The VIX move down has been fairly lackluster during this rally… we are not seeing the falling knife that often forms. This may be because there was no capitulation low last week. This may signal a bear market rally that won’t hold, or it could be a stealth rally that just keeps going up even though no one believes in it. Watching Robert’s resistance levels; I’m bullish for this week into OpEx, cautious after that.
Monthly Archives: February 2016
SPX Call spread
STO Mar 4 2010/2020 BeCS @ 0.50
Dumped BePS
#SPXcampaign Sold to close $SPX March 11th 1895/1880 bear put spreads for 5.20. Bought for 8.00 on Friday. If we have more downside coming, my timing was definitely off.
NUGT opener
NUGT opener
#ContangoETFs STO NUGT Sep 80 call for 11.20 (highest strike). First of several rolls I owe myself from closed underwater positions.
Earnings update
#Earnings – PCLN’s move up is highest on earnings since Aug 2012. I will look to close the call spread today, at breakeven or small loss if necessary, as this one could definitely be a runner.
FOSL also broke its downward trend to pop on earnings… I have the rest of this week to see if it can drift below 35, which is breakeven area on my put butterfly.
SPX Resistance for Today.
GM
Resistance today for the SPX: 1898-1900; 1904-1908; 1917-1920; 1930-35 and 1946-50
We’ll probably open above 1900 so that would become support.
Remember that at 2:00 PM the FOMC report today…so it can go either way.
Also FOMC member Bullard is scheduled to speak at 6:00PM EST.
Industrial production rises 0.9% in Jan 0.5% above what was expected…that pushed the futures higher this morning….
$KMI Looks like selling the…
$KMI Looks like selling the 16.50 Calls yesterday wasn’t my best trade. Up a 1.50+ this morning. ;>( Will probably roll it next week if necessary.
/VX VIX futures
Sold 24.00 and bought back at 23.75 for a nice little 25 tick overnighter. Back to bed!
$NUGT
OK, this is a Fuzzball type of trade. My account will do best right now if $NUGT stay’s above $40 until at least friday, so to help encourage that:
STO Feb 19 $47 call @ $1.65
I’m on a business trip and very busy during the day so missed the opportunity this morning to sell additional calls at better prices. Did sell some but not great entry’s. Apparently $GS put out a note today telling people to sell #Gold, so just in case that continues to ripple through to the miners, I chased a bit and sold more calls than I normally would have with the stock down 20%. Might get some bounce with better prices, or might just keep going down.
STO Sept $80 call @ $11.40
STO June $75 call @ $7.50
STO Mar 4 $75 calls @ $0.85
STO Mar 11 $75 calls @ $1.45
STO Jun $80 call @ $7.00
$KMI STO 2/26/16 16.50 CALLS…
$KMI STO 2/26/16 16.50 CALLS @.40
$KMI STO 2/26/16 15.0 PUTS @.45 Gotta win one. ;>), Wouldn’t mind owning the stock @14.55.
FOSL earnings
#Earnings Trying a low cost speculative play on this. FOSL usually goes down on earnings, so…
Sold to Open bearish butterfly: Feb 19th 28/32/36 put fly for .83. Volatility should plummet tomorrow; breakevens on Friday are 28.85 (16% down) and 35.18 (2% up). Look to make a double or more if we spend any time in 32.00 area for rest of the week.
$NUGT #ShortPuts #Weeklys – Sold…
$NUGT #ShortPuts #Weeklys – Sold NUGT(Weekly) FEB 26 2016 30.5 Puts @ 0.75.
These expire a week from Friday
$TWTR #coveredcalls Sold March 4…
$TWTR #coveredcalls Sold March 4 18 calls @ .35. Isn’t it about time that Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Verizon, Yahoo, Disney and Apple start a bidding war for Twitter? Dream big!
Earnings timing
#Earnings — Just a quick note to share an observation. While volatility typically keeps rising in the weeks and days before earnings, the same is not always true in the hours before the close… If selling naked options or credit spreads, it is often much better to sell in the morning before the release, whether than waiting until afternoon. The problem with selling early is if the stock makes a big intraday move, which can throw off your trade dynamics before the close. But often, an intraday move won’t matter; the drop in IV will overpower a move in the stock.
Take my PCLN trade from this morning, STO Feb 19th 875/900/1275/1300 iron condor for 1.35. Since I traded it, PCLN has moved UP 35 points, or 3%. However, the condor has already bled out. The call side alone was sold for .75 and now is trading for about the same, even though we’ve had a 3% move against the calls. The put side has dropped from .75 to .25.
