Subject: No Garden Party

Dear Friend,

We continue to battle the volatility of the 2022 market, but our composite average portfolio continues to be in the black. Obviously, that is a far better record than the market is experiencing. Hope you enjoy this week's trading idea.

I like the name of the company because it is the name of the business school where I earned my DBA, but there is no connection.

Terry

June 27, 2022

Week 675

No Garden Party

Darden Restaurants (DRI) reported earnings this week that beat on both revenue and profits. But the owner of such popular chains as Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and Capital Grille was beset by higher food, beverage and labor costs even as customers are more comfortable eating out again.

Analysts weighed in with a plateful of target price decreases, although there were no rating downgrades. This has been common for most stocks, as analysts re-adjust their targets amid the 2022 swoon. Nevertheless, some targets are now barely above the current share price, which does not inspire confidence about DRI’s near-term price action.

The stock reacted with a small increase on Thursday and then popped 3.6% on Friday. But most stocks surged on Friday, so it doesn’t appear that earnings gave DRI a boost. Although the stock is up 8% off a 52-week low hit last week, it is bumping into its 20-day moving average at the 120 level (red line in chart). The 50-day moving average lies overhead at the 125 level (blue line). Although DRI has managed to overtake the 50-day at times, it ultimately retreats into a tailspin. Given this history, we’re using a bearish call credit spread with the short call strike (green line) sitting right on the 50-day.

If you agree that DRI will continue its overall downtrend, consider the following trade that relies on the stock staying below $125 through expiration in eight weeks.

Buy to Open DRI 19Aug 130 call (DRI220819C130)
Sell to Open DRI 19Aug 125 call (DRI220819C125) for a credit of $1.50 (selling a vertical)

This credit is $0.05 less than the mid-point of the option spread when DRI was trading at $120. Unless the stock drops quickly from here, you should be able to get close to this amount.

Your commission on this trade should be no more than $1.30 per spread. Each spread would then yield $148.70. This trade reduces your buying power by $500 and makes your net investment $351.30 ($500 – $148.70) for one spread. If DRI closes below $125 on August 19, both options will expire worthless and your return on the spread would be 42% ($148.70/$351.30).

Any questions? Email Terry@terrystips.com

Did you know that the actual 10K Strategy portfolios conducted at Terry's Tips averaged gains of over 100% in 2017, 2019, and 2020? The 10K Strategy consists of calendar and diagonal spreads which benefit from the faster decay rates of the short-term puts and calls which are sold (using longer-term options as collateral). You can learn all the details on how to carry out this strategy on your own by subscribing here. Select either Monthly or Annual, click on Sign Up Now and sue the Coupon code D21M for our monthly service for only $98,or D21Y to get a full year of our service for $980 rather than our regular price of $1970, then select Apply Coupon. Why wait any longer to make this important investment in yourself?

I look forward to having you on board, and to prospering with you.

Terry

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Happy trading,

Terry

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Subject: No Garden Party

No Garden Party