Apple shares just hit a record. Here's how trader Mike Khouw is playing the move

Apple continues to prove itself as the ultimate market safe haven. Even as broader tech names and momentum plays have faltered, Apple has hit new all-time highs. Investors view the Cupertino titan as uniquely "above the fray," remaining largely insulated from the eye-watering AI capital expenditure cycles of the mega-cap hyperscalers while avoiding the supply chain exposure of pure-play chipmakers. It has also, so far, avoided some of the pain that some in the AI mosh pit have suffered recently.Stock Chart IconStock chart iconApple, YTDHeading into this quarter's earnings report Thursday after the bell, options pricing reflects this calm. The options market implies a modest post-earnings move of just 3.8%, making volatility premiums surprisingly reasonable across the board. Here two ways to play it into earnings, one to hedge and the other to play for a move higher. Strategy 1: The Low-Cost Portfolio Hedge (For Long Holders)For investors sitting on substantial gains, protecting profits ahead of the print is rarely this inexpensive. Institutional flow is already signaling a defensive tilt: one of the more notable institutional blocks that traded today was exactly that, a purchase of...