#SPXcampaign BTC April 13th 2575/2570 BuPS for 0.40 Sold yesterday for 1.05
Monthly Archives: April 2018
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX May 11th 2825/2850 call spreads for 1.75.
MU
BTO May 18 50/50/48 Bull #Fuzzy 2.77
STO Apr 20 54 Call .46
FB
Looks like the market is happy with the testimony so far…
SPX long spreads rotated
#SPXcampaign Sold to close half of $SPX May 18th 2770/2790 call spreads for 4.25. Bought on Friday for 1.75. Holding the other half for possible end to this correction.
Bought to Open SPX Apr 27th 2450/2425 put spreads for 1.10.
XLK–rolling inverted
Rolled Apr 60/64 inverted strangle up 2 points and out to May 62/66 inverted strangle for .15 credit with XLK currently at 65.85.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Apr 20th 2700/2725 call spreads for 7.50.
SPX creeping up again… VIX going nowhere.
Closing NVDA strangle
Bought to close $NVDA Apr 27 195/265 strangle for 1.25. Sold for 4.05 on 3/27. Thanks again for the idea @fuzzballl.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX Apr 20th 2625/2600 put spreads for 6.50. Sold for 10.25 on Friday.
XOM
Rolled Apr 13 77.5 to Apr 20 80 .35 hope to break eve or small profit if we get there Apr 20 Expire date
HSIC
BTC a falling knife April 20, 60 put @ .05, sold at 1.80 on just 1 contract.
ERX
Rolled Apr 13 30.5 to Apr 20 31 .25 cr
Apr 20 is expire date
SPX Closed 1 May 18…
SPX Closed 1 May 18 2770/2790 3.80 have 2 left small profit cost <0
XBI
Rolled April 13, 91 calls to April 27, 93 calls for a credit of .28 cents. This is a 2020 fuzzy of 88 calls, 88 puts, and a hedge of 86 puts.
#SPXcampaign Sold April 13th 2710/2720…
#SPXcampaign Sold April 13th 2710/2720 BeCS for 1.40. This line is above the short term resistance of the current trading range.
Morning all #shortputs Sold to…
Morning all #shortputs Sold to open MU April 13th 49 Put @ 1.02 with MU at 49.06.
/ES Hedge
#ButterflyHedge – Just for fun…centering it down near last week’s lows expiring this Friday…
Bought to Open BUTTERFLY /ES APR 18 (Wk2) 2560/2550/2540 PUT @ .35
I did it 5 times risking 90 to make 2400
Some reversal, was there a…
Some reversal, was there a stupid tweet I missed or the Syria and trade war rhetoric back in the news?
#SPXcampaign I set up an…
#SPXcampaign I set up an April 13th 2575/2570 BuPS for 1.05 this morning. Filled on the pummeling into the close when SPX was at 2621.25.
MLM July put
Sold $MLM Jul 20 170 put @ 3.10. Will add if premium increases.
SA article: “Leveraged ETFs Decay Dashboard”
https://tinyurl.com/yafndasx
Lunch trades, work is cutting…
Lunch trades, work is cutting into my trading 🙂
FAS sold 4 DTE 65 CC for 1.74 against long stock. CB now 59.37, nice accrued rolls on this one.
NSC 18 DTE rolled out another week 128 put to 127 put for 0.3 credit. CB 126.33
FAS cold 4 DTE 65 CC against long stock for 1.77. CB now 61.88.
I was also looking at the triples and inverse funds. FAS has had several reverse splits, ERX as well. However, TQQQ, UPRO, UDOW, and TNA have only had positive splits. Not saying they cannot go low enough to reverse split but I am trying to refine this ITM debit spread idea #supercharger and I think going with names that are unlikely to reverse split would offer some additional cushion on the way down.
Trying to get the benefits of what we had with SVXY without the pain associated with it going close to zero.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX April 13th 2500/2475 put spreads for .45. Sold last Monday for 3.10.
