CAVA, MDB, AVGO, IIPR, NOW, TZA, ,SPOT, EW, TERN, SNOW, LRCX, GPCR, PYPL, and V.
Let's have a great day!
-JB