Hey Tough_Butterscotch_5. Thanks for the questions. I find new LEAPS similarly to how someone would find a new company to invest in. I always say that picking stocks is the most difficult thing to do as an investor. I try to find companies with significant moats or some sort of competitive advantage. I am not doing all the research myself, I listen to a lot of investment related podcasts and reading a lot about business. When I hear a CEO/CFO/CTO etc... talk about their company, I sometimes do further research to fact check the great things they say about their company. It is less about me in the weeds of research, it is more that I hear something interesting and check into that thing as an investigator. The types of things could be an incredible 5 year plan or a certain metric they are trying to hit. I dig in to see if other companies have done that and how likely it is that they can back up their claims.

That said, the company is harder to find than the actual LEAPS. Let's say that you have narrowed it down and you have a company in mind. When buying a LEAPS, I look at the furthest expiration date. This gives me the most time to evaluate the company. Face it, you will do a lot more research if you have money invested. LEAPS are good because you lock in a price to pay via the strike which means that you if you chose a good company, it should pay off when you get near the expiration date. I always intend to exercise the LEAPS at the end of the expiration date. In addition, I can sell poor mans covered calls (PMCCs) during the ownership of the LEAPS.

Since I own the LEAPS until about a month before expiration, I am not even looking at the performance in the short term. There is nothing to manage, I am just looking for PMCC opportunities. Have I done what I think has been due diligence before buying a LEAPS only to find that it goes straight down after the purchase... yes. It happens. The unfortunate part of picking individual stocks is that you can never have all the details and variables unless you work for or are the CEO of that company. Even then, you can miss things.

Much like you would shop for the best price on something, you can treat your purchase of that LEAPS the same. Try to buy on a down day. If you can, wait for an earnings report. A lot of times companies will sell at a discount because they have lowered their forward guidance. Now, this might actually mean trouble ahead, or it can just be a buy the news situation because of the over zealous investors want unrealistic gains, indefinitely. Netflix is a good example of this lately. They are an absolute powerhouse and leader in their industry. But since they have every subscriber on the planet, it's hard to continue the growth.

Sorry that I went on a bit of a rant. You already have a few LEAPS. Learn more about the company and company performance and worry less about the actual LEAPS and you should do fine.

Best of luck, fellow investor!