After my last post where we looked at sub $10 stocks with weekly options offerings, I thought it made good sense to determine a list of stocks under $20 with weekly options as well. Before we get to the list below, you’ll recognize many of these names from their high flying days in 2021 or 2022. Most have come back to reality and are now trading in line with their earnings but who knows, these could be ready to catch fire again.

Similar to the list of under $10 stocks, $20 stocks are really the new $10, kind of akin to, 30 years old is the new 20, and so forth. Most of these stocks aren’t worth the long term hold in my opinion but they offer attractive premiums with more than enough upside potential.

As before, for anyone interested, I’ve created several items that may be valuable to options traders of all levels. Those resources can be found at the links below.

• Beginners Options Course
• Bullish Strategies, Bearish Strategies, Neutral Strategies
• Free Trading Tools
• OptionBoxer’s Most popular Videos

List of Stocks Under $20 with Weekly Options

Update: Revised list of stocks with weekly options for 2024.

1. BYND – Beyond Meat Inc.

Today’s Closing Price – $20.22

I know, I know, this ones actually just over $20 but I just couldn’t leave it off the list. From a premium perspective it may not get any better than BYND. With only one day to expiration an ATM call yields about 3% in premium! That’s beyond crazy! Even better, with only 1 day left until expiration there is 1.7% in premium to be collected outside the expected move range. Simple math will tell you that if we collected 1.7% each day the market was open our yearly return would be an eye watering 428.4%!

As for the company itself, I’m really indifferent to it. Beyond Meat made waves in the last few years offering products similar to meat only plant based. Now, I couldn’t tell you if any of their products are good, likely they are, but where I was raised, the lesson was simple. If it looks like chicken and tastes like chicken, I’ll just have chicken.

2. KMI – Kinder Morgan Inc.

Today’s Closing Price – $18.45

Possibly my favorite offering from this group is Kinder Morgan. I’ve employed countless trading strategies against this stock and most of them wildly successful. In fact, prior to the covid pandemic I employed a very lucrative poor man’s covered call campaign on KMI that as I write this I can’t figure out why I abandoned it. Additionally, they’re in the energy sector which is hot right now and are steadily increasing their earnings.

The chart for KMI doesn’t look great from an investment standpoint but as an options trader, they’re almost too good to be true. The stock trades up and down consistently with relative predictability, so directional trades may be the most lucrative. Unfortunately however, the premiums aren’t great on anything under 7 DTE at the moment, but move out just a shade farther and its acceptable. That said, the stock has been on a bullish run which, as we know, drives volatility down. Let that return and the options yield will become considerably more attractive.

3. PLUG – Plug Power Inc.

Today’s Closing Price – $17.89

Every time I see the name Plug Power I just kick myself for not holding on to my shares. Back in 2017, I owned 100 shares of this company for little more than $1 per share. Fast forward to 2021 and Plug Power traded as high as $75 per share. But hold up before you go throwing down the farm to invest, I don’t necessarily believe in them long term. They haven’t improved their earnings since I owned it way back then and worse, they seem to be moving fundamentally in the wrong direction.

In any case, like others on this list Plug Power has an attractive options yield on their weekly’s making it a qualified candidate for any options trading strategy you could dream up. They fit the mold for this list of stocks under $20 with weekly options.

4. LYFT – Lyft Inc.

Today’s Closing Price – $17.55

Lyft hasn’t been the most comfortable ride since it IPO’d in 2019, with shares having traded down nearly 87%. That said, I don’t see the ride sharing market disappearing anytime soon. If anything, I only see things improving from here as the company along with others in the space further define this relatively new service.

Prior to LYFT and UBER we were always stuck somewhere waiting on a taxi that may or may not show. If it actually did, it was never truly cost effective. You need to go 3 blocks to west 5th? No problem, let me just start this antiquated computer counter on my dash so you can watch as I rob you blind for the 5 minute ride.

In any case, they have weekly options with adequate liquidity so it shouldn’t be difficult getting into or out of a position.