After being whipsawed about six too many times, I’ve made two significant adjustments to survive this volatile period. I plan to stick with this until VIX is below 17.76.
Last week as we cruised higher, I got stopped on 3 call spreads and did nothing. If I’d sat on them, they would have all been winners. If I’d rolled them higher, they also would have been winners. So…
1. If I get stopped out, I need to roll FORWARD, and not reverse roll and don’t sit on my hands.
2. But before stopping out, consider just sitting on the troubled spreads. This is what I did Friday, as I sold a few put spreads early in the day, only to see them get under heavy pressure into the close. I felt certain, since we bounced off 2585 again, and because market keeps whipsawing, that we’d be up today. Wasn’t the most relaxing weekend, but I got the bounce.
So while I’ve closed one put spread today, I’m not selling calls. I’ll look for higher levels tomorrow and then start selling some calls, then wait for the next deep dive before selling puts.
#spxcampaign tried my luck again…
#spxcampaign
tried my luck again buy Apr 09 2635 puts 5.30, close 3.80
I guess today I am the grease that keeps the wheels turning.
FB
#LongCalls – I agree with Whiz and @jsd501 . Facebook isn’t going out of business any time soon and premiums are fantastic. Going with the basic long calls and selling against them. Only 1.50 more out of pocket up front but a 2.70 less max loss vs the synthetic.
Bought to Open FB JAN 18 2019 160.0 Calls @ 18.50
Only going out to Jan 2019 so 41 weeks to cover max loss requires 45 cents per week. This particular trade doesn’t even seem that directional. With the premiums available (Zuck testifying and earnings approaching) a big chunk of this will be recovered in the first 3 weeks. Even at just a dollar a week the trade makes 22.50.
So:
Sold FB APR 13 2018 162.5 Calls @ 1.64
#spxcampaign try again buy Apr…
#spxcampaign
try again buy Apr 09 2625 put for $6.70, place sell at $9.70
#spxcampaign buy Apr 09 2625…
buy Apr 09 2625 put for $10.50, have sell in at $12.50, got close
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX May 11th 2400/2375 put spreads for 1.75. I’m expecting an up day… hopefully a decent rally but it may be muted. If VIX or put/call ratio start acting up, my theory may change.
Morning. We finished the Escape…
Morning. We finished the Escape room set Saturday and now its time to refocus on the market. I’ not in any hurry.
Good Morning all
Good Morning all
Econ Calendar for week of 4/9/18
Be sure to periodically click Home/REFRESH to keep Bistro features updated.
Blue asterisk refers to “market moving indicator.”
Synthetic Thoughts
FWIW…just some random things going through my mind (scary, I know!) concerning these longer term positions I’ve been trading.
1. If the stock implodes just after setting the trade the overall position will show a big loss initially. As time goes by, further drops won’t be quite as extreme.
2. What will a synthetic look like at expiration if it’s sitting at max loss? Correct me if I’m wrong:
Long call will be at zero and the short put and disaster put will be showing a loss equal to their width.
3. By using 2 above, I can calculate how much more possible downside is sitting in the current position….if you want to assume the worst that we wake up tomorrow and the market has sold off so far that all synthetics immediately go to max loss…and can my account handle that?
4. How would I handle a worse case scenario whipsaw near the end of the trade that results in the weekly short calls being well in the money but below the core at expiration? Chances are if it gets to that point there’s a ton of profit realized already. I could take the loss on the short calls and move on down the road or…what I would probably do is roll the calls up and out and set up a new synthetic and start all over since the stock could be recovering at this point.
5. I’ve looked around online and there are lots of sites talking about the LEAP diagonals but most only concern themselves with just selling monthlies and if you’re wrong on the direction to just take the losses and look for something else. Can’t find anyone talking about selling weekly for the entire duration and the profit potential of that. Maybe I’m missing something…
Good luck everyone!
