One of the most interesting “smart money” trades we came across yesterday was Nikola Corp (NASDAQ: NKLA).
If you’re new here, a “smart money” trade is a relatively large volume option trade most likely made by a pro trader. The idea is to analyze unusual options activity, identify an interesting “smart money” trade, and then make our best guess as to:
- Which direction the trader thinks the stock is headed
- How much they think it will rise (or fall), and
- In what time frame this will all happen.
If we like what we see after putting all these pieces together, we can mimic the “smart money” trade (on a smaller scale), and potentially ride alongside our pro trader to profits. With all this in mind…
A Pro Trader Just Made $2,000,000 Betting that NKLA will Stay Above $10 For the Next 8 Weeks
On Thursday, December 23, 2021, a pro trader seems to have sold 16,000 of the February 18, 2022, $10 put options on NKLA for $1.25 per contract. His inflow was $2,000,000.
NKLA – Options Trade
NKLA will need to stay above $10 in the next 8 weeks so that the trader can buy back the 18-Feb-22 $10.00 put options for next to nothing. And then our “smart money” trader will get to keep the $2,000,000 he had received when selling the 18-Feb-22 $10.00 put options.
On analyzing the chart of NKLA, the stock seems to have broken out of a double bottom pattern, which is marked in blue color. A stock typically movies higher when it breaks out of a bullish pattern like the double bottom pattern. This makes it likely that our pro trader is bullish on NKLA.
NKLA – Daily Chart
This lends credence to our conclusion that the pro sold these put options, as opposed to buying them.
If you agree and would like to mimic this trade, here’s how:
Sell to open the February 18, 2022, $10 put options on NKLA for $1.25 or better.
As always, depending on your risk appetite, do remember to set a stop-loss for the options trade to avoid significant losses.
Happy Trading!
— Trades of The Day Research Team
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