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The Trade Plan Checklist Most traders can only answer a few questions before entering a trade. Risk/reward, strategy fit, max loss, exit plan - if you cannot answer all of these, you do not have a trade plan yet. Download the OptionsPlay Trade Plan Checklist and build your process before risking capital. Register Now - new.optionsplay.com/registration #TradingChecklist #OptionsTrading #RiskManagement #StopChasingTrades #OptionsPlay

The market changed. Does the trade plan still work? This week's Monday Market Playbook will review which setups are improving, which are weakening, and which may need a clearer management plan. Join Monday Market Playbook - Register Now new.optionsplay.com/registration

With cracks in the rally showing after the latest inflation print, Tony shares a potential hedge on the S&P 500 and a bullish trade in global ecommerce on this week’s #InTheMoney: bit.ly/3OlpLZR. Sponsored by @Fidelity

A Trade Idea Is Not a Trade Plan Finding a trade idea is the easy part. Knowing if it deserves your capital is where most traders struggle. Before you enter any trade, you need to answer the setup, the strategy, the risk, and the plan for when it moves against you. Stop chasing ideas. Build the plan first. Register Now - new.optionsplay.com/registration #OptionsTrading #TradingPlan #StopChasingTrades #OptionsPlay #TradeSmart

A good stock idea can still become a bad options trade. The strategy, expiration, strike, risk/reward, and position size all matter. This week in Growth Lab, Tony Zhang will show how to turn a trade idea into a structured options strategy that fits the outlook and risk tolerance. Join Week 2 Growth Lab - Register Now new.optionsplay.com/registration

Trade ideas are not static. Market conditions change. Leadership rotates. Setups improve, fail, or become too extended. This week's Monday Market Playbook will update the opportunity set before Thursday's Growth Lab shows how to structure the trade. Join Monday Market Playbook - Register Now new.optionsplay.com/registration

With oil prices cooling and market breadth improving, it appears that investors are rotating back into growth opportunities. We dive deeper in this week’s #InTheMoney. Watch now: bit.ly/3OlpLZR. Sponsored by @Fidelity

We built the AI Infrastructure Inversion thesis on two numbers. Alphabet: 8/8 on our AI full-stack scorecard. Inference market consensus by 2030: $255B. Our agentic AI scenario: $650B. That's a $395 billion gap between what Wall Street is modeling and what we think the market will actually be worth. Alphabet captures a significant share of that gap: - Google Cloud: $17.7B (+48% YoY), $240B backlog - Gemini: 750M monthly active users - Free cash flow: $73B (after $93B capex) - Forward P/E: 27.5x So how do you express this with defined risk? On OptionsPlay, we overlay options strategies on our research ratings. For a stock with 8/8 conviction and a long-tailed structural thesis, here's what a LEAPS bull call spread looks like. Long duration. Defined risk. Capturing the agentic AI inflection. Research → Rating → Strategy → Defined risk. Try it free. Try OptionsPlay free — research + strategy in one platform → optionsplay.com/ai-infrastruct…

On this week’s #InTheMoney, Tony discusses two potential catalysts affecting the market before sharing a bearish and a bullish trade idea: bit.ly/3OlpLZR. Sponsored by @Fidelity

Broad commodity baskets returned +586% during the 1970s stagflation (1971-1980). DBC — Invesco DB Commodity Index — scores 85/100 in our model. Overweight. Here's why it outperforms single-commodity bets: DBC holds: WTI crude, Brent crude, RBOB gasoline, heating oil, gold, silver, aluminum, zinc, copper, corn, wheat, soybeans, sugar. When oil spikes → energy weights capture it. When oil transmission moves to food → agriculture weights capture it. When inflation hits metals → industrial metals capture it. The basket approach means you don't have to predict WHICH commodity leads the inflation. You just need to be right that inflation is real. And in a supply-shock stagflation where the oil price shock is transmitting across the entire economy — you want the basket. Companion play: PDBC — scores 78/100, Equal Weight — K-1 tax-efficient version of the same exposure. 6 Overweight ETFs in our model. DBC is one of them. See all 38 ETFs rated for stagflation → optionsplay.com/stagflation-b

