Markets are choppy right now, and there’s no end in sight.
Energy volatility is rattling equities, the oil market is bananas, and most traders are either frozen or making reactive decisions they'll regret.
But market turbulence can be a big advantage if you approach it the right way.
I’ve been trading professionally for over 30 years. I even did a stint as VP of Trading at Goldman Sachs.
Through it all, I’ve learned that defined-risk options spreads are the key to cutting through the kind of volatility we’re seeing now..
And when the market is this choppy, spreads can actually become even more attractive.
It's not about predicting which way the market goes. It's about building a position with a defined risk, a defined reward, and an edge regardless of direction.
This strategy has been killing it for me in 2026 and I think it can help you too.
Here a few examples from my recent live signals:*
- +88.1% in KTOS using a diagonal call spread
- +87.3% in DELL using a strangle swap
- +85.4% in SPY using a put spread
This Tuesday, March 24th at 8PM ET, I'm going live to walk through exactly how I use spreads to navigate volatile conditions — step by step, including how I size them, structure them, and know when to get out.
If the current market has you on the sidelines, consider this your invitation to get back in the game.
Reserve my seat for Scott's live training
See you Tuesday,
Scott Bauer
Founder, CEO | Prosper Trading Academy
Ulta Beauty and an Ultimate Entry: Price Resets After Profit Miss
By Thomas Hughes. Date Posted: 3/15/2026.
Key Points
- Ulta Beauty's March price pullback is opening an ultimate opportunity as growth remains solid, just slightly weaker than expected.
- Institutional and analyst trends reveal solid support, limiting downside in 2026.
- International expansion is among the catalysts suggesting strength in the upcoming quarters.
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Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA) is presenting an attractive entry point after reporting a quarter many viewed as weak. Key takeaways for investors include a high bar, a narrow earnings miss, continued growth, and recent stock action — notably a significant breakout and rally. Together, these suggest a market reset rather than a reversal, making a rebound likely and the potential for gains compelling.
A look at the monthly price action shows an extreme peak and convergence in the moving-average convergence-divergence (MACD), indicating notable market strength and implying the stock is likely to at least retest recent highs. The main question is how far the pullback will go and what will drive the subsequent rebound.
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Click here to get the details and I'll show you how to claim your stake…Given the recent price action, a reversion toward $550 is the obvious target. The stock broke out of a trading range in late 2025, rallied roughly 25% with little correction, and has since reported results and guidance that disappointed slightly. A bounce is likely to begin near $550, but it may take time for meaningful gains to materialize, so patience will be required.
Technical and Fundamental Factors Suggest a Floor at $550
There are both technical and fundamental reasons to expect support around $550. Technically, the breakout from the prior range signaled a market shift: accumulation overwhelmed distribution, pushing price well above the range.
On the fundamental side, institutions collectively own more than 90% of the shares and have increased holdings for five consecutive quarters. That institutional accumulation provides solid support and a market tailwind, which helped underpin the breakout. Nothing in the recent report suggests a return to selling; buying more shares at lower prices would be in those institutions' interest.
Analyst trends also point to underlying support. The post-release reaction has been mixed — including a single price-target reduction alongside a reaffirmed rating — but overall it remains consistent with a Moderate Buy stance and a Buy-side bias toward the consensus. MarketBeat's consensus indicated the stock traded near fair value before the release.
The post-release pullback is presenting a buying opportunity, and analyst price targets imply limited downside. Short interest is modest — slightly above the average but still within historical ranges at roughly 5% — which also suggests constrained downside risk.
Ulta Plunges on Mixed Quarter Despite Sales Strength
Ulta Beauty delivered a solid fiscal Q4 despite narrowly missing analysts' bottom-line expectations. EPS came in at $8.01, missing by $0.02, which is a modest shortfall and still consistent with sustaining financial health, investment plans and capital-return programs. Revenue grew 11.5% to $3.89 billion, beating consensus by about 180 basis points. Strength was evident in comps (same-store sales, up a better-than-expected 5.8%), new stores and acquisitions.
Margins did compress slightly year over year, but the overall EPS miss was small and, combined with stronger-than-expected revenue, leaves the company well positioned to continue driving earnings, cash flow and shareholder value.
Guidance was mixed: revenue guidance came in above consensus while EPS guidance was a touch below. Importantly, management still expects growth of roughly 6.5% and continued earnings growth; the outlook appears deliberately cautious. Headwinds — including the end of Ulta's partnership with Target (NYSE: TGT) — may weigh on near-term results, but resilience in the core retail market and loyal customers shifting to other channels should help offset some pressure.
The market opened with the anticipated pullback, which suggests buyers may step in near the critical level. Ulta is likely to form a support base and could rebound in coming quarters if results begin to outpace expectations. Potential catalysts include international expansion, execution of the Ulta Beauty Unleashed strategy, and continued digital investment. The company plans to expand its presence in Mexico after a successful initial launch, while the Unleashed strategy aims to free up shelf space, optimize promotions and emphasize the convergence of beauty and wellness.
Rivian Is About to Challenge Tesla Where It Hurts Most
By Jeffrey Neal Johnson. Date Posted: 3/11/2026.
Key Points
- A series of significant analyst upgrades indicates growing Wall Street confidence in Rivian’s strategic direction and future growth prospects.
- The upcoming launch of the R2 platform is set to propel Rivian into the mass market, offering a fresh and compelling alternative in a key vehicle segment.
