If a security has price X now, and one makes the assumption it will have a greater price Y later, is the option (or option spread) that will provide the best return fairly clear, including the variation of buying now and selling later, vs. selling now and buying back later?
As a concrete example, Apple is currently at \$365. Say in two months when they release earnings, the assumption is made that Apple will be \$420 or higher. Is it fairly clear which option or option pair will return the highest amount per dollar invested, investing today at this lower price? I.e. one could buy a call (which one), one could do a call spread -- either credit or debit, or likewise one might deal with puts. But, for example, selling a naked put would tie up a lot of buying power/margin in one's account, so the return on that may well be less. I.e. the return needs to factor the total money tied up in the trade.
