At Cabot, we write a lot about the versatility of options in a portfolio. You can find posts about generating more income from existing positions using covered calls, hedging your portfolio with options, and using LEAPS as a substitute for buying stocks, and more.
We also write about how options give regular investors exposure to added leverage and how they can limit their downside risk via position scaling.
Today I want to take a simpler route and show you the power of options trading where it really matters: generating massive portfolio returns.
To do so, I’m going to walk you through a recent trade in Corning (GLW) from my Cabot Options Trader service that we closed out in three chunks: the first for a 20% gain, the second for a 65% gain, and the final third for a 1,000% gain.
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Obviously, not every options trade is a massive 1,000% home run, but that kind of potential is a big part of the reason that investors buy options in the first place.
So, let’s break it down step by step.
The Position Hits My Radar
My primary tool for identifying promising opportunities is my unusual options activity scanner, where I’m on the lookout for institutional-level buyers putting big money to work.
And my interest was piqued by heavy call buying in GLW, most notably these two trades in August:
Buyer of 3,000 Corning (GLW) January 75 Calls for $1.98 – Stock at 67
Buyer of 1,000 Corning (GLW) March 75 Calls for $2.74 – Stock at 66.75
On August 25, 2025, I sent this alert to my subscribers:
Buy the Corning (GLW) March 67.5 Calls (exp. 3/20) for $6.30 or less.
Buy to Open the GLW March 67.5 Calls
Please note, I am buying a full position in the GLW calls.
The risks I see in the GLW trade are largely market- and AI-related, and it’s possible GLW could come under pressure if NVDA earnings on Wednesday disappoint and send shockwaves through the AI trade.
That being said, GLW hardly flinched when AI stocks were weak last Tuesday/Wednesday, and the stock is making new highs today. That strength, along with the steady bullish option activity, is very intriguing, and I am going to add the stock to the portfolio today.
Buy the Corning (GLW) March 67.5 Calls (exp. 3/20) for $6.30 or less.
That trade filled a bit below our target price, at $5.94.
Then, on September 3, we took our first profits on the trade, which was triggered by my options trading system.
The First Round of Profit-Taking
This is the alert that I sent to subscribers:
Sell a Third of Existing Position: Sell a Third of your GLW March 67.5 Calls for $7 or more.
Despite some recent wobbles in the market, and especially in the growth/AI trade, GLW is making a new high today. Because of those aforementioned wobbles, and because we always stick to the profit-taking system, let’s lock in a quick gain of approximately 20% on a third of our recently purchased GLW calls.
To execute this trade you need to:
Sell to Close a Third of your GLW March 67.5 Calls
As is always the case when we take partial profits, we hope this initial sale is a big mistake and the stock and our calls trade much higher in the days/weeks to come.
GLW was in a powerful uptrend, and that triggered the second tier of my profit-taking system on September 9.
The Second Round of Profit-Taking
Here is that alert:
Sell a Third of Existing Position: Sell a Third of your GLW March 67.5 Calls for $9.70 or more.
Another day, another new high for GLW, which has very quickly pushed our position to a potential profit of approximately 65%.
And while I think the odds favor GLW continuing higher in the days/weeks to come, let’s stick to the system and again lock in a nice profit on our calls. Of note, my plan with the balance of this trade is to let it run as far as possible.
To execute this trade you need to:
Sell to Close a Third of the GLW March 67.5 Calls
As you can see from the alert, by taking two rounds of profits on the way up, the Cabot Options Trader portfolio bought itself a lot of leeway to swing for the fences on the balance of the trade.
Going for the Home Run
By methodically taking profits (and tranches of the initial investment) off the table, we create the opportunity to take more risk with our remaining open position.
And the final leg of the GLW call turned into a monster winner for us over the next few months, as you can see in the final trade alert, which was sent on February 12, 2026.
Sell Existing Position: Sell your GLW March 67.5 Calls for $63.50 or more.
Growth stocks are getting hit hard yet again, as countless former leaders are getting blasted. And while GLW looks like the BEST growth stock out there, my “fear” is that the sellers will at some point move to stocks with meat on the bone. And with just over a month until expiration and massive profits at risk, today I’m going to proactively exit our big winning position, while recognizing that this sale may prove to be a mistake.
To execute this trade you need to:
Sell to Close your GLW March 67.5 Calls
We will walk away from this trade with a profit of approximately 1,000%.
As I wrote earlier, not every trade turns into a huge, 10x winner for us, but by trading within a well-defined and fine-tuned system, we control portfolio-level risk and maximize the number of opportunities that we have to swing for the fences.
To learn more about the Cabot Options Trader services, click here.
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