FB
Ol’ Whiz had been calling for a Facebook implosion for quite awhile. His latest update though has a switch in his longer term sentiment on it. He’s saying a longer term position could be worthwhile now since he’s predicting “The Zuck” is going to resign and take a token position in the company and they’ll bring someone new in to take over the reigns. This will all be good for the company and possibly get them out of the daily news cycle…(worked for WYNN I guess…LOL).
I may take a shot…possibly synthetic but more than likely just buying some 2019 LEAPS and sell weekly against them. Premiums are great and shouldn’t take any time at all to recover the initial investment then everything else through the end of the year is pure profit.
Looks like the whippy market…
Looks like the whippy market will continue. Up 10 at the open, back down to 6 and now up 13.
Will convert some of my short puts to #jadelizard and strangles on the etfs tomorrow to bring additional $ and help stay in positions through the CHOP!
#optionsexpiration $SPX 2750/2725 BECS Thank…
#optionsexpiration
$SPX 2750/2725 BECS Thank you @jeffcp66
Closed Early
$SPX BTC 4/13 2745/2720 BECS at .40 STO at 3.50 Thank you @jeffcp66
$AMZN BTC 1610/1600 BECS at .20 STO at 1.14 as part of IC Thank you @thomberg1201
$FB BTC 4/20 170/162.5 BECS at .88 STO at 2.00
$FB BTC 4/20 190/180 BECS at .20 STO at 1.15
#shortputs
$TQQQ STO 9/21 80 put at 6.80 Thank you @jsd501
Looks like I picked the wrong week…
Have a nice weekend to everyone
Tune in on Monday for more exciting trading and fun.
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX Apr 20th 2750/2775 call spreads for .45. Sold in a #CondorRoll for 7.05 yesterday (call side sold for 3.23). The put side is taking heat.
#BullCallSpreads – Thanks @mortlightman and…
#BullCallSpreads – Thanks @mortlightman and @Jeff for the idea. Made 1.30 on the last one so re-loading here…
Bought to Open SPX MAY 18 2018 2780.0/2800.0 Bull Call Spread @ 1.50
#spxcampaign New to this so…
#spxcampaign
New to this so the Put I bought yesterday 2660 for $15 I sold this morning in first 15 min for $20, as prices were declining.
Now I entered BePS debit 2620/2610 for $4.90 when price 2610 and weak. I’m considering adding to this position but need to know if I have to close it out or will automatically settle in cash? Can anyone help?
Ripsaw market, up 30-50 one…
Ripsaw market, up 30-50 one day, down 50-60 the next. I wanted some volatility but could be a little less pronounced than this.
Looks like all my CC will expire OTM now FAS, ERX, LNG, so will sell new calls on Monday.
Have a good weekend!
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign
Sold $SPX Apr 27th 2750/2775 call spreads for 2.35
Sold May 4th 2400/2375 put spreads for 1.60
Sold Apr 20th 2600/2625 put spreads for 10.25. This last one is betting on a bounce for Monday. But if that doesn’t happen I have two weeks to expiration so the flexibility to roll it ITM.
SLB
#SyntheticStock – 65’s expiring today (sold for .90). Replacing those with next week with earnings the following week.
Sold SLB APR 13 2018 65.5 Calls @ .61
CELG
#SyntheticStock – Selling below the July core so trying to stay cautious. Replacing this week’s 90/95 BeCS expiration.
Switching back to naked and selling right at the descending 50ma.
Sold CELG APR 13 2018 92.0 Calls @ .50
#earnings #longcalls DAL Dipping my…
#earnings #longcalls DAL
Dipping my toe back into some pre-earnings trades in this mixed market.
BTO April 13, $54.50 calls for .85 cents each. This is an 87.5% winner over the last 2 years of earnings cycles per the CML backtest. Probably could get in a few cents cheaper if I had been patient. Will close this out next Wednesday.
