The Home Depot Inc. (HD)

Lot 2022-2

Update 8/16/2022: I exited my short bull put vertical spread on HD, 31 days before expiration, for a $1.35 debit per contract/share, a profit before fees of $52 per contract. Shares were trading at $319.09, up $4.94 from the entry level.

The Implied Volatility Rank at exit was 43.1%, up 3.5 points from the entry level.

I exited on the day after entry because the position exceeded 25% of maximum potential profit, my normal exit point for earnings plays. The trade earned 27.8% of max.

Shares rose by 1.6% over one day for a +574% annual rate. The options position produced a 38.5% return for a +14,059% annual rate.

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I have entered a short bull put vertical spread on HD, using options that trade for the last time 32 days hence, on September 16. The premium is a $1.87 credit per contract share and the stock at the time of entry was priced at $314.15.

The Implied Volatility Ratio stood at 39.6%.

Premium:	$1.87	Expire OTM
HD-bull put spread	Strike	Odds	Delta
Puts
Long	305.00	60.0%	36
Break-even	311.87	56.5%	39
Short	310.00	53.0%	42

The premium is 74.8% of the width of the position’s short/long spread. The profit zone covers a 0.7% move to the downside and an unlimited move to the upside.

The risk/reward ratio is 1.7:1, with maximum risk of $313 and maximum reward of $187 per contract.

How I chose the trade. The trade was placed to coincide with HD’s earnings announcement, before the openig bell on the day after entry. The short strike was set to coincide with the expected move of $10.87 either way, based on options pricing, which gives a price range of $303.28 to $325.02. The Zacks Investment Research earnings surprise predictor gave HD a score of 0.5%, with a rank of Hold (3). The analysts’ consensus is that HD will announce earnings of $4.95 per share.

By Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, August 15, 2022

Disclaimer

Tim Bovee, Private Trader tracks the analysis and trades of a private trader for his own accounts. Nothing in this blog constitutes a recommendation to buy or sell stocks, options or any other financial instrument. The only purpose of this blog is to provide education and entertainment.

No trader is ever 100 percent successful in his or her trades. Trading in the stock and option markets is risky and uncertain. Each trader must make trading decisions for his or her own account, and take responsibility for the consequences.

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Based on a work at www.timbovee.com.