The barrage of big tech earnings reports due out next week may overwhelm investors. After all, Alphabet, Facebook and Amazon have a combined market cap of $2.27 trillion, and these stocks could see meaningful drops if they fail to impress Wall Street.
The options market, however, seems to be telling shareholders, “not to worry.”
Stacey Gilbert, head of derivative strategy at Susquehanna, told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Thursday what the options are implying for shares of Alphabet, Facebook and Amazon next week. Here’s what she said.
• From an options perspective, it’s notable that the market is not pricing in increased risk, even given some of the big rallies in these companies. Specifically, each of the names is expecting a move of 5 percent in either direction on earnings, in line with their respective moves over the last four quarters.
• From a sentiment perspective, the flow tends to be almost nonexistent, suggesting investors are not seeing earnings as a major catalyst over the next couple of weeks. Susquehanna covers all three companies with a positive rating, and forecasts upside for all three from current levels.
• For Amazon, specifically, its implied move is in line with historic moves; for investors looking for upside in Amazon, buying calls due to the stock’s relatively low implied volatility may be considered attractive.
• Alphabet is scheduled to report on Monday, Facebook on Wednesday and Amazon on Thursday.
Bottom line: Amazon, Alphabet and Facebook all report earnings next week, and the options market is not pricing in outsized risk for any of the names, according to Gilbert.
