I shall be looking at four potential earnings plays on Tuesday: ABT, NVS, TXN and UTX.

All four will be trading MAR-series options for the first time on Tuesday, so I don’t have a liquidity read on any of them. Those with open interest that’s lower than I like at strike prices I intend to use will be rejected without a full analysis.

Also, ABT has lower implied volatility than I like both in relation to its annual range and its most recent broad movement. I shall pass on that trade without analysis unless volatility rises in trading on Tuesday.

By Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, Jan. 23, 2017