Just something to keep in mind. I’ve heard some say they that last half-hour before earnings is highest IV. This is normally not true (although it is sometimes). Best IV is most usually in the first half-hour, even on earnings days.
$NUGT #ShortPuts – Sold NUGT…
$NUGT #ShortPuts – Sold NUGT Feb 19 2016 33.0 Puts @ 0.30
Also got a partial fill on some NUGT Feb 19 2016 30.0 Puts @ 0.15
Both expire Friday
GOOGL Iron Condor
STO Feb 19 770/760/680/670 for 0.41 when GOOGL trading about 718.
3 days till expiration.
NUGT & DUST
#ContangoETFs
BTC DUST June 25 call for .40. Sold for 2.15 on Jan 11th
BTC NUGT Feb 26th 37 call for 9.00. Sold for 1.35. I have been scaling down my underwater positions without rolling yet. If we get another surge higher I will look to sell longer dated, higher positions.
$NUGT #ShortCalls – rolled some…
$NUGT #ShortCalls – rolled some of this week’s short call positions out and way, way up. The pressure is off for this week.
Bought to close NUGT FEB 19 2016 40.0 Calls @ 9.64
Sold to open NUGT JUN 17 2016 80.0 Calls @ 9.36 (Highest available strike price).
Bought to close NUGT FEB 19 2016 36.0 Calls @ 12.07
Sold to open NUGT SEP 16 2016 80.0 Calls @ 12.32 (Highest available strike price)
Closed SPX BePS
Closed the SPX Mar 4th 1890/1880 for $4.10; bought it for $5.20 on Friday….So I lost $1.10
SPX put closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Feb 26th 1675/1650 put spreads for .20 Sold for 1.25 on Jan 25th. This is my last put credit spread, leaving me 100% short on the SPX strategy…. maybe just in time for a full market recovery? That’s the tough element in this strategy, but it is fully manageable if you follow the rules. My lowest short strike is the 1950 calls. I will look to roll out positions based on what Fib levels get cleared and if the VIX falls below 16.93. I believe we can rally even above 2000 before bears take back the reigns, but we need to be ready in case the correction has ended.
PCLN earnings
#Earnings Sold to Open $PCLN Feb 19th 875/900/1275/1300 iron condors for 1.35. Over last 12 earnings, Biggest UP move: 8.5% , Biggest DOWN move: -9.6% , Average move: 4.8% . Short strikes are each over 17% OTM.
FB tanking
FB tanking
OPEC News: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-16/oil-freeze-iraq-ready-to-cap-output-iran-to-maintain-share
OPEC News:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-16/oil-freeze-iraq-ready-to-cap-output-iran-to-maintain-share
$UVXY Closed March 18 30/25…
$UVXY Closed March 18 30/25 BuPS for .49, sold for 1.03 on Feb. 10. Thanks Fuzzball
$UVXY BTC 2/19/16 70.0 PUTS…
$UVXY BTC 2/19/16 70.0 PUTS @.15 Hey, good idea Jeff, opened up some margin power.
SPX
STO Mar 18 2030/2040 BeCS for 0.55
$ETE STO 3/4/16 7.50 CALLS…
$ETE STO 3/4/16 7.50 CALLS @.45 With this trade I made a short strangle w/the 3/4/16 4.50 PUTS.
$NUGT STO 3/11/16 30.0 PUTS @1.45 Fuzzball’s idea, my strike.
VXX and UVXY closed
Closed some profits early to clear space.
BTC VXX Feb 19 32/35 call spreads for .07. Previously sold for .25
BTC UVXY Feb 19 68/70 call spreads for .08. Previously sold for .20
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign In pre-market, Bought to close $SPX March 11th 1600/1575 put spreads for .50. Sold for 1.25. Stop was set higher than usual to avoid longer exposure.
UVXY trimming
#VXXGame Booked several near-term positions, all at 90% max profit or higher:
BTC UVXY Feb 19th 29 puts for .03
BTC UVXY Feb 26th 28 puts for .03
BTC UVXY Feb 19th 85 calls for .05
BTC UVXY Feb 26th 85 calls for .43
BTC UVXY Feb 26th 95 calls for .23
BTC UVXY Feb 26th 110 calls for .09
SPX call spread, March monthly
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX March 17th 2025/2050 call spreads for 1.50, with SPX at 1886.
