4/18 Earns

Here are the earnings coming up among the stocks having penny-increment options and trading with volume equal to or greater than AMZN.

There's only one I like, the brokerage Goldman Sachs (GS), which announces Tuesday, April 19, before the open. It has shown major earnings surprises for four out of the last five quarters, and had has volatility of 1.9% on the average true range (ATR), not too shabby.

The price, however, is a bit much, at $155 a share. That puts the cost of a single straddle at more than $2,000 a contract. Also, the strike interval is $5, which means it can be difficult to peg the straddle to the current price.

There are two prospects for today, April 18, after the close: IBM and TXN. They have no history of earnings surprises the last five quarters. TXN has 2.3% ATR volatility.

In addition to GS, four stocks announce on Tuesday prior to the open: BK, BTU, JNJ and USB. None has a history of major earnings surprises the last five quarters.

I define "major" as earnings surprises of 50% or greater.