Option Volatility and Earnings Report for November 17 - 21

Earnings Reports - This week features earnings reports from major companies including Nvidia (NVDA), Home Depot (HD), Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Lowes (LOW), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Medtronic (MDT), and PDD Holdings (PDD) [1] Implied Volatility - Implied volatility tends to be high before earnings announcements due to market uncertainty, leading to increased demand for options [2] - After earnings announcements, implied volatility typically decreases back to normal levels [3] Expected Price Movements - The expected price range for stocks can be estimated by summing the prices of at-the-money put and call options, using the first expiry date after the earnings date [3] - Specific expected price movements for the week include: - TCOM – 6.2% - HD – 4.4% - PDD – 6.7% - MDT – 3.8% - BIDU – 7.8% - NVDA – 7.7% - PANW – 7.6% - LOW – 5.1% - TGT – 9.9% - WMT – 5.1% [4] Trading Strategies - Option traders can utilize expected moves to structure trades, with bearish traders selling bear call spreads and bullish traders selling bull put spreads or looking at naked puts [5] - Neutral traders may consider iron condors, ensuring short strikes remain outside the expected range [5] - It is advisable to use risk-defined strategies and maintain small position sizes when trading options over earnings [6] High Implied Volatility Stocks - A stock screener can identify stocks with high implied volatility, using filters such as total call volume greater than 5,000, market cap greater than 40 billion, and IV rank greater than 50% [7]