For today’s trade of the day we will be looking at a daily price chart for Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI), states Chuck Hughes of Hughes Optioneering.
Before breaking down DRI’s daily chart let’s first review what products and services the company offers. Darden Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brands.
Now, let’s begin to break down the Daily Price chart for DRI stock. Below is a Daily Price chart with the 50-Day EMA and 100-Day EMA for DRI.
50-Day EMA and 100-Day EMA ‘Buy’ Signal
The 50-Day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and 100-Day EMA are moving average indicator lines that can provide buy and sell signals when used together. When the shorter-term 50-Day EMA crosses above or below the longer-term 100-Day EMA, this provides either a buy or sell signal depending on which direction the stock price is moving.
- 50-Day EMA line Above 100-Day EMA = Price Uptrend = Buy signal
- 50 Day EMA line Below 100-Day EMA = Price Downtrend = Sell signal
When the 50-Day EMA (blue line) crosses above the 100-Day EMA (red line) this indicates that the stock’s buying pressure has begun to outweigh the selling pressure signaling a ‘buy’ signal. When the 50-Day EMA crosses below the 100-Day EMA this indicates that the selling pressure has begun to outweigh the buying pressure signaling a ‘sell’ signal.
Buy DRI Stock
As the chart shows, on September 12, 2022, the DRI 50-Day EMA crossed above the 100-Day EMA. This crossover indicated the buying pressure for DRI stock exceeded the selling pressure. For this kind of crossover to occur, a stock has to be in a strong bullish trend. As you can see, the 50-Day EMA is still above the 100-Day EMA meaning the ‘buy’ signal is still in play. As long as the 50-Day EMA remains above the 100-Day EMA, the stock is more likely to keep trading at new highs and should be purchased.
Our initial price target for DRI stock is 160.00 per share.
81.1% Profit Potential for DRI Option
Now, since DRI’s 50-Day EMA is trading above the 100-Day EMA this means the stock’s bullish rally will likely continue. Let’s use the Hughes Optioneering calculator to look at the potential returns for a DRI call option purchase. The Call Option Calculator will calculate the profit/loss potential for a call option trade based on the price change of the underlying stock/ETF at option expiration in this example from a flat DRI price to a 12.5% increase.
The Optioneering Team uses the 1% Rule to select an option strike price with a higher percentage of winning trades. In the following DRI option example, we used the 1% Rule to select the DRI option strike price but out of fairness to our paid option service subscribers we don’t list the strike price used in the profit/loss calculation.
Trade with Higher Accuracy
When you use the 1% Rule to select a DRI in-the-money option strike price, DRI stock only has to increase by 1% for the option to break even and start profiting! Remember, if you purchase an at-the-money or out-of-the-money call option and the underlying stock closes flat at option expiration it will result in a 100% loss for your option trade! In this example, if DRI stock is flat at 150.63 at option expiration, it will only result in a 7.8% loss for the DRI option compared to a 100% loss for an at-the-money or out-of-the-money call option.
Using the 1% Rule to select an option strike price can result in a higher percentage of winning trades compared to at-the-money or out-of-the-money call options. This higher accuracy can give you the discipline needed to become a successful options trader and can help avoid 100% losses when trading options.
This example aims to demonstrate the powerful profit potential available from trading options compared to stocks. The prices and returns represented below were calculated based on the current stock and option pricing for DRI on 3/20/2023 before commissions.
When you purchase a call option, there is no limit on the profit potential of the call if the underlying stock continues to move up in price. For this specific call option, the calculator analysis below reveals if DRI stock increases 5.0% at option expiration to 158.16 (circled), the call option would make 36.6% before the commission.
If DRI stock increases 10.0% at option expiration to 165.69 (circled), the call option would make 81.1% before the commission and outperform the stock return by more than eight to one. The leverage provided by call options allows you to maximize potential returns on bullish stocks.
The Hughes Optioneering Team is here to help you identify profit opportunities just like this one.