It's the time of year when investors expect Santa to come to town, stuffing their stockings with profits. Over the years, there has been an upward bias in December dubbed "the Santa Claus Rally," and it has been a reliable tendency to spread holiday cheer. Since 1945, December has had an upward bias – nearly 1.5% on average – with about a three in four chance of producing winning trades.

This year is shaping up to be no different. And we're going to help you make the most of it with the best call options to trade right now. The Santa Claus trade itself is a bit more specific, as this year expected to run from the first trading day after Christmas – Dec. 28, 2020 – until the second trading day of the New Year – Jan. 5, 2021. It has produced winners about two-thirds of the time over the past 74 years for an average gain of 1.3%.

That's why Money Morning's options trading specialist, Tom Gentile, is excited to bring you a trade that could potentially return 150% by Jan. 8. Of course, you might be thinking 1.3% doesn't sound like a lot. But don't forget that it takes place over just six trading days, and it's an average over all stocks. With the right research, we can look at only those stocks that will crush the average. Then we'll juice the returns even more with an options trade.

To find a trade with a real chance of cashing in on this rally, Tom starts his proprietary Money Calendar. This tool shows him which stocks have performed the best during this time period. Match that up with the Santa Rally and we start with a solid foundation for a trade.

Of course, building a profitable options trade takes more than finding the right stock to play. You also need to find the right option at the right price to maximize your potential. Options prices are based on many factors, such as strike price and expiration date. But the most important factor for options prices for us is implied volatility (IV).

Implied volatility measures the expected demand for an option. The higher the IV, the more in-demand and the more expensive the option; the lower the IV, the lower the demand and the cheaper the option. If you have to pay too much for an option because demand is high, you might not make as much money, even if the stock moves in the right direction.

That's why Tom is targeting stocks with historically great performance during this time period that have low IV, which means you can get them cheaper, maximizing your upside. Here's the options trade.

The Best Call Options to Trade

One stock the Money Calendar has turned up with great Santa Claus potential and low IV is Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (KNX). This company provides trucking and logistics services, so it is tied into the economic rebound now underway. Even more important, it is set up for a breakout from its current November-December trading range, so we have a stock that tends to do well this time of year with relatively low implied volatility. Just what we need for success.

Tom recommends a trade called a bullish call spread because it makes money when a stock moves modestly higher. This is a short-term trade, so we want a strategy that gives us the best chance of cashing in. Even better, the net cost of a spread trade is lower than just buying a call option outright.

With a spread, we buy a call with a strike price at or just above the price of the underlying stock. At the same time, we sell a call with a strike price perhaps $5 above the first strike price. The money we collect for selling the higher-strike option partially offsets the price we pay for the lower-strike option, so our net cost – and risk – is lower.

The only drawback is the profit potential of this trade is capped, so if the underlying stock skyrockets, we won't see a bigger gain. Since we don't expect that to happen in the short term, it is not much to give up. Here is an example of a bullish call spread for Knight-Swift:

• Buy KNX Jan. 15, 2021 $45 call.
• Sell KNX Jan. 15, 2021 $50 call.

Hold through the end of the Santa Claus period, and then sell what you bought and buy back what you sold to exit. Your risk is limited to the net cost of the trade.