Two Stock Trades I’m Watching This Week

With all the noise around inflation, interest rates, crypto melt-down, and lagging tech stocks, it would be easy to understand why some investors would rather bury their heads in the sand rather than invest at this time – but that would be a mistake.

Even with all the headwinds I just mentioned, there are companies that are doing just fine. They have pricing power and loyal customer bases, have solid balance sheets, and are still generating huge amounts of revenue and profits.

The best example of that is Apple, Inc. (AAPL).

From March 30 to June 16 of this year, shares of AAPL dropped as much as 28.15%. Even AAPL couldn’t withstand the selling that drove the Nasdaq into bear market territory.

But, since June 16, AAPL has gained 15.29%, and I think it’s heading higher.

On July 28 (just [8] days from now), the company is scheduled to report quarterly results. I think AAPL is going to keep climbing higher as traders position themselves ahead of the earnings announcement.

At this point, I like buying the AAPL July 29, 2022 $150/$152.5 Call Spread for $1.23 or less. Plan on exiting the spread for a 100% profit or if shares of AAPL close below $143.25.

Then there’s Plug Power, Inc. (PLUG), the provider of hydrogen and zero-emissions fuel cell solutions.

On Friday, shares dropped more than 16.70% in early trading after news broke that Senator Joe Manchin would not support climate measures spending. That’s significant because Plug Power is working to build out a network of green hydrogen production facilities across the U.S.

Without federal spending, PLUG will have a much harder time building its network, and traders punished the stock on the Manchin news.

Friday’s selloff drove the stock through the bottom of its recent trendline, and I think we could see shares drift lower before rebounding.

At this point, I like buying the PLUG August 19, 2022 $15/$12.5 Put Spread for $1.10 or less. Plan on exiting the spread at a 100% profit or if shares of PLUG close above $16.00.

— Shah Gilani

Source: Total Wealth