Is Goldman's Apple Inc. Options Strategy Practical?

Apple Inc. AAPL is one of the most traded stocks on the market and Goldman Sachs is one of the most followed firms on Wall Street. Naturally, anything the latter says about the former is passed around by traders.

Goldman's latest commentary on Apple comes via CNBC; the firm recently unveiled how one can play the stock in the options market.

"The investment bank's options research team points out that compared to S&P 500 options, bullish and bearish bets on Apple are unusually cheap," Michelle Caruso-Cabrera explained on the broadcast. Susquehanna's Stacey Gilbert and Crossing Wall Street's Eddy Elfenbein joined her to discuss Goldman's Apple options strategy.

"I'm not a huge fan of saying 'buy a straddle'...[Apple's product launch] and upcoming earnings are being priced in," Gilbert said.

Options volatility is high, she added. Apple options volatility relative to the S&P 500 looks "inexpensive," but "you have to sell the S&P 500 volatility against it." That makes the play a strategy for a sophisticated investor, but not the average investor.

Elfenbein agreed with Gilbert. "What we're also seeing is that Apple no longer surprises the market like it used to," he said. "It's just not the kind of company that bulls over Wall Street like a couple years ago."

It may be better to consider the equity.

Apple stock last traded near $93.50 as of this writing.