5. AAL – American Airlines Group Inc.

Today’s Closing Price – $17.06

This once proud freedom flier was among the most attractive in the airline service industry. They were, for many years, the gold standard in my opinion, but much like the actual gold standard in this country, that ended. Nevertheless, should the travel industry ever get their shoes tied and stopping tripping themselves I think AAL could make sense as both an options candidate or an investment candidate.

That said, looking at the numbers, it may be a few years before the industry can rebound from the horrific mess that was the covid pandemic. If nothing else, we learned just how dangerous airlines were for transporting illness and that isn’t really a comforting thought.

6. DKNG – DraftKings Inc.

Today’s Closing Price – $17.02

Draftking’s isn’t an investment vehicle for me. It’s an app I throw a few dollars at on Sunday’s to make the football game more exciting. Therein lies the intrigue. If everyone that knows about Draftking’s does the same then their bottom line although not wildly lucrative could become relatively stable and predictable. And from an investment perspective, stable and predictable is always acceptable.

Their chart has been in decline since their IPO but similar to LYFT above, this is a relatively new market and they’re one of only 2 big names in the space. Should they continue to steal market share from Fanduel, it could just be an interesting holding in the years ahead. Lastly, they offer to agreed upon weekly options with adequate premiums on even one DTE expiry’s.

7. WBD – Warner Bros Discovery

Today’s Closing Price – $15.92

I’m not sure when Warner Brothers and Discovery merged forces but from simply an asset perspective they have years upon years of entertainment value between them. The communication media arena has been under a long overdue but tenuous restructuring in recent years which has forced this stock to mostly collapse. In the years ahead, should they find their footing and provide a viable option to consumers It could be an interesting journey.

In years past, they padded their coffers with lucrative network deals and motion pictures. Well, from where I stand the lucrative network deals aren’t quite as lucrative any more. I trust they’ll land on their feet or they’ll sell out to an even larger media conglomerate at the very least. Regardless, they are just the right fit for a list of stocks under $20 with weekly options.

8. F – Ford

Today’s Closing Price – $14.32

Ford doesn’t need any introductions, they are one of the big 3 automakers. For this reason alone I think they’re perfectly acceptable to be in a long term portfolio. With electric vehicles just taking shape and companies like Tesla pushing the limits Ford and others are simply having to adjust with the times.

From an investment perspective, I’m not in love with their upside, but I also think they’ll be on my list in 20 years. In a country where companies come and go with the wind, that’s kind of a big deal.

Their options premiums are more than adequate and could be a nice candidate for a covered call campaign since they’re a relatively stable company. That said, I don’t think I need to remind anyone of the bailout Chevrolet received during the financial collapse of 2008. No company is too big to fail.

9. ET – Energy Transfer Partners

Today’s Closing Price – $13.28

Another stock I like and one I currently hold in my long term portfolio. Energy Transfer Partners offers a very agreeable dividend and is in the midst of the hottest sector on the market today. I’m not sure the dividend yield will last but between the lower priced shares, the dividend, and the options premiums its hard to go wrong right now.

Worth noting is the absence of volatility in the energy sector right now. Once it returns the premiums will be much more attractive. It’s just hard to create volatility in a market that is only going one direction.

10. CCL – Carnival Cruise Corp.

Today’s Closing Price – $12.04

Similar to the airline industry is the cruise industry. We learned during covid that trapping thousands of passengers on a boat with no where to run creates some health complications. Beyond that, I think they’ve made it through the worst of that story as a company. Now it’s up to the marketing department to get people back on the boat. Well, and the engineering department, they can’t have boats stranded or potentially threatening people lives while on vacation. That really is a recipe for disaster.

Hey want to go on a cruise, possibly drown or contract an illness. Oh man, lets go!

Now that I think of it, here is Carnival’s Investor Relations page. Maybe they can present a better argument for the long term investment benefits.

Closing Thoughts

That just about wraps up this list of stocks under $20 with weekly options. Many of the companies above may not be quality assets in the years ahead but they could all be worthy candidates for a short term options play today. Like other lower priced stocks, the companies above might be more common household names but they’ve slumped into this list for a reason. Always exercise prudent risk management before employing any options strategy or investing into any company.

Until the next post, take care!

God bless,

Jeff