UVXY moving up steadily despite…
UVXY moving up steadily despite decent strength in SPX
Fibs Resistance at 1878-1880; 1886-1895;…
Fibs Resistance at 1878-1880; 1886-1895; 1925-28; 1935-1945 and 1998-2000.
#Gold $NUGT
Are pulling back but are well off the low’s and bouncing strongly. Gold is $20+ off it’s low and $NUGT is $5 off it’s low, still down $6, but well off the low’s.
/VX VIX futures
Booking a little winner while I can. Big pullback today in these. Originally sold @ 24.15…bought ’em back at 23.90 for a little 25 tick winner. Looking to re-load above 24 again.
$NUGT
I made some trades on Friday but was very busy and didn’t have time to talk about the what and why.
Given the strength in $NUGT, I sold some additional puts to give me more protection if $NUGT just keeps running, and gives be a bigger window for making money if we do get some pull backs short term. I’m thinking that the strength in $NUGT/$GDX on friday was short covering before the weekend and any further pullback in Gold will show itself in a pull back in $GDX/$NUGT. Longer term puts were sold such that if I do get put stock, that will happen in the $20’s or lower. Likely be able to close for a profit long before expiration. Gold will eventually either stabilize or pull back, both will reduce volatility/reduce options premiums (vol suck).
STO Feb 19 $50 puts @ $4.00 to pair up with my short $50 calls. I now have a profitable window from $55.20 down to $44.80 so with a short week and any sort of pull back, I’m likely to end up in that window. Below $46 and I roll the put down and out. Above $54 and I roll the call up and out.
STO Mar 11 $40 puts @ $3.30 against $70 calls, now profitable between $75 and $35
STO June $40 puts @ $9.90 against $70/$72 calls, stock put to me @ effectively $26
STO Jan’17 $53 puts @ $26 against $75 calls, stock put to me effectively below $20
If we get a pull back this week (improving put premium), I will be looking to sell Feb 26 puts against my $60 calls. I still have a few other call positions not covered with short puts while I monitor how this plays out.
Time will tell if this was a smart move or not.
Hope you all have a great weekend.
Expiration 2/12/16
Starting slowly. Still listing! (-:
100% Max Profits
SVXY 30 puts
UVXY 29 Puts
SPXW 1775/1800 BUPS
SPXW 2040/2015 BECS
Closed Early
MCD Strangle 125/122 BECS // 110/115 BUPS Sold for $1.55, bought back for $.55
Options Expiration 2/12/16
#OptionsExpiration Quite a tough week, with a bullish feeling at the end… rally into next week or more downside ahead?
— Expiring with 100% of max profit:
NUGT 30 and 30.5 puts
UVXY 70 calls
UVXY 29 puts
SPX 1770/1745 put spreads
SPX 1790/1765 put spreads
SPX 1925/1950 call spreads
SPX 1990/2015 call spreads
— Assignment —
VLO 66 put, short stock position closed
#OptionsExpiration – a tough week…
#OptionsExpiration – a tough week with rallies in both Gold and the VIX. The big one is next week
— Expirations —
CMG (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 400 Puts (Covered)
CMG (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 402.5 Puts (Covered)
CMG (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 405 Puts (Covered)
CMG (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 407.5 Puts (Covered)
CMG (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 410 Puts (Covered)
DUST (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 8 Calls (Covered)
DUST (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 8.5 Calls (Covered)
FCX (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 6.5 Calls (Covered)
NFLX (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 102 Calls
NUGT (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 31 Puts (Covered)
NUGT (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 30.5 Puts
NUGT (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 30 Puts
NUGT (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 29 Puts
NUGT (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 28.5 Puts
TSLA (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 82 Puts
TWTR (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 20 Calls (Covered)
UVXY (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 85 Calls
UVXY (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 95 Calls
— Assignments —
DUST (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 9 Puts
DUST (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 9.5 Puts
NUGT (Weekly) Feb 12 2016 40 Calls (Covered)
#OptionsExpiration
$NUGT $30 puts
$NUGT $45 puts
$NUGT $50 puts
$UVXY $66 Calls
$UVXY $75 Calls
$UVXY 85 Calls
#OptionsExpiration for 2/12 $NFLX 02/12/2016…
#OptionsExpiration for 2/12
$NFLX 02/12/2016 101.00 calls
$TSLA 02/12/2016 110.00 puts
$TWTR 02/12/2016 19.00 calls
$UVXY 02/12/2016 66.00 calls
$UVXY 02/12/2016 70.00 calls
$UVXY 02/12/2016 85.00 calls
$UVXY 02/12/2016 95.00 calls
$SPX 02/12/2016 1795/1770 put spreads
No assignments this week.
