The Stone-Cold Earnings Trade Lock of the Week is for those looking to add a little juice to their investing experience. By utilizing the options markets, returns can be spectacular. They can also be just as volatile to the downside.

I want to take some time to outline a basic rule that I suggest you follow if you are interested in playing the Stone-Cold Earnings Trade Lock of the Week.

For starters,  these recommendations are made at the start of the trading week a day or more in advance of when the stone-cold lock of the week trade will be releasing earnings results.

The rule of thumb is to execute these trades near the close of trading before the news is announced. In so doing, you can evaluate market action and specific movements of the trade in question before placing your trade.

With the background in place, let’s take a look at four companies releasing earnings, and our lock of the week:

Deere

Machinery company Deere (NYSE:DE)reports earnings for the quarter ending April 30, 2012 on Wednesday. Wall Street is looking for a profit of $2.53 per share in the period. That number has held steady over the last 90 days. Deere  has exceeded expectations in each of the last four quarters. Shares of Deere are down more than 10% in the last 12 months. Analysts expect profits to grow 6% from the current fiscal year ending Oct. 31, 2012 to the next. At current prices, shares trade for 10 times current fiscal year estimated earnings.

Staples

Office supplier maker Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) posts earnings results for the quarter ending April 30, 2012 on Wednesday before the market opens. Wall Street is looking for a profit of 30 cents per share in the quarter. That estimate is a penny per share lower than 90 days ago.

Staples has matched or beaten slightly expectations in the last three quarters. Shares of Staples are down 26% in the last year. Analysts expect profit growth of 8% in the current fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2013. At current prices, shares trade for 10 times current fiscal year estimated earnings.

Intuit

Business software maker Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) reports earnings results for the quarter ending April 30, 2012 on Thursday after the market closes. Wall Street expects the company to make $2.48 per share in the quarter. That estimate is a penny per share lower than where estimates stood 90 days ago. Intuit has exceeded expectations in each of the last four quarters. Shares of Intuit have been flat over the last 12 months. Analysts expect profit growth of 13% from the current fiscal year ending July 31, 2012, to the next.At current prices, shares trade for 19 times current fiscal year estimated earnings.

Stone-Cold Earnings Trade Lock of the Week: With the market sliding lower, shares of Intuit are likely to fall at a greater pace due to having a high valuation relative to expected earnings growth. Buy the June expiration put contract with a $55 strike price before the market closes on Thursday.

Salesforce.com

Cloud computing company Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) reports earnings results for the period ending April 30, 2012 on Thursday after the market closes. Wall Street expects a profit of 34 cents per share in the quarter; 90 days ago the estimate was for the company to make 36 cents per share.

Salesforce.com  has matched or beaten slightly estimates over the last four quarters. Shares of Salesforce.com have inched higher by less than 5% over the last year.

Analysts expect profit growth of 19% in the current fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2012. At current prices, shares trade for 101 times current fiscal year estimated earnings