Beth Gaston Moon

Beth Gaston Moon

With more than a decade of experience as a financial journalist and market analyst, Beth Gaston Moon writes about stocks and options from her home in Chicago, IL.

Beth began her derivatives-market career in the research department of Cincinnati-based newsletter publisher Schaeffer’s Investment Research. She started by copy-editing The Options Advisor (the nation’s leading options newsletter) and soon began writing daily market commentaries for SchaeffersResearch.com.

After more than a decade with Schaeffer’s, Beth served as senior editor for PEAK6 Media, composing scripts, trading ideas and articles for The Options News Network. Most recently, she was the senior content and product manager for retail brokerage OptionsHouse.

In 2004, Beth was recognized as a “Woman in Finance” by Money Show Digest. Her market comments have appeared in several media outlets, including Dow Jones Newswires, CBS MarketWatch, Money Show Digest and Reuters. She has also been a contributing author for Forbes.com and Active Trader and Stocks, Futures & Options magazines.

Recent Articles

How to Read Options Quotes

How to read options quotes and make sense of open interest, volume and expiration cycles.

How to Price Options

The price of an option is influenced by the stock price, time left until the option expires, and the volatility of the stock. Learn how to price options.

How to Read Options Symbols

All options symbols are 21 characters long. While this seems like it would make the symbology difficult to understand, the uniform options symbol format is easy to understand.

Options Pricing

Strike price is an important part of the options contract and the only static variable that contributes to option’s pricing. Learn which factors impact the price of options.

4 Ways Target Can Grow Without Growing

Target turns 50 this year, and may be getting too big to grow further. Here are four ways the chain hopes to attract new customers without expanding.

Best Buy CEO Drama Inspires Options Traders

Short-term calls and puts ignite with activity as CEO leaves the building.

Q1 Earnings Outlook Looks Dubious

First-quarter earnings growth is expected to be stagnant, but we should be thankful for these low expectations.

Same-Store Sales Growth Springs Up Again

An early Easter and warm weather keep the happy streak going (for some), including upside surprises at Target, Macy’s and others.

Bulls Expect a Breakout in Disney

Disney shares are trading lower Wednesday, providing an entry point for bullish option traders using both call and put options.

3 Options Trades on Volatile Stocks

A look at the 10 optionable U.S. stocks that currently have the highest beta rankings, and bullish option strategy ideas on three high-volatility names.