Ride-the-Wave Strategy – Best for Stock Traders

Ride-the-Wave targets multi-day price momentum following a company’s earnings announcement (EA). With this strategy:

Buy a stock one day post-EA if a stock reacts positively post-earnings:
1. Near the close of trading the EA-day for a pre-market-EA
2. Near the close of the following day for a post-market-EA
Sell-to-close after 7-10 days, or possibly earlier if a desired price target is reached

Similarly,

short a stock one day post-EA if a stock reacts negatively post-earnings:
1. near the close of trading the EA-day for a premarket-EA
2. near the close of the following day for a post-market-EA
then buy-to-close after 7-10 days, or possibly earlier if a desired price target is reached

Important: Ride-the-Wave is predicated on significant price momentum triggered by an EA. The 7-10 day scenario is the maximum trade hold-time. If you see post EA-momentum is halted or reversed by a significant opposite move, re-evaluate your presence in the trade.

This popular StockEarnings screen below will give you a list of stocks that historically exhibit significant price momentum following an EA for the next seven days:

Stocks exhibiting positive post-EA price moves are buy-candidates
Stocks exhibiting negative post-EA price moves are sell/short-candidates

The screen includes those stocks whose Earnings just came out in last two days.

Screen criteria:

Earnings Date Start Date : Current Date + -1 Day
Earnings Date End Date : Current Date + -2 Days
Predicted Move (Next Day) Max : 7%
Predicted Move (On 7th Day) Min : 7%

Strategy Guideline:

Buy the stock if stock has reacted positively. Short the stock if stock has reacted negatively (see above).
Close the position in 7-10 days, or possibly earlier based on price move.

Volatility Crush Strategy - Best for Options Traders

The Volatility Crush strategy is used with stocks that typically experience relatively low-to-moderate price moves (≤4%) following their Earnings Announcements (EA). The basic trade idea is to sell put or call options right before the EA, collecting a credit when options premium is very high due to elevated implied volatility (IV). You then close the position right after the EA by buying the option back much cheaper due to the significant drop in IV that occurs after the mystery of the EA disappears. In assessing this trade, you need to do your homework to ensure you collect sufficient premium to make the trade worthwhile.

This trade is practical due to the low-to-moderate price-move after the EA, which generally won’t significantly affect the options price, unlike an “action” stock, which experience great price moves post-EA. With these symbols, if you’re on the right side of the price move, that’s a great thing. But if you’re on the wrong side of the move, not so great. Consequently, by minimizing the effect of the post-EA price move, you have a much better chance to profit from the reduction in IV without it being ruined by a violent price move.

For this trade, open the position either (1) the night before the EA when the company announces earnings or (2) during the EA day when it announces post-market, generally capturing IV at or close to its peak.

This popular stockearnings screen will give you a list of stocks which do not react more than 4% fpost-EA. It includes only those stocks whose earnings are releasing next day.

Screen criteria:

Earnings Date Start Date : Current Date + 1
Earnings Date End Date : Current Date + 1
Predicted Move (Next Day) Max : 4%
Options Type: Weekly

Strategy Guideline:

Options Strategy: Sell Call and Put
Options Strike Price: Current Stock Price – (% Predicated Move x 2)
Expiration Date: It should generally be the closest expiry immediately after the EA.
Buy Insurance: Buying back Call and Put at Strike price which 10% lower than Sell Strike Price is optional but recommended.

Watch Video for More Detail

Volatility Rush Strategy - Best for Options Traders

The Volatility Rush takes advantage of increasing options premiums into earnings announcements (EA) caused by an anticipated rise in Implied Volatility (IV). With this strategy, Buy a Call and Put at-the-money (a long straddle) 2-3 weeks before the EA when IV is lower. Sell the position either (1) the night before the EA when the company announces earnings pre-market, or (2) during the EA day when it announces post-market, generally capturing IV at or close to its peak.

This popular screen will give you a list of stocks whose Options premiums tend to rise into Earnings. It includes only those stocks whose Earnings are at least two weeks away from today.

Screen criteria:

Earnings Date Start Date : Current Date + 15 Days
Earnings Date End Date : Current Date + 30 Days
Predicted Move (Next Day) Min : 5%
Options Type: Weekly or Monthly if that lines up with the two to three-week lead-time for entering the trade

Strategy Guideline:

Buy a Straddle at or close to the money two to three weeks pre-EA.
Sell the position either the night before the EA when the company announces earnings pre-market, or during the EA day when it announces post-market.
Expiration date should generally be the closest expiry immediately after the EA.
Straddle price should not be more 60% of predicted move.

Predicted Move (Volatility)

Similar to Implied Volatility in Options. Expected volatility % based on our Proprietary Volatility Predication Model. We are expecting that stock price will likely to reach % in either direction by the end of next trading session after Earnings are released and not necessarily the closing volatility %.

Why is it important?

This indicator helps

Knowing expected volatility in stocks after Earnings helps to decide trading stocks before Earnings Announcement.
Taking Advantage of volatility collapse following Earnings Results by using Advance Options strategies such as Spread and Straddles.

Since Last Earnings

Change in share price since last Earnings release.

Why is it Important?

