Take MOS Profits

Lock in Another Winner

PLAY: Sell your MOS March 60 Calls (O:MOS 10C60.00) at market, good for the day.

Dear Bottarelli Research Member,

First and foremost, congratulations on your APOL March 60 Puts (O:APOL 10O60.00). In this market, there’s certainly nothing wrong with taking a quick 20% gainer off the table. It looks like APOL will jump back up to re-test the 50-day moving average at $60.00. But if this level fails, then we could very well reload our puts. More to come.

In the meantime, let’s keep the profits rolling with Mosaic (MOS – NYSE). As you know, we entered the MOS March 60 Calls (O:MOS 10C60.00) yesterday for $2.45. As I write, they’ve just hit a high of $2.84, good for a quick and easy 15.9% gainer. Let’s lock in these profits now!

PLAY: Sell your MOS March 60 Calls (O:MOS 10C60.00) at market, good for the day.

Now, while we have a second, let’s set the table for next week. As you know, we have a number of earnings plays lined up. I’ll quickly review these four (4) plays below:

ANF March 33 Calls (O:ANF 10C33.00) & ANF March 32 Puts (O:ANF 10O32.00): On Tuesday morning, teen retailer Abercrombie and Fitch will report earnings. Expecting a big move (up or down), we entered the calls for $1.50 and the puts for $1.70, good for a total basket price of $3.20. As I write, ANF is moving higher, putting our calls at $1.70 and puts at $1.40, good for a total price of $3.10. Hold.

CECO March 22 Calls (O:CECO 10C22.00) & CECO March 20 Puts (O:CECO 10O20.00): We also have an earnings play on for-profit education firm Career Education Corp. As I mentioned, the for-profit education stocks are always volatile on earnings day, and CECO offered a great mixture of volatility and cheap options. Therefore, we entered the calls and puts for $1.00, good for total basket price of $2.00. Right now, these prices remain the same. Hold.

WFMI March 29 Calls (O:WFMI 10C29.00) & WFMI March 27 Puts (O:WFMI 10O27.00: We’re also positioned for earnings on organic grocer Whole Foods. We’ve had success playing WFMI earnings in the past, so we’re going back to the well once again. We entered the calls for $1.43 and the puts for $1.42, good for a total basket price of $2.85. Currently trading for a total of $2.83, we’re looking good going into earnings. Hold.

ABX March 36 Calls (O:ABX 10C36.00) & ABX March 35 Puts (O:ABX 10O35.00): And finally, we’re positioned to play some gold earnings using Barrick Gold. We entered the calls for $1.69 and the puts for $2.00, good for a total entry price of $3.69. As you can see below, ABX is rallying today, which has pushed our calls up to $2.60 and pulled the puts down to $1.20, good for a basket price of $3.80. If the momentum can continue, this play will work out very well. Hold.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I will be out of the office tomorrow, so there will be no trading alerts. But since our portfolio is set for next week’s earnings, we’re good to go. Why the off day, you ask? Well, as a resident of Chicago, there is something called “cabin fever” that sets in around mid-February. After 3 to 4 months of 20-degree temperatures and 6 inches of snow, your body yearns for a warm weather location. This is not something that you can control. Its’ completely involuntary. Therefore, when my neighbor asked me to join him for a round of golf at his parent’s condo in Florida, I couldn’t say no. Trust me, this will be good for your editor’s mental health. So, have a good day tomorrow, and we’ll talk again on Tuesday. Remember, the markets are closed Monday for President’s Day.

And as always…

Lock and load!

Sincerely,