FS KKR Capital Corp (FSK) trades at a significant discount to its reported net asset value. Wall Street still has Overweight ratings on it. We rate it Sell. Here's the difference: - Leverage: 1.3x+ debt-to-equity (among the highest in BDC sector) - 40%+ portfolio in software/tech — sectors being disrupted by AI - NAV calculated using mark-to-model, not market prices - In stagflation, the Fed can't cut rates to bail out stressed borrowers A BDC trading at a deep discount to NAV is telling you the market doesn't believe the reported values. In 2007, CDOs were also priced using models. We know how that ended. Our probability-weighted expected loss analysis: 35% crisis scenario probability. We rated 39 companies across 6 exposure layers. FSK is one of our highest-conviction Sell ratings. Knowing what to sell is just as important as knowing what to buy. See all 39 companies rated — including every Sell → optionsplay.com/research-priva…

Shell (SHEL) — Buy-rated in our 37-company analysis. With Brent crude at $108 and the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, Shell is: - Generating record upstream cash flow - Executing a $3.5B buyback tranche - Trading at $84.70 with analyst consensus Buy Shell has substantial LNG portfolio and upstream assets positioned to capture the supply disruption premium. But here's the contrarian angle: Shell rates Buy — not Strong Buy. Why? Downstream refining exposure means the full upside isn't captured as cleanly as pure-play Permian operators. The company choosing to buy back $3.5B of its own stock right now is a management signal. They're telling you they think the shares are cheap at current oil prices. Are they right? We rated 37 companies. Shell is 1 of 21 Buy-rated names. The 5 Strong Buys are a different category. Do you want to know who they are? See all 37 companies rated — including every Strong Buy → optionsplay.com/research-iran-…

Google Cloud grew 48% year-over-year to $17.7B in revenue. But here's the number that matters more: Backlog: $240 billion. Up 100% year-over-year. A $240B backlog means revenue is locked in. Signed contracts. Enterprise customers committed to multi-year cloud spending. This isn't hype. It's recurring revenue that hasn't hit the income statement yet. And Google Cloud is just one hyperscaler. - Amazon: $200B in AI capex planned for 2026 - Microsoft: $120B - Meta: $123B - Oracle: $50B Total: $675B+ The AI bear case says 'monetization hasn't arrived.' The $240B backlog says it already has — it just hasn't been recognized yet. We rated the AI infrastructure universe across 8 industries. The companies capturing this backlog are not the ones the market is pricing correctly. See the full AI infrastructure analysis with all companies rated → optionsplay.com/ai-infrastruct…

If I had to make one allocation move today for a stagflation environment — here's what I'd do. I'd cut long-duration bonds. All of them. In 1973-1982: Long-duration bonds returned -3% real per year. Every year. For a decade. Right now, most 60/40 portfolios have 40% in bonds. Much of it long-duration. TLT scores 32/100 in our model. Rated Avoid. Here's what I'd do with that allocation: - Move half to TIPS (TIP: 88/100, STIP: 86/100) - Move the rest to commodities (DBC: 85/100, GLD: 90/100) That single reallocation repositions you from the worst-performing asset class in 1970s stagflation to two of the best. And the cost of being wrong? 2-3%. The cost of NOT repositioning if stagflation is right? 25-40% in real purchasing power. The asymmetry is obvious. I built the full playbook — 38 ETFs, historical context, complete allocation framework. Full research with every ETF rated → optionsplay.com/stagflation-b

Ares Capital (ARCC) is the largest publicly traded BDC by market cap at $12.8B. $22B+ investment portfolio. Investment-grade rating. Lower leverage than peers (1.05x vs. 1.3x+ for FSK). And Wall Street consensus: Overweight. But here's the problem. In stagflation, even quality can't fully protect you. 100% private credit exposure. No escape from the sector's structural headwinds. Mark-to-model NAV lags reality by 1-2 quarters. Losses are already accumulating inside portfolios that won't be written down until Q2 or Q3. Our rating: Hold — not because ARCC isn't quality, but because quality doesn't insulate you from a sector-wide repricing. The premium to NAV leaves limited margin of safety when the repricing comes. We rated 39 companies across 6 exposure layers. ARCC is the 'best of a challenged sector.' See all 39 companies rated with full exposure analysis → optionsplay.com/research-priva…