Have a great 3 day weekend!
#Gold $NUGT
Gold down today, yet $NUGT up 8%
NUGT #ShortCalls #RollOut – I…
NUGT #ShortCalls #RollOut – I can’t believe gold is still moving up while the market rallies and the VIX is dropping
Bought to close NUGT FEB 12 2016 35.0 Calls @ 20.40
Sold to Open NUGT SEP 16 2016 56.0 Calls @ 22.03
$ETE STO 3/4/16 4.50 PUTS…
$ETE STO 3/4/16 4.50 PUTS @.55 Done for the day.
Option Expiration: WLL 6.00 CALLS Expired
Have a safe and great weekend everyone. ;>)
Taking some profits on ZSL
Bought to close $ZSL May 20 90 calls @ .40. Sold for 3.25 (actually 6.50 pre-2:1 split) on 11/12/15. No sense holding these for another 3+ months for the last .40, especially with the high carrying cost.
SPX put DEBIT spread
#SPXcampaign Putting money where my bearish mouth is… half-sized position,
Bought to Open $SPX March 11th 1650/1625 put spreads for 1.40. Idea is to double money next week if we push back down toward 1800. This is in addition to Robert’s ITM put spread I bought below.
BTC $UVXY 2/12/16 70.0 CALL…
BTC $UVXY 2/12/16 70.0 CALL @.03 Thanks to Jeff for this idea.
BTC $ETE 2/26/16 3.50 PUTS @.15
STO $UVXY 2/19/16 70.0CALLS @1.04 To replace the above, and yah, I know $UVXY’s down, but no premium in puts unless you go out in time, and I just wanted to get more familiar with Jeff’s idea.
BTO SPX Mar 11 1895/1880…
BTO SPX Mar 11 1895/1880 BePS at $8.20…There is a K-Node at 1893-95 so I’ll place my stop at 1905.50 to get out if it breaks above the K-Node….The max Loss at that level should be less than $185 pp….
SPX spreads, closing early for profit.
Closed two spreads today for early, but nice profit.
SPX Feb 12 1870/1880 Call spread, STO yesterday for 0.50 and BTC today for 0.20.
SPX Feb 19 2020/2010/1700/1690 IC, STO for 1.45 and BTC today for 0.20.
I’ll take those and enjoy my Valentine’s weekend.
SPX spreads, I sold the following today:March 4, 2000/2025 for 0.55, March 11,2000/2025 call spread for 1.15 and April 1, 2035/2065 for 1.40
BIB stock
Trading around a core position. In 36 the other day now out at 37.90 for a quickie.
$GDX
Catching a bid again today even though Gold is down somewhat.
UVXY puts
Phone trading again from gate D42 MIA. Lol…
Closed Feb 38 puts @ 06. Sold for 2.26 after multiple roll ups.
Sold Mar week 2 35 puts @ 1.15. A little late to the party but following Jeff.
Like the spread idea also. Trying for monthly 35/32 @ .75 in #IRA.
$NUGT
STO Feb 12 $50 puts @ $0.80
Sold this morning when it looked like $NUGT was going to continue higher
$SPX
$SPX Jeff, followed you in this trade. I agree there is a lot of overhead resistance. Sold to open Mar 4th 1980/2005 BeCS @ 1.25 when $SPX traded at 1856.40. If this gets in trouble then the rest of portfolio will be happy.
Closing March CMG
Closing the position I put on 4 days ago and taking a little better than 50% max profit. In this market (and particularly with this stock) I didn’t want to wait more than a month for the other 50%.
Bought to close $CMG Mar 18 375 put @ 2.85. Sold for 6.10 on 2/8.
SPX call spread
#SPXcampaign, I guess I am 5 points more patient than @Ramie…
Sold to Open $SPX March 4th 1980/2005 call spreads for 1.25, with SPX at 1857.
Selling SPX call spreads
Sold $SPX Mar 4 1975/2000 call spread @ 1.40 credit. Short strike is well above resistance levels, and outside of 1 standard deviation (1963).