TLT
#PerpetualRollingStrangles – Was a little early but another good week for this one…
Bought to Close TLT APR 6 2018 121.0 Calls @ .15 (sold for .70)
Sold TLT APR 13 2018 120.5 Calls @ .56
#shortputs #pietrades AMAT Rolled April…
#shortputs #pietrades AMAT
Rolled April 20 50 put to May 18 50 put for .94. I’ll be away from the screen next week, moving some positions to May.
March Jobs Report
#Jobs Reverse of last month: Added jobs LOWER than expected, but wage growth was stronger. Reversion to the mean?
+103,000 non-farm payroll jobs, vs 178K expected
Unemployment holds steady at 4.1%
U6 unemployment at 8.0%, down by .2
Wages up 0.3%, reflecting 2.7% annualized
Labor force participation 62.9%, down 0.1
Jan revised down from 239k to 176k
Feb revised up from 313k to 326k
/es and SPX.
Looks like the big players want to rip the market down one day, then take it back up next few days. New range is 2560 to 2671. That’s a decent sized range to play ping pong but appears it will happen for a while.
Futures down 35 on /ES and /YM 384.
#ironcondor COST Sold May 18,…
#ironcondor COST
Sold May 18, 160/170/200/210 for 1.17, stock around 185
#spx Thought I would try…
Thought I would try a trade. Poor timing to have bought a put. I have an April 06, does it expire in AM or end of day?
Sold long SPX calls
#SPXcampaign I didn’t get filled at the highs so I’m selling half this order since we could be going lower. More likely to happen is a bounce, as my timing on these intraday swings has been horrendous for the last few weeks.
Sold to close $SPX May 18th 2770/2790 call spreads for 3.75. Bought for 1.50 on Monday. Keeping the other half into expiration, but now the cost of the full position has been covered.. Thanks @mortlightman for the trade idea.
Also, sold to open May 4th 2810/2835 call spreads for 1.45.
DG
#SyntheticStock – Another small roll…
Rolled DG APR 6 2018 93.0 Calls to APR 20 2018 94.0 Calls @ .10 debit
EWW
#SyntheticStock – Trying to keep these rolls to within a couple weeks even if it’s a small debit. Plenty of weekly premium brought in recently to use a little for the roll.
Rolled EWW APR 6 2018 51.0 Calls to APR 20 2018 51.5 Calls @ .08 debit
XOM
#SyntheticStock – Rolling the weekly out and up. Small debit but picking up another 71 cents of upside while staying in the week prior to earnings.
Rolled XOM APR 6 2018 74.0 Calls to APR 20 2018 75.0 Calls @ .29 debit (originally sold for .60)
NUGT call closed
#ContangoETFs $NUGT and $DUST have been kind of dull in recent weeks, so I’m just watching theta do its work on short calls in both.
Closed on GTC order: NUGT June 15th 47 call for .20. Sold for 2.46 on Dec 26th.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Still getting pressed on some call spreads so rolling. I’m not selling put spreads at these levels… I expect another dip, perhaps not as low as Monday; but I’m waiting for a pullback or VIX below 18.00 before I’ll start getting bullish. Jobs report is tomorrow and no matter what the results, it may be an excuse to sell. I also will be selling half of my double-sized LONG call spread today at or near a triple.
Stopped: $SPX Apr 13th 2670/2695 call spreads for 11.50. Sold for 3.75 on Tuesday. No roll yet.
#CondorRoll: from calls stopped yesterday. (these are the only puts I’m adding)
Sold Apr 20th 2540/2565/2750/2775 condors of 7.05.
Closed Apr 13th 2720/2745 call spreads for 4.80. Sold for 3.65 on 3/28. No roll yet.
Again, JOBS report tomorrow could be a trigger for panic selling, or panic buying.
Back from vacation
I picked a ridiculous week to not be trading (well I did get a couple of small adjustments in). Maybe it was better–I may have overtraded through Mon-Wed.
Now I’m just going through things and will start cleaning stuff up.
