November 9, 2018

Looking To Discover DFS’s Upside

Oil fell below the $60 level overnight, a day after slipping into a bear market. That means U.S. crude is now down by around 20% since early October as rising supply and concerns of an economic slowdown pressure prices. Fresh U.S. sanctions are unlikely to cut as much oil out of the market as initially expected with Washington granting temporary exemptions to Iran’s biggest buyers. American production has also reached a new record high of 11.6M bbl/day.

*Source:  Seeking Alpha

Let’s consider Discover Financial Services (Ticker: DFS):

The VantagePoint platform recently indicated continued upside momentum.

Using the predictive indicators embedded within the VantagePoint platform and its predictive AI technology, we will point out four significant things. We have a bullish crossover indicated by the blue predictive indicator line crossing above the black simple moving average on November 6th.  We can combine that with the VantagePoint propriety neural index indicator moving from the RED to the GREEN position the day before.  This indicator measures strength and weakness for a 48-hour period, in this case, strength.  The move to the GREEN position further makes the case for a potentially bullish scenario. We also have the predicted high and low above yesterday’s actual high and low indicating further weakness.  Lastly, all three predictive differences are positively sloped and the short and medium term ones are above the zero line.  I want to play the VP bullish indication.

Strategy Discussion

For active traders with a shorter investment time horizon, you can consider a setup utilizing options. Given the market conditions outlined above, taking an active, premium debit approach may be the best path to success.

Because of the reasons given above, the purchase of a debit call spread may be one way to approach this situation.  You will first want to calculate your target strike.  In order to do this, you will need three pieces of data:  current price, expiration date and the implied volatility associated with that expiration date.  For DFS, that yields a targeted strike of ~$73.00.  You may want to consider the DFS November 23rd weekly expiration71.5/73 call spread, buying it for $0.35.  The most you can lose is the premium paid and the most you can gain is the width of the spread less any premium paid.  Max risk = $0.35 and max reward = $1.15.  This means that you are getting odds of 3.29:1.

Given the trading and market environment outlined above, a trader must evaluate whether this reward/risk ratio is appropriate for his/her risk tolerance.

If you would like to learn more about the VantagePoint platform and take advantage of the exclusive offer that our clients enjoy, please visit:

https://discover.vantagepointsoftware.com/prosper-demo/

[thrive_leads id=’272′]

about the author:

Mike Shorr

Since 1994, Michael has been an on-the-floor market maker, Vice-President of Interest Rate Derivatives for Knight Financial Products and Director of Education and Options Instructor at Trading Advantage. He makes the oftentimes complex world of options and trading accessible to the novice and advanced trader alike. Michael has a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics and Finance from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. He presently is Director, Trader Education at ProsperTradingAcademy.

Read Similar Articles

https://www.prospertrading.com/mike-shorr-gex-explained-093026/Gamma Exposure (GEX) Explained by Mike Shorr
October 1, 2026

Gamma Exposure (GEX) Explained by Mike Shorr

Short-term options coach Mike Shorr explained how traders use gamma exposure, AKA GEX, to hedge and manage delta and gamma as option trade near specific price levels in a recent live Q&A with his premium trading room students.

Read Article
https://www.prospertrading.com/scott-bauer-ibkr-podcast-093026/Scott Bauer on IBKR Podcast: Jobs, Rates, and Risks
September 30, 2026

Scott Bauer on IBKR Podcast: Jobs, Rates, and Risks

Rates are driving everything right now and Friday’s jobs report could swing October hike odds significantly. Scott Bauer joined the IBKR Podcast to break down what he is watching most closely, which sectors he likes heading into earnings, and the one underlying risk he thinks is not getting enough attention.

Read Article
https://www.prospertrading.com/scott-bauer-ba-093026/Scott Bauer’s Put Spread Trade on Boeing (BA)
September 30, 2026

Scott Bauer’s Put Spread Trade on Boeing (BA)

Scott Bauer joins Schwab Network to break down a put spread trade on Boeing (BA) at a key support level and share his read on rate hike odds.

Read Article

Read Similar Articles

July 15, 2026

The Fed, Oil, and What Earnings Season Really Means

Scott Bauer joined the IBKR Podcast this week to break down what moved markets last week and what investors need to watch heading into the next stretch of earnings season. From lagging inflation data to big tech CapEx concerns, Scott did not hold back.

Read Article
July 5, 2026

The Week Ahead: Happy 250

The Dow rose more than ​1% to a record closing high on Thursday ahead of the long holiday weekend as a softer-than-expected U.S. ‌jobs report eased worries about interest rate hikes, while another sharp drop in chipmaker stocks weighed on the Nasdaq. The second half of 2026 kicked off this week much the same as […]

Read Article
June 28, 2026

The Week Ahead: Darn Inflation

A renewed sell-off in technology stocks grabbed headlines this week. The Nasdaq index fell 4.5%, closing lower 5 days in a row, led by a large 5.5% decline in the so-called Magnificent 7 mega cap names. Meanwhile, the post IPO exuberance around SpaceX appears to be fading, with shares now down 25% from their peak. […]

Read Article