UVXY
BTC $UVXY Feb 19th 70 calls for 1.20. Sold for 2.75. Good enough profit to close this; it was my lowest strike and don’t want to risk what could be a volatile week. Replaced them with…
STO UVXY March 11th 35 puts for 1.35
Smaller account: STO UVXY March 18th 35/33 put spreads for .52
There is a lot of…
There is a lot of resistance above this level on the SPX; there is 1862-65, then 1893-1900 and then 1945-50; if we push over the 1900 level, there may be enough short covering to push it to the next level at 1945-50…Who knows.
Price action today has been really sluggish, but we’ll see.
Trimming
In addition to the ETFs I mentioned below, I am also scaling back on some troubled long positions, as I feel we will be going lower overall in the coming weeks. PLEASE do not take that as gospel… there are some who think we may have made a sufficient base at support around the Oct 2014 lows and will now grind or fly higher. Could be. But my opinion has formed since November’s slide down and only gotten stronger. Perhaps my posting of this will signal the bottom! But until that is clear, I remain bearish.
STC $DATA stock for 40.67. This was earnings assignment from 62 puts. Closed half the position before stock was assigned, now reducing more. I have sold one covered call (March 45)
BTC $NOW Feb 19th 60 puts at 12.00, avg price. Still holding on to some, offset with short calls
If these were stocks like DIS or MSFT going underwater, holding through pain will eventually pay off. But these companies are less liquid and could bleed off and never recover.
$LNKD #ironcondor sold a March…
$LNKD #ironcondor sold a March 18 95/90/120/125 @ 2.06, stock is at 101 and change, thinking it is oversold
NUGT and KOLD
I’ve come under some margin pressure for over-sized call positions in both these names. I have been scaling back, closing my only remaining ITM KOLD call and a few NUGT ITM calls. I am refraining from new positions now. As I don’t want to limit my margin power in the future, I will hold off on selling multiple calls on these ETF’s until they are in a very strong uptrend. The spikes seem to happen often enough, but during the boring parts in between I sell too many that then go underwater. I am not rolling now as that wouldn’t help the margin issue, so I will look to profit from these #ContangoETFs in the coming weeks. I still have multiple OTM calls that should be safe in both KOLD and NUGT.
#Markets – remember that the…
#Markets – remember that the markets are closed on Monday. Only a 4 day trading week to bleed premium away faster
GOLD
Just wow. No end in sight. Few Call spreads and a June 72 call hurting, but broke even on the day because I bought a 1300 next week /gc call@1.70 last night and sold it today @10.90
Ironically, it matched the loss I have in a few of my NUGT position to give me a break even day in gold.
1400 in gold seems probable soon at this rate.
$VIX earlier today closed a…
$VIX earlier today closed a 21/26 BuCS, made about 2.50.
$SWHC #coveredcalls followed somebody from yesterday, can’t find his post, Feb. 19, 23 covered call for 21.19
This is Smith and Wesson
The Nasdaq Composite is now…
The Nasdaq Composite is now up for the day
Unreal.
Closing some KOLD positions
Today’s action really strained buying power so I closed these positions for nice profits instead of waiting for expiration. The margin requirements for this ticker are large enough that it freed up a good chunk of buying power.
BTC $KOLD Feb 19 320 call @ .77 (sold for 10.00 on 12/22)
BTC $KOLD Feb 19 270 calls @ .75 (sold for 1.40-2.70 from 1/14-2/2)
BTC $KOLD Feb 19 250 call @ .90 (sold for 4.00 on 12/30)
BTC $KOLD Feb 19 220 call @ 1.50 (sold for 4.20 on 1/6)
SPX calls
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Feb 29th (monthlys) 1950/1975 call spreads for 1.45.
OPEC reportedly ready to cut…
OPEC reportedly ready to cut output = bounce
$UVXY $VIX
$VIX above $30, $UVXY above $60. A lot of fear in the air.
FB mgt
#Earnings #ShortStock Sold to Open $FB March 4th 110 calls for 1.00 and April 1st 112 call for 1.75. Also, BTC Feb 12th 110 put for 9.20. This is management against my short stock position… sold too many puts when it was above 110, so backing out of some to hold the short stock for lower prices.
$UVXY
STO Feb 19 $100 calls @ $0.50 Expire next friday
$UVXY
$UVXY Sold Mar 4th 95/105 bear call spread in my IRA @ 0.80 when UVXY was at 59.24 @11:05 AM. I’m staying short term because I will be traveling early March and small to control risk. Mostly cash in the trading account.
$XBI
Went positive on the day
Options Bistro 