[ Currently at $121, I'm watching it... ]
This trader bets it all on Apple getting crushed after earnings
Published: Jan 30, 2017 4:04 p.m. ET
Critical intelligence for the U.S. trading day
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<cite>Getty Images</cite>
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By
ShawnLanglois
Social-media editor
Assessing the Donald Trump Show’s impact on markets will likely remain a top priority for most investors this week. For one desperate trader, however, the next few days are about all something else entirely: Apple’s earnings.
We first met F.S. Comeau back in April, when we interviewed the 30-something from Montreal for a story about WallStreetBets, a Reddit forum that rose to prominence over the past year for its irreverent and gun-slinging approach to playing markets.
Count Comeau among those that have experienced the lofty peaks and painful valleys of the group’s high-risk approach to trading. In fact, one particularly tough stretch landed him in the hospital with stress-related issues. That’s what hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of losses can do to a guy.
This Tuesday, he vows, will mark his last and boldest attempt to erase losses and reach market riches. In WallStreetBets lingo, his Apple AAPL, -0.52% bet — and our call of the day — is his “final YOLO.” For you non-millennials, that’s “you only live once!”
So what does Comeau do for his swan song?
Basically, he is using what’s left of his stash to bet big against Apple by buying put options that, according to Comeau, could net him upwards of a few million if his prediction holds true. But if Apple, which currently sits near $122, trades at $128 or above after the report — poof! — $240,000 gone.
Here’s a look at the trades:
<figure class="article-figure NS">
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</article>
<figure class="article-figure NS">
<figcaption></figcaption> </figure> Comeau is nothing if not confident — maybe too confident in this moonshot, although that tends to play rather well among the WallStreetBets crowd.
“IT IS SIMPLY NOT POSSIBLE FOR APPLE TO SPIKE UP POST-EARNINGS,” Comeau wrote. “It didn’t happen to Google GOOG, -1.11% GOOGL, -0.91% , it didn’t happen to Western Digital WDC, -0.41% , Qualcomm QCOM, -0.88% or even Intel INTC, -1.67% or Microsoft (2%! Yay!) MSFT, -1.03% , despite excellent earnings (which Apple won’t have).”
Famous last words?
Go here for his entire 5,000-plus word post explaining why he’s quitting trading for good, how “the stock market is rigged” and how a drop of at least 20% in Apple shares on Wednesday will earn him back the fortune he’s lost in the trading pits. The iPhone maker is due to post its quarterly results late Tuesday.
Some called Comeau out for a being fool, others snickered and wished him luck, and then there were several others who bought into the concept of the trade.
“Maybe I’m an idiot, but after reading that entire post, I’m in for some Apple puts,” writes OcculusResurrectio. “Not YOLO-ing, but the logic is pretty sound.”
So, we’ll check back in with Comeau and the rest of the WallStreetBets crew on Wednesday morning, but for now let’s take a look at what traders should keep an eye on after the mayhem of the last few days. Stocks are under pressure so far.
This trader bets it all on Apple getting crushed after earnings
Published: Jan 30, 2017 4:04 p.m. ET
Critical intelligence for the U.S. trading day
<article id="article" class="with-hero " itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle" itemref="article-headline article-subhead"> <figure class="hero-figure has-caption">
<figcaption></figcaption> </figure>
ByShawnLanglois
Social-media editor
Assessing the Donald Trump Show’s impact on markets will likely remain a top priority for most investors this week. For one desperate trader, however, the next few days are about all something else entirely: Apple’s earnings.
We first met F.S. Comeau back in April, when we interviewed the 30-something from Montreal for a story about WallStreetBets, a Reddit forum that rose to prominence over the past year for its irreverent and gun-slinging approach to playing markets.
Count Comeau among those that have experienced the lofty peaks and painful valleys of the group’s high-risk approach to trading. In fact, one particularly tough stretch landed him in the hospital with stress-related issues. That’s what hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of losses can do to a guy.
This Tuesday, he vows, will mark his last and boldest attempt to erase losses and reach market riches. In WallStreetBets lingo, his Apple AAPL, -0.52% bet — and our call of the day — is his “final YOLO.” For you non-millennials, that’s “you only live once!”
So what does Comeau do for his swan song?
Basically, he is using what’s left of his stash to bet big against Apple by buying put options that, according to Comeau, could net him upwards of a few million if his prediction holds true. But if Apple, which currently sits near $122, trades at $128 or above after the report — poof! — $240,000 gone.
Here’s a look at the trades:
<figure class="article-figure NS">
</figure>
</article>
<figure class="article-figure NS">
<figcaption></figcaption> </figure> Comeau is nothing if not confident — maybe too confident in this moonshot, although that tends to play rather well among the WallStreetBets crowd.
“IT IS SIMPLY NOT POSSIBLE FOR APPLE TO SPIKE UP POST-EARNINGS,” Comeau wrote. “It didn’t happen to Google GOOG, -1.11% GOOGL, -0.91% , it didn’t happen to Western Digital WDC, -0.41% , Qualcomm QCOM, -0.88% or even Intel INTC, -1.67% or Microsoft (2%! Yay!) MSFT, -1.03% , despite excellent earnings (which Apple won’t have).”
Famous last words?
Go here for his entire 5,000-plus word post explaining why he’s quitting trading for good, how “the stock market is rigged” and how a drop of at least 20% in Apple shares on Wednesday will earn him back the fortune he’s lost in the trading pits. The iPhone maker is due to post its quarterly results late Tuesday.
Some called Comeau out for a being fool, others snickered and wished him luck, and then there were several others who bought into the concept of the trade.
“Maybe I’m an idiot, but after reading that entire post, I’m in for some Apple puts,” writes OcculusResurrectio. “Not YOLO-ing, but the logic is pretty sound.”
So, we’ll check back in with Comeau and the rest of the WallStreetBets crew on Wednesday morning, but for now let’s take a look at what traders should keep an eye on after the mayhem of the last few days. Stocks are under pressure so far.
