Apple among BofA picks for options opportunity on earnings surprise
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The BofA equity and quant team ran screens for earnings opportunities with options, with several names surfacing among a busy Aug. 3.
"The screens rank Russell 1000 (IWB) stocks reporting this week by how cheap or expensive it is to position for a potential earnings surprise with options," BofA analyst Gonzalo Asis wrote in a note.
"We go beyond the frequently cited implied moves (the size of the earnings reaction implied by option markets) and rely on historical option costs and post-earnings reactions, proprietary positioning metrics, and this quarterâs BofA EPS estimates from our fundamental equity research analysts," Asis said.
BofA screened for long call opportunities where "companies rank higher if they have low implied vol, high BofA EPS estimates, and are heavily shorted and/or lightly owned."
"The companies are ranked by how cheap it is to position with calls for a potential earnings surprise. For Implied vol Score, BofA EPS Score, and Positioning Score, a higher number means the stock ranks higher in that category."

Cheniere Energy (LNG), earnings straddle premium 1.84, implied vol score -0.87, BofA EPS score 2.84, fund holdings 0.17, short interest -0.67, aggregate score 0.52

Southwest Energy (SWN), 0.59, -0.41, 0.67, -0.76, 0.21, 0.25

Wayfair (W), 9.37, -4.72, 1.95, 2.05, 3.31, -0.72

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) 4.19, -1.94, -0.48, -0.19, -0.75, -0.90

Gilead Sciences (GILD), 5,68, -2.69, 0, 0.55, -0.55, -1.08

Apollo Global (APO), 4.28, -2.43, -0.53, 0.61, -0.27, -1.13

Moderna (MRNA), 7.40, -3.56, -0.15, -0.45, 0.13, -1.14

Airbnb (ABNB), 7.95, -3.90, 1.12, 1.66, 0.19, -1.17

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), 9.63, -4.53, 0.85, 0.44, -0.79, -1.43

Fortinet (FTNT), 8.69, -4.26, -0.40, -0.36, -0.58, -1.59

Block (SQ), 9.71, -4.88, -0.42, 0.30, -0.17, -1.85

Expedia (EXPE), 11.82, -5.86, 0.20, -0.38, -2.03

Cigna (CI), 9.68, -4.74, -0.35, 1.32, -0.67, -2.03

Booking Holdings (BKNG), 13.91, -7.43, -0.47, 0.54, -0.58, -2.82



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