Pfizer (PFE) and Iron Mountain (IRM) lead the Bull Strangle watch list for this week

How the Bull Strangle Watch List Identifies High-Quality Income Candidates

Successful option income strategies rarely begin with the option chain. They begin with stock selection. The underlying stock determines the stability of price movement, the reliability of option premiums, and ultimately the probability that an options-based income strategy will perform as expected. This idea sits at the core of the Bull Strangle Strategy—a systematic approach to stock-backed income that combines stock ownership with the sale of both put and call options. Because the strategy benefits from orderly price behavior, the process begins with building a carefully constructed Bull Strangle Watch List.

Why the Watch List Matters

Many option traders focus primarily on implied volatility when selecting trades. While volatility is important, experience shows that price path stability is just as critical. Stocks that trend gradually or consolidate within well-defined ranges tend to produce more reliable income opportunities than those prone to sudden, erratic moves.

The Bull Strangle Watch List is designed to identify stocks that exhibit several key characteristics:

• Strong options liquidity with active weekly options
• Sufficient implied volatility to generate attractive premiums
• Stable price behavior relative to historical volatility
• Constructive technical structure
• Sector diversification to reduce concentration risk

Using these parameters helps create a pool of candidates that can be evaluated each week for potential trades within the strategy’s four-week ladder framework.

A Structured Screening Process

Each stock in the universe is evaluated using a combination of volatility, liquidity, and trend metrics. Among the factors considered are:

• Implied vs. historical volatility
• Price relative to Average True Range (ATR) to measure path stability
• Short interest levels
• Position relative to key moving averages

These metrics help filter the universe down to a manageable group of stocks that tend to produce more predictable price behavior, which is particularly valuable for income strategies that rely on time decay.

Two Stocks Currently on the Watch List

Below are two examples from the current Bull Strangle Watch List that illustrate the types of setups the screening process tends to identify.

Pfizer (PFE)

Shares of Pfizer have been gradually trending higher over the past several months, forming a sequence of higher lows since late 2025. The stock recently rallied toward the $27–$28 area, where it encountered resistance and pulled back modestly. Despite the recent pause, the broader structure remains constructive. Prices continue to hold above rising intermediate-term moving averages, suggesting the longer-term trend is stabilizing after the extended decline following the pandemic. Recent consolidation appears to represent a normal pause within an improving trend. Technical support is developing near $26 and along the rising trendline from the December lows. Continued stabilization above this zone would help maintain the constructive bias.

For income traders, this slowly improving trend with defined support levels can provide a favorable backdrop for structured option positions.

Iron Mountain (IRM)

Iron Mountain has exhibited strong upward momentum over the past several months, rebounding sharply from a late-2025 pullback. The stock advanced aggressively through the first quarter of 2026, breaking above prior resistance and reaching highs near $112–$114. Following that strong advance, price action has recently shifted into consolidation, with shares trading within a relatively tight range around $106–$109. Importantly, the broader trend remains firmly intact. The stock continues to hold well above its longer-term moving averages, suggesting that the recent pullback is more likely a normal digestion of gains rather than a structural breakdown.

For traders focused on option income, this type of behavior—strong trend followed by controlled consolidation—often provides opportunities to structure positions around clearly defined support zones.

Building a Repeatable Income Process

The goal of the Bull Strangle Watch List is not to predict short-term market direction. Instead, it seeks to identify stocks whose price behavior tends to support consistent income generation.

By combining structured screening with disciplined position management, the strategy focuses on creating repeatable opportunities across multiple stocks and sectors rather than relying on a single market call.

Over time, this approach can help smooth performance by spreading risk across a diversified group of candidates while maintaining exposure to stocks with favorable volatility and technical characteristics.

Learn More About the Bull Strangle Strategy

The concepts behind the watch list and the broader framework are explored in detail in the book The Bull Strangle Strategy: Stock-Backed Income Using Dual Option Selling, which explains the principles, decision rules, and risk management techniques for implementing the strategy.

For traders interested in seeing the process applied in real time, the Bull Strangle Newsletter publishes the current watch list, market insights, and trade examples that illustrate how the strategy is implemented week to week.

Together, the book and newsletter provide a comprehensive look at how disciplined stock selection and structured option selling can combine to create a repeatable, income-focused trading framework.