When share has gained more than 10% since it's last Earning release, it tends to over react to minor bad news and give up some gains if not all. So, it contains more downside volatility than upside When share has dropped more than 10% since it's last Earning release, it tends to over react to minor good news and recover some drops if not all. So, it contains more upside volatility than downside.

EPS Surprise (%)

Occurs when a company's reported quarterly or annual profits are above or below analysts' expectations. Here is the formula to derive % EPS Surprice:

Actual EPS - Estimated EPS
------------------------------------- x 100
Estimated EPS

Why is it Important?

Earnings surprises can have a huge impact on a company's stock price. Several studies suggest that positive earnings surprises not only lead to an immediate hike in a stock's price, but also to a gradual increase over time. Hence, it's not surprising that some companies are known for routinely beating earning projections. A negative earnings surprise will usually result in a decline in share price.

Next Day Price Change (%)

Next Regular trading session Closing price following Earnings result.

For After Market Close Earnings, It is a next trading day closing price. For Before Market Open Earnings, It is the same trading day closing price.

Why is it Important?

Next Day price change is a reaction of Earnings result.

Raymond James Just Raised Its AMD Outlook

Posted on Aug 25, 2026 by Ian Cooper

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) could see even more gains, as it overtakes Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) in the central processing unit market, potentially overtaking its longtime rival in 2027, according to Raymond James. The investment firm upgraded AMD to Strong Buy from Outperform and raised its price target to $641 from $565.

Analyst Simon Leopold said AMD currently offers an attractive combination of earnings growth, data-center exposure and market-share gains. In a note to clients Tuesday, Leopold said the company’s growth trajectory should allow it to overtake Intel during 2027.

The upgrade adds to a growing bullish case for Advanced Micro Devices as demand for computing infrastructure expands alongside artificial intelligence adoption. While AMD has long competed with Intel in conventional processors, the rapid development of AI infrastructure is creating additional opportunities across data centers and other high-performance computing markets.

In the second quarter, AMD’s share of the x86 CPU market passed 30%, according to data from Mercury Research cited by PCMag, as noted by CNBC. Intel remained the dominant player with a 69.7% share, but Advanced Micro Devices’ continued gains highlight the competitive pressure.

The shift is particularly important because x86 processors remain central to a wide range of computing applications. The company’s ability to expand its presence in both consumer and data-center markets could give the company greater leverage as businesses increase spending on AI and other computationally intensive workloads.

Advanced Micro Devices’ latest financial results also underscore the company’s momentum. In its second-quarter 2026 results, the company reported continued growth across its businesses, reflecting strong demand for its data-center and computing products.

AI Could Transform the CPU Opportunity

Raymond James expects the overall CPU market to become significantly larger over the next several years. The firm forecasts the market will reach approximately $201 billion by 2030, including about $33.5 billion from conventional data-center CPUs, $83 billion from AI head-end CPUs and $85 billion from agentic CPUs.

The last category could prove particularly significant. Agentic AI refers to systems capable of operating with greater autonomy, allowing AI agents to perform tasks, make decisions and interact with software or other systems with less direct human intervention.

Leopold believes the proliferation of these autonomous AI systems could become the “principal new growth engine for the CPU market.” As AI applications become more sophisticated, demand could extend beyond specialized AI accelerators to the CPUs responsible for coordinating workloads, managing systems and supporting increasingly complex computing environments.

That trend could play directly into AMD’s strengths. The company has been expanding its data-center presence while developing a broader portfolio of processors designed for demanding workloads. If AI-driven computing continues to increase, Advanced Micro Devices could benefit from both rising industry demand and additional market-share gains.

Wall Street Remains Bullish on AMD

AMD still faces significant competition, particularly from Intel and other semiconductor companies. Still, Raymond James sees Advanced Micro Devices’ combination of market-share expansion and exposure to AI-related computing as strong. From here, the company’s opportunity may extend well beyond simply taking share from Intel.

That creates a potentially attractive setup for investors.

Advanced Micro Devices would not necessarily need to win the CPU market at Intel’s expense alone if the overall market is expanding rapidly. Raymond James’ $201 billion 2030 CPU market forecast suggests there could be substantial room for both market-share gains and industrywide growth.

For now, AMD is steadily increasing its presence in the CPU market at the same time that the market itself could be entering a new period of expansion. Raymond James’ upgrade reflects the view that these trends can reinforce one another, giving Advanced Micro Devices both direct earnings leverage and additional opportunities to gain market share.

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Over the last 26 years, he’s taught thousands of investors how to trade news flow and herd mentality using a unique blend of technical and fundamental analysis. Cooper was among the few analysts to spot the financial crisis of 2008, the top of subprime and Alt-A, the death of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and New Century Financial, and even the Dow’s collapse to 6,500, as well as its recovery. He even called for gold to rally well above $1.500 when it traded under $600. At the moment, Cooper makes use of technical, fundamental and news analysis, to help individual investors grow their wealth. He’s a firm believer that hard work and thorough research will lead to investment success.

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Ride-the-Wave Strategy – Best for Stock Traders

Volatility Crush Strategy - Best for Options Traders

Volatility Rush Strategy - Best for Options Traders