You're stuck at home. Restaurants are shutting down. Retirement accounts are in shambles.
Tom Gentile, Money Morning's options trading specialist, said this yesterday: "It didn't start yesterday, and it's not going to end tomorrow."
But Tom still has trading strategies for this market. Yesterday, he said traders should "simply take less risk, look at what's going up in a down market, and exploit volatility using options."
He's done this successfully so far in the year using options trading strategies. In fact, we had an options trading strategy earn readers 1,781% in just three weeks at the start of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.
We're going to share a lower-risk options trade with you today. And it's likely to make you money. Just look at how Tom Gentile helped readers profit more than 1,781% a few weeks ago...
How the Options Trading Strategy Works
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is above 70 right now. It hasn't gone much higher than 30 in the last 10 years. That's a lot of fear driving the current market.
And that means you're going to see some big percentage moves in stocks over a short time period.
At the start of this thing, Tom saw that stocks were going to slide big time. Specifically, he knew the oil and travel industries were en route to collapse.
Take Action: Market volatility has everyone on edge, but we have three steps you can take to protect your money and even set yourself up to profit. Click here...
He pointed to stocks like Climarex Energy Co. (NYSE: XEC), Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO), and Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) as candidates for buying out-of-the-money put options. Those contracts have soared in value over the last few months.
We first recommended an April 17 $10 put option on Marathon Oil on Feb. 26. The contract has gone from $1.40 to $6.75, a profit of 382% in the last few weeks.
But Tom highlighted a trade that would earn investors significantly more money in a shorter time.
His April 17 $40 put recommendation on Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) has gone from $1.60 to $30.10 in value since late February. That's a profit of 1,781%.
Now, those profits are in the past. But there are still moves to make. After all, the high volatility makes these plays happen.
Tom Gentile recommends "trading options on ETFs like SPY and USO" and using spreads to hedge any losses.
Here's a trade that does just that. It's low-risk, but it gives you real upside in a time like this.
The Coronavirus Options Trading Strategy
Here Are 10 “One-Click” Ways to Earn 10% or Better on Your Money Every Quarter
Appreciation is great, but it’s possible to get even more out of the shares you own. A lot more: you can easily beat inflation and collect regular income to spare. There are no complicated trades to put on, no high-level options clearances necessary. In fact, you can do this with a couple of mouse clicks – passive income redefined. Click here for the report…
About the Author
Mike Stenger, Associate Editor for Money Morning at Money Map Press, graduated from the Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University. He has combined his degree in Economics with an interest in emerging technologies by finding where tech and finance overlap. Today, he studies the cybersecurity sector, AI, streaming, and the Cloud.
I am primarily interested in your option strategies through this market and beyond.