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TradeStation Has Tools to Simplify Tax Reporting
by David Russell | Mar 4, 2024
Disclosure: This post is for educational purposes only. None of the information should be considered tax, legal or investment-planning advice. Tax season is underway, and today's post will cover a few tools to make reporting easier for TradeStation customers. We'll...
Worries About the Fed and Earnings Grew as 2022 Ended: December Recap
by David Russell | Jan 3, 2023
Stocks begin the New Year under a cloud of pessimism as investors brace for higher interest rates and lower earnings. The S&P 500 slid 5.9 percent in December, resulting in a 19 percent drop for all of 2022. It was the stock market's worst year since the 2008...
Rolling Options: Key Things for Traders to Know
by David Russell | Dec 31, 2022
Editor's note: This post was originally published on Wednesday, December 23, 2020. "Rolling options" is a common transaction for options traders, but there are several ways to do it. This article will explain the different ways and reasons why traders might roll...
Key Points About Selling Credit Spreads
by David Russell | Dec 31, 2022
A previous post covered debit spreads, when you pay a debit looking for a stock or ETF to move in a certain direction. Credit spreads are just the opposite, with traders collecting premium up front in hope that the stock won't move a certain way. What a Credit Spread...
Greek of the Week: Delta
by David Russell | Dec 31, 2022
Editor's note: This post, part of a four-part series about options Greeks, was originally published on Tuesday, August 14, 2018. Some traders may be confused by options, especially their use of Greek letters. Delta, gamma, theta, and vega. How to remember what they...
Greek of the Week: Gamma
by David Russell | Dec 31, 2022
Editor’s note: This post, part of a four-part series about options Greeks, was originally published on Monday, August 20, 2018. We previously looked at delta. Delta measures how much an option changes in price when the underlying stock or ETF fluctuates. Calls...
Greek of the Week: Theta
by David Russell | Dec 31, 2022
Editor’s note: This post, part of a four-part series about options Greeks, was originally published on Tuesday, August 28, 2018. So far, we’ve looked at delta and gamma. This week, we’ll turn to theta. Theta: T is for “time decay.” Theta measures how...
Top Stocks for Options Trading
Technology & Communication

Options Alert: Call Volume Swells in Apple as IPhone 14 Hits the Market
by David Russell | Sep 13, 2022
The options activity may be turning bullish in Apple as the smart-phone giant rolls out the iPhone 14. Some 1.1 million call contracts traded in AAPL yesterday. That was the most since the earnings came out in late July, according to TradeStation data. Our analytics...

Snap Just Had a Historic Day as Self-Serve Advertising Fuels Stunning Growth Forecast
by David Russell | Feb 24, 2021
Snap just had an insanely bullish day, thanks to a better advertising platform and augmented reality. Executives told investors revenue will grow more than 50 percent annually for "multiple" years, according to reports on Reuters, Bloomberg and CNBC. That's more than...

Tesla Is Lagging as ‘Old Economy’ Stocks Make a Comeback
by David Russell | Feb 22, 2021
Tesla is probably the most prominent stock in the last 12-18 months, surging about 2,000 percent from its peak to trough. But now it may be at risk as sentiment pivots from "new economy" stocks to "old economy" stocks. The chart in this study compares TSLA’s relative...

Walmart Hammered as Covid Boom Fades and Commodities Take Off: Earnings This Week
by David Russell | Feb 19, 2021
Walmart cratered this week as investors unloaded stay-at-home stocks and shifted toward commodities. Walmart (WMT) might have generated more revenue than expected, and enjoyed better traffic. However it came at a cost to profits, which missed estimates because of...

Stunner: Intel Is Outperforming Advanced Micro Devices
by David Russell | Feb 17, 2021
Intel or AMD? The question is almost as old as "Coke or Pepsi?" For years, the two have battled for leadership in the semiconductor market and the stock market. Intel mostly led coming out of the financial crisis but started falling behind in 2016. Now, the charts...