October 10, 2022

Dear Friend,

Today we bring you our Option Trade of the Week, an idea generated by our trading team, for your consideration. But first, I would like to remind you that our proprietary 10K Strategy has generated average annual gains of 60% for the past five years in actual brokerage accounts (including all commissions) carried out for our subscribers.  Over the first nine months of 2022, a dismal year for the market, our actual composite average was a 1% gain.  While this was clearly disappointing compared to our earlier results, it was considerably better than the 25%+ losses incurred by the major market indices. 

Underspiced

Spice maker McCormick (MKC) reported earnings this week that had no sizzle. Revenue and earnings both missed expectations by more than a little. The CEO said that “supply chain challenges continued, and recovery of certain constrained materials has taken longer than expected.” I’m not sure what that specifically means, but it doesn’t sound good.

The stock reacted with a brief burst on Thursday, but eventually finished lower. This shouldn’t be a surprise, though, as the stock has been in a pronounced decline since mid-August. The downtrend has covered more than 20%, pulling MKC to its lowest level since the COVID crash in early 2020. Moreover, the descent has been perfectly contained by the 20-day moving average, which hasn’t allowed a single close above it since Aug. 23.

If you agree that MKC will continue to decline under the weight of the 20-day (blue line), consider the following trade that relies on the stock staying below $75 (red line) through expiration in six weeks:

Buy to Open the MKC 18 Nov 80 call (MKC221118C80)
Sell to Open the MKC 18 Nov 75 call (MKC221111C75) for a credit of $1.45 (selling a vertical)

This credit is $0.05 less than the mid-point price of the spread at Friday’s $73.44 close. Unless MKC sags quickly, you should be able to get close to that price.

The commission on this trade should be no more than $1.30 per spread. Each spread would then yield $143.70. This trade reduces your buying power by $500, making your net investment $356.30 per spread ($500 - $143.70). If MKC closes below $75 on Nov. 18, both options will expire worthless and your return on the spread would be 40% ($143.70/$356.30). 

Any questions?  Email Terry@terrystips.com

Testimonial of the Week

I have been a subscriber for about a year. I autotrade in 2 different accounts, all your strategies. I read everything you write on Saturdays. I love your happiness thoughts and everything else. I usually do not communicate at all but I had to tell you how well my accounts with you are doing compared to everything else. You are awesome. Keep up the good work. Thank you.

~ Maya

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Happy trading,

Terry