TradingMarkets 7 Options You Need To Know For 2006
Well, 2005 is a wrap folks,
and smart traders will use the holidays to relax and recharge–and possibly
even spend a little time tweaking their trading plan for next year. For your
more speculative accounts, it’s nice to have some good longer-term trading ideas
at the beginning of each year. With that in mind, TradingMarkets has done a
little homework for you.
Our research has shown
that stocks that have underperformed the market over multiple periods of time
the previous year have tended to outperform the market for the upcoming year.
The options listed below are LEAPS (Long-term Equity
Anticipation Securities–basically long term
options) based on the
7 Stocks You Need To Know For 2006.
Options are high-risk investments; consult with your broker to make sure they
are suitable for you.
| Stock | Symbol | 2005 closing price |
Option | Symbol | 2005 closing price |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
| Apollo Group | ( APOL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
60.46 | OKO Jan ’07 60 call |
OKO AL | 9 |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
| Dana Corp | ( DCN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
7.18 | OIM Jan ’07 10 call | OIM AB | 0.95 |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
| General Motors | ( GM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
19.42 | VGN Jan ’07 20 call |
VGN AD | 5.30 |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
| Lexmark | ( LXK | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
44.83 | VEM Jan ’07 50 call |
VEM AJ | 4 |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
| Symantec | ( SYMC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
17.50 | OBL Jan ’07 20 call |
OBL AD | 1.80 |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
| Tenet Healthcare |
( THC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
7.66 | ONZ Jan ’07 10 call |
ONZ AB | 0.70 |
| Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â |
| XM Satellite Radio |
( XMSR | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
27.28 | OZR Jan ’07 35 call |
OZR AG | 2.15 |
All of these LEAPS expire in January of 2007. In
the case of the Symantec LEAP, for instance, you are putting up $1.80 ($180 for
one contract), basically speculating that SYMC common stock will be above $20 by
January 2007. If the stock happens to trade up to $23 before January 2007, the
LEAP will be worth at least $3 (intrinsic value). If SYMC trades under $20
at the January 2007 expiration, the LEAP will be worthless. You can, of course,
get out of the option at any time before expiration.
Happy New Year and good trading in 2006!
Brice Wightman