Expand Energy (EXE) was formed from the merger of Chesapeake and Southwestern Energy. It's now the largest independent natural gas producer in the U.S. And it trades at 12.61x forward earnings — cheaper than the sector. - Market Cap: $26B - Consensus PT: $135 | Current: $106.82 | Upside: +26.38% - Rating: Buy (14 analysts) - J.P. Morgan: Reaffirmed Buy Why now: With the Strait of Hormuz closed, Asia is desperate for alternative LNG sources. U.S. Gulf LNG exports are surging. Expand Energy as the largest independent U.S. gas producer sits at the top of that supply chain. The consolidation that created this company delivered scale advantages that mid-cap producers can't match. 26% upside. Cheapest multiple in the sector. Structural LNG tailwind. This is 1 of 21 Buy-rated names in our 37-company analysis. See all 37 oil & gas companies rated → optionsplay.com/research-iran-…

The AI tools that hundreds of millions of people use every day are nearly free. 97% of AI users pay less than $20 per month. That's the monetization gap — and it's one of the most important numbers in tech right now. Here's why it matters for investors: The consumer monetization model is barely generating revenue vs. the cost of inference. But enterprise AI agents? Different story entirely. Enterprise apps with AI agents: 7% (2023) → 60% (2026E) 80% of Fortune 500 already have active AI agents deployed. Claude Code hit $1B ARR within 6 months of launch. AI coding tools hit $5B+ total ARR in under 2 years. The monetization is moving from consumer → enterprise. From free tier → deep integration. That's where the revenue is. That's where the stock picks are. We rated 60+ companies. The gap between who captures that revenue and who doesn't is enormous. See 60+ companies rated across 8 AI industries → optionsplay.com/ai-infrastruct…

In stagflation, most fixed income gets destroyed. Long bonds: -3% real per year in the 1970s. High yield: dual threat — rising rates + spread widening. Investment grade: extra yield doesn't cover duration losses. But one instrument is designed specifically for this environment: TIP — iShares TIPS Bond ETF — scores 88/100 in our model. Overweight. Why: - Principal adjusts directly with CPI - No equity risk - When the Fed is constrained from hiking aggressively, TIPS have a structural advantage - Full maturity spectrum of U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities The companion play: STIP (0-5 Year TIPS) — scores 86/100, Overweight Duration under 3 years. Captures full inflation adjustment with minimal rate sensitivity. Expense ratio: 0.03%. Two of our top 6 Overweight ETFs are TIPS-based. In the 1970s, the concept didn't exist. In 2026, there's no excuse not to own it. See all 38 ETFs rated for stagflation → optionsplay.com/stagflation-b

ConocoPhillips (COP): Buy rating from 23 analysts. Average target: $135. Upside: +15.3%. Key assets: - APLNG Australian LNG expanded to >2.5B BOE net resources - NFE Qatar first LNG expected 2026 - 2.33-2.36M bpd production guidance - 8% dividend increase Citigroup raised PT to $135 (March 4, 2026). With U.S. LNG now the global alternative to disrupted Middle East supply — COP's diversified LNG exposure and 15%+ upside makes it one of the cleanest risk/reward setups in our universe. So how do you trade it? On OptionsPlay, we overlay options strategies on our research ratings. For a stock like COP with Buy conviction and 15% upside, here's what a bull call spread looks like. Research → Rating → Strategy → Defined risk. That's the OptionsPlay difference. Try OptionsPlay free — research + strategy in one platform → optionsplay.com/research-iran-…

Every AI data center needs power. Data center electricity: 448 TWh (2025) → 980 TWh (2030). That's 7.8% of all U.S. electricity — just for AI. Some hyperscalers are signing 20-year power purchase agreements for dedicated generation capacity. The AI infrastructure buildout has created an entirely new power demand curve. It didn't exist 3 years ago. Our Power Generation & Grid exposure score: +9 (Bullish). Second highest of all 8 industries. The picks and shovels for AI aren't just chips. They're power lines, turbines, and transformers. In our 8-industry AI Infrastructure map: - Semiconductor & Compute: +10 - Power Generation & Grid: +9 ← the underowned play - Physical Infrastructure (Data Centers): +9 The companies that keep the lights on for AI are about to get a lot more valuable. 60+ companies rated across all 8 industries. See all 60+ companies rated across 8 AI industries → optionsplay.com/ai-infrastruct…