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Gianluca Longinotti

Gianluca Longinotti

Finance Writer - Traders Education

Gianluca Longinotti is an experienced trader, advisor, and financial analyst with over a decade of professional experience in the banking sector, trading, and investment services. Known for his rigorous approach and deep understanding of market dynamics, Gianluca specializes in derivatives and cyclical analysis, with a strong emphasis on options trading strategies and macroeconomic frameworks.

Gianluca is the founder of Cycle Quest, a project focused on applying cyclical models to financial markets, economic indicators, and more. With an international academic background and a passion for data-driven decision-making, Gianluca empowers traders and investors with expert insights, clear strategy frameworks, and cutting-edge tools.

Education

References

Experience

  • Over a decade of experience trading options, with a focus on defined-risk strategies such as vertical spreads, iron condors, and diagonals
  • Deep understanding of options pricing models like Black-Scholes and binomial trees, applied daily to position evaluation
  • Active user of the CBOE indices as a benchmark to build and test different trading strategies with options
  • Expert in managing trades using the Greeks (Delta, Theta, etc.) to dynamically adjust risk
  • I regularly post live trade setups and market reads on Gianluca’s Trades via the Option Samurai blog and my personal Stocktwits profile
  • Skilled in building algorithmic strategies in Python and Pine Script, with a focus on short-term price action and event-driven plays
  • Creator of backtesting environments tailored to options logic using Python’s Pandas and NumPy stack
  • Daily use of TradingView, Interactive Brokers, and Databento for execution, charting, and data analysis
  • Developed custom automated dashboards in Plotly and Streamlit for real-time tracking of trade performance and volatility curves
  • Frequently design strategies aligned with FOMC and macroeconomic indicators for directional and volatility bias
  • Strong foundation in fundamental analysis, with deep dives into financial statements and earnings behavior
  • Implemented statistical arbitrage and volatility modeling techniques to detect mean-reverting edges
  • Experienced in handling expiration risk, assignment logic, and optimizing trade timing around options cycles
  • Advocate for integrating behavioral finance principles to mitigate biases and improve trader discipline
  • Regularly consult with traders on strategy design, risk control, and automation to elevate their performance across market regimes
historical price RF

Trade Idea - Long Call ZEBRA on RF

Gianluca's Trades

Today I entered a bullish position on Regions Financial (RF) using a long call ZEBRA.

leap options trading

LEAP Options Trading - How to Scan, Select, and Profit from Long-Dated Calls

Tutorials

Learn how you can use Option Samurai to find the best LEAP trading options idea to add to your portfolio.

open interest report trading

Open Interest Report: How Can You Trade It? Here’s What the Backtest Shows

Research

Many traders focus on charts or news, but options positioning tells a different story. We’ve backtested our open interest report to see if it can help predict stock price moves.

long call breakeven

Breakeven Price in Options - Understand the Key to Profitable Trades

General

Knowing where a trade moves from loss to profit can change how you manage risk. What is the break even price in options, and what does break even mean in options across different strategies?

double diagonal spread PnL

Double Diagonal Spread - An Advanced Time Decay Strategy Explained

Tutorials

The double diagonal spread is a lesser-known options strategy that combines time decay and defined risk.

PGR historical price

Trade Idea – LEAP Long Call on PGR

Gianluca's Trades

Today I opened a long-dated bullish position on Progressive (PGR) using a LEAP call option.

diagonal spread typical pnl

Diagonal Spread - Learn About the Hybrid Between Vertical and Calendar Spreads

Tutorials

A diagonal spread mixes strike prices and expirations to trade directionally with limited risk. But when should you use a diagonal call spread vs. a diagonal put spread? This guide breaks it down, simply and clearly.

covered call typical

Strike Price in Options - What It Means and How It Works

General

If you’re just starting out with options, the strike price in options is one of the first things you’ll need to understand.

day trading vs option trading

Options Trading vs Day Trading - What’s the Real Difference and Which Suits You Best?

General

Comparing options trading vs day trading is like asking the difference between sugar and a cake: one can be part of the other, but not always. Is options trading day trading? Not always.

expiration date filters

Option Trading Mistakes to Avoid - Tips on How to Improve Your Trading Approach

General

In this article, we’ll go over the most common option trading mistakes that traders make and how you can avoid losses using smart planning and tools like those from Option Samurai.

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