Took off my Apr AZO short 580 put for 1.25. Sold for 6.20 on 2/27.
I’m still short a Sep 500 put.
LUV
#SyntheticStock – Since I already sold next week I’m booking these just for safety. Another big up day tomorrow and the position would end up way too short…
Bought to Close LUV APR 6 2018 57.5 Calls @ .21 (sold for .54)
AZO
#BullCallSpread – Rolling the short call side down into strength for a nice credit. Narrowing the spread from 100 to 50. Getting close to a freebie with weekly sales against.
Rolled AZO JAN 18 2019 760.0 Call to JAN 18 2019 710.0 Call @ 14.30 credit
Position is now:
Jan 2019 660/710 BuCS @ 11.50 debit
#pietrade XBI selling into weakness,…
XBI selling into weakness, 22 DTE 81 put for 1.02.
BTC the ANDV 22 DTE 93 put for 0.35, sold for 1.1 or so off multiple rolls. My cost basis was 90.78 so I had a lot of built up credit. Reload on a pull back.
#earnings #ironcondor FDX March 20…
#earnings #ironcondor FDX
March 20 sold a 225/230/270/275 April 20 earnings iron condor for 1.10. It went as low as 228 during these crazy days, decided to exit today for .70.
FAS
Rolled my April 13, 65 call up to April 20, 66 call for a credit of .17 cents.
#pietrades and #supercharger trades Finally…
#pietrades and #supercharger trades
Finally 2 positive weeks in a row despite being assigned on final SVXY 50 puts.
TNA #supercharger 5/18 55/60 for 4.37 debit
ERX #supercharger 4/27 20/25 for 4.55 debit
ERX #fuzzy rolled 8 DTE out to 22 DTE 25.5 for 0.4 credit. Cost basis now 7.82
FAS CC rolled 67 CC expires tomorrow for 8 DTE for 1.12 credit. CB now 65.13
Assigned SVXY 50 put for 48.75, sold for 11.53 ouch but don’t see SVXY moving for a while so unloaded and used what little cash was left in this account for the ERX trade above. Left just enough to convert to a #fuzzy if needed.
#pietrades bunch of FAS, ERX, CC expiring tomorrow. Should all go out at full profit unless there is another stupid tweet.
Also some expiring next week. Will reload the ladders as they expire on Monday.
Hope everyone has a good expiration and is enjoying Mr. Whippy’s the market, not the ice cream shop although it is delicious!
Good Morning, Chinese market today….
Good Morning, Chinese market today. Chop Chop
SPX calls stopped
#SPXcampaign I do not see clear skies ahead, but I still gotta keep call spreads from becoming ITM. I legged out of this one, something I rarely do. But when this market moves up or down so clearly into the last hour, there’s little chance of a reversal.
Closed $SPX Apr 6th 2650/2675 call spreads for 6.60. Sold for 3.65 on Monday.
Will look to roll on the next extreme, whether it be a high or low extreme.
TQQQ
STO June 15, 182 calls against some of my short puts @2.60
We have an ice cream…
We have an ice cream shop at the beach called Mr. Whippy’s, I think that could also be the name of the market!
TRTN
#CoveredCalls – STO Oct 19 40 CC @ 1.80 shares at 30.67. Ran this one last month closed for 60% profit. (Ed: calling this my “yoyo” trade. Not worthy of a hashtag, ha!)
MU
#Fuzzy – BTO MU Jul20’18 52.5/52.5/50 Fuzzy for 3.80. Seems like the market is BTFD, possibly gonna cheer up soon? This synthetic position is unhedged at the moment. Dan Fitzpatrick featured this one in his free chart last night and brought it to my attention, so I will have to give him credit for the ticker.
#earnings RH I sold an…
#earnings RH
I sold an April 20, 75 straddle for $1425, there was a good reason premiums were that high, RH ran up above break even of 90 to 95, has come back down to earth around 87, this might work out after all
Good morning
This should be fun today.
