Investors looking to bet on another rally for major tech stocks should take a look at some options trades that are curiously cheap, according to Goldman Sachs. The “Magnificent Seven” was the key to the stock market rally last year, but the group has splintered a bit in recent months. For example, investors have had a hard time betting on Tesla , which is down nearly 30% in 2024. TSLA YTD mountain Tesla stock has fallen sharply in 2024. John Marshall of Goldman’s derivatives research team said in a note to clients Wednesday that there are options trades that look like cheap ways to bet on Tesla’s stock to rise in the coming weeks and months. “We see the potential for more volatility over the next two months than is priced into TSLA options. While risks balance reward from a shares perspective, options are inexpensive ahead of four key catalysts for investors looking to position for upside asymmetry,” the note said. Those potential catalysts include a shareholder vote on CEO Elon Musk’s pay package next week and second-quarter sales results due out in July. Call options are a way to bet on a stock rising with less up-front capital. The strategy works by picking a strike price, typically above the current stock price, and expiration date. If the stock price rises above the strike price before expiration, the option is said to be “in the money” and can be exercised for a profit if that difference covers the options premium and trading costs. Goldman also highlighted another call buying opportunity in Apple . The consumer tech giant is holding its Worldwide Developers Conference event next week, which could reignite investor excitement about the stock. Shares of Apple are up less than 2% year to date. “[Analyst] Michael Ng believes generative AI will be the key focus for the event as he expects greater integration of Gen AI features into its operating systems and a potential OpenAI collaboration announcement,” the Goldman note said. With call options, the risk to the investor is the upfront premium paid for the contract. If the contract expires, the premium is lost.