- Demonstrating a clear path to profitability, Rivian achieved its first full year of positive gross profit and is leveraging high-value technology.
- Special Report: Elon's "Hidden" Company
A distinct chill has settled over the electric vehicle (EV) market. After years of supercharged, triple-digit expansion, the industry is navigating a period of slowing sales growth and heightened investor caution. This EV winter has seen automakers recalibrate ambitious production targets and engage in aggressive price competition to spur demand.
Yet amid this cooling sentiment, a compelling counter-current is forming around Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN). The electric adventure-vehicle maker is attracting renewed attention from Wall Street analysts, signaling a potential decoupling from broader industry trends. The source of that optimism is clear: the imminent launch of the R2 platform, a vehicle poised to move Rivian from a niche player into the mass market and to create a fresh narrative for investors seeking the next phase of EV growth.
The Rivian R2 Could Be a Defining Moment for Rivian Automotive
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Click Here to See how to Get Your "SpaceX Access Code"Analyst confidence crystallized on March 10, 2026, when TD Cowen upgraded the stock to Buy and raised its price target to $20. That call is part of a broader trend: firms such as Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) and UBS (NYSE: UBS) have also issued recent positive revisions. For investors, these upgrades suggest that, after scrutinizing the data, analysts see a clearer path to growth than the current share price reflects.
The conviction behind those calls rests largely on the strategic importance of the R2 platform. The new midsize SUV is designed to enter the heart of the consumer market with a starting price of roughly $45,000, positioning it as a direct competitor to best-selling models like the Tesla Model Y. Analysts are likening the R2 to Rivian's "Model 3 moment"—a parallel to the vehicle that transformed Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) from a niche, luxury automaker into a mainstream, highly scaled company.
Before the Model 3, Tesla sold a small number of expensive cars and was viewed as a higher-risk, unprofitable business. The Model 3's successful production ramp showed Tesla could scale manufacturing, generate billions in revenue, and sustain profitability—an inflection point that permanently altered its valuation.
Wall Street is now betting the R2 can play a similar role for Rivian. A successful launch would add a substantial new revenue stream, meaningfully expand Rivian's total addressable market, and act as a near-term catalyst for growth.
Product Cycle Divergence: New Metal vs. Next-Gen Tech
Part of the bullish case for Rivian stems from a divergence in timing and focus compared with Tesla. The R2 is a new physical vehicle set to enter a high-demand midsize SUV segment, with customer deliveries expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026. That provides a concrete, near-term revenue driver and injects fresh momentum into a market hungry for compelling alternatives.
Tesla's narrative, by contrast, is increasingly focused on longer-term initiatives. Its dominant Model 3 and Model Y lineup is now several years into its lifecycle and facing intensifying competition, and Tesla's conversations with investors emphasize future-facing projects—full self-driving, the Optimus robot, and applications of artificial intelligence. While those efforts carry considerable upside, their path to substantial revenue is measured in years rather than quarters. That difference creates a strategic opening: for investors seeking near-term growth tied directly to vehicle production and sales, Rivian's focused product cycle offers a compelling alternative and the foundation for a potential anti-Tesla trade.
How Rivian Plans to Win
The key question for any growth company is the path to profitability. While Rivian posted a net loss in 2025, a closer look at its financial results shows a turning point: for the first time, Rivian delivered a full year of positive consolidated gross profit, improving by more than $1.3 billion year over year. That progress reflects disciplined execution: Rivian reported roughly a $9,500 year-over-year improvement in automotive cost of goods sold per vehicle, indicating better manufacturing efficiency and supply-chain management.
Rivian is reinforcing that foundation with a multi-pronged strategy. The high-volume R2 platform is built to capture economies of scale, lowering unit costs as production ramps. At the same time, the company is building diversified, higher-margin revenue through software and services. Its joint venture with the Volkswagen Group (OTCMKTS: VWAGY) is already contributing meaningfully, generating $447 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025 and providing a steadier income stream not solely tied to vehicle deliveries.
Rivian's underlying technology has additional value: Mind Robotics, a spinout leveraging Rivian's AI and robotics intellectual property, recently raised $500 million at a $2 billion valuation. Together, these data points suggest Rivian is moving beyond an attractive product story toward a more sustainable business model.
The R2 Reveal: Rivian's Moment of Truth
Analyst optimism is not purely speculative; it's grounded in measurable improvements in cost control and the strategic timing of a product with broad consumer appeal. The R2 positions Rivian as a product-led growth story at a moment when the market leader is increasingly focused on longer-term technological bets.
The upcoming R2 reveal is more than a vehicle launch—it's a critical data point for investors. How the market receives the R2 and how effectively Rivian executes its production ramp will likely determine whether this wave of bullish sentiment can push the company into the next tier of global automakers.
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*Hypothetical performance results have many inherent limitations, some of which are described below. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown. In fact, there are frequently sharp differences between hypothetical performance results and the actual results subsequently achieved by any particular trading program. One of the limitations of hypothetical performance results is that they are generally prepared with the benefit of hindsight. In addition, hypothetical trading does not involve financial risk, and no hypothetical trading record can completely account for the impact of financial risk in actual trading. For example, the ability to withstand losses or to adhere to a particular trading program in spite of trading losses are material points which can also adversely affect actual trading results. There are numerous other factors related to the markets in general or to the implementation of any specific trading program which cannot be fully accounted for in the preparation of hypothetical performance results and all of which can adversely affect actual trading results.
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