#AlligatorFuzzy Ok, here’s the latest…
#AlligatorFuzzy
Ok, here’s the latest entry into the #Fuzzy family.
Backing up a bit, there’s something every #Fuzzy has in common: A combo trade of a 2-part synthetic (long or short) coupled with protection for full risk definition. 3 legs, all the same expiration.
A Regular Fuzzy (the original one named after @fuzzballl) then uses short dated short hedges for trade debit recovery and weekly income.
An Atomic Fuzzy eschewed the short dated short hedges for a double size hedge using the same expiration as the core fuzzy–solving the problem of runover hedges.
Regular Fuzzy Pros: Efficient use of capital, risk defined, weekly income
Regular Fuzzy Cons: Protection very expensive in high vol, hedges frequently get runover
Atomic Fuzzy Pros: Efficient use of capital, risk defined, partial-to-full financing of protection (particularly useful in high vol)
Atomic Fuzzy Cons: No weekly income, which increases directional risk
Combining these two trades into a new trade solves the cons on both trades–it is essentially a Fuzzy Diagonal. There are two versions, an #AlligatorTrap is bullish, an #AlligatorSnap is bearish.
This trade uses both a long dated hedge (matching the core expiration and quantity) and short dated weekly hedges. The trade, in essence, has a triple hedge! Hedge #1: Core protection, Hedge #2: A credit spread using the core expiration, Hedge #3 A short dated short hedge. Believe it or not…perfectly legal in a 401K. I will be attaching a slide showing risk graph setups, a proper diagonal setup on the risk graph should significantly reduce the hedge runovers.
Here is the exact trade setup that I did last week for a long on SPY (captured on the attached slide)
SPY May monthly: +263c/-263p/+259p (this is the core fuzzy) @5.62 debit, then add a CCS 269/273, same qty, @1.55 cr. Then enter the weekly income hedge: Apr 6 270c @.63.
Particular setup rules: 1. The 3-leg core debit = “X” 2. Use ATM + X for the anchor short leg of the CCS. Those 5 legs should give you a “ledge” type risk graph where the ledge is solidly above 0. Finally add in the short dated short hedge–the best graphs work up with the calls at the same strike as the CCS anchor on the long dated core, or higher.
Everything can be reversed for a bear trade. Here’s an Alligator Snap (bear)trade I did on QQQ this morning:
Jun -157c/+157p/+160c @ 5.09, 152/147 PCS @ 1.34 cr ($157-$5=$152 for anchor). Then an Apr 6 152 short put @ .77. This puts the starting trade debit at $2.98. Accrued credits on rolling the short dated hedge will attack that trade debit. The bear side of this trade, due to put skew, will allow for more lucrative put rolls in an uptrending market.
So, in conclusion, this trade brings the best parts of the regular fuzzy (weekly income) and atomic fuzzy (protection financing) together. Check out the attached slide for risk graph setups, let me know your questions. I have about 8 of these trades on right now, 6 traps and 2 snaps. I’ve already rolled short hedges from last week.
Thanks to @MamaCash for the creative name…I was just going to call it a Fuzzy Diagonal….but Alligators are way more fun 🙂
2 of 3 of 5: Not yet!
Y’all know I’m keenly watching for 1-standard deviation up moves in SPX. We need 3 1SD up moves in a 5-bar window (for historical rally confirmations). We got one on Thursday. Today’s slipped through the fingers, darnit. We got a .933–the rule is it must cross 1.0. Wed and Thur still fall into the 5-bar window.
#AlligatorFuzzy anyone? I have a new #Fuzzy! I believe this is the best one yet. The love-child of regular fuzzy and atomic fuzzy. I will do a full write up on it maybe later tonight. I really think you will find it very compelling.
Sue
#ironcondor AMZN March 28, sold…
#ironcondor AMZN
March 28, sold April 20 IC for 2.00, closed today for .84. IV is still really high but I’m taking the gain.
Options Bistro 