#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX June 3rd 2150/2175 call spreads for .20 (earlier). Sold for 1.60 on May 2nd
Bought to close May 25th 2125/2150 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.50 on Wednesday.
Author Archives: Jeff
NUGT roll
#ContangoETFs BTC NUGT May 13th 95 call for 7.20. Sold for 3.05 in April.
STO NUGT May 27th 83/130 strangle for 8.00
I’m adopting Iceman’s rule and sticking to 2 weeks out, max.
UVXY avoid assignment
#VXXGame BTC UVXY May 13th 13.5 puts for .03. Sold last Friday for .28. Yeah, they’ll probably expire but can’t trust this market with anything.
SPX call spread closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX June 16th 2175/2200 call spreads for .30. Sold for 2.75 on March 18th as a roll. This was a longer term attempt that worked nicely.
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX May 27th 2135/2160 call spreads for .30. Sold for 2.25 on April 29th as a roll.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to open $SPX June 3rd 1965/1940 put spreads for 1.45, with SPX at 2065.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX May 27th 2125/2150 call spreads for 1.30. Sadly, this was a previously stopped spread as SPX rallied above 2110. Now it goes back on, hopefully to die silently rather than violently.
+1% followed by 1% Market…
+1% followed by -1%
Market volatility strikes again
SPX put spread sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX May 19th 2015/1990 put spreads for 1.30, with SPX at 2076. This will complete my rolls for the May 19th expiry, since I stopped a put spread on April 29th.
SPX spreads sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX May 25th (Wednesday) 2010/1985 put spreads for 1.70 and 2125/2150 call spreads for 1.50; a condor roll from stopped call spread this morning.
Sold to Open $SPX June 10th 1950/1925 put spreads for 1.40.
NUGT calls
#ContangoETFs STO $NUGT May 13th 120 call for 1.70
STO NUGT June 3rd 150 call for 4.50
STO NUGT June 17th 185 call for 4.00
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close May 13th 2090/2115 call spreads for 2.90. Sold on Friday for 1.50. Will look to roll today.
Risk certainly back On
#SPXcampaign I’m stuck with this week’s 2090/2115 call spread. I have been trying to get out for past hour, but rally won’t stop. Looking to roll up to March 24th Wednesday weekly 2120/2145 with 1.5x contracts. I would then add a put spread as well to balance out margin and premium.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to open $SPX June 10th 2145/2170 call spreads for 1.40, with SPX at 2071.
Good morning!
New all-time low in $UVXY was hit right after the open, beating the low from April 28th. Also, lowest for the VIX since that date. Almost a new low in VXX…
NUGT reverse roll
#ContangoETFs Closing my final naked call that is badly ITM…
BTC $NUGT June 17th 45 call for 44.00. Sold for 5.60 on Nov 13th.
STO $NUGT May 27th 80 put for 8.50.
I am now just slightly ITM on just a couple calls and a couple puts; OTM on several others. I still owe myself a few more rolls to make up for losses, like the one above.
NUGT morning
#ContangoETFs STO $NUGT May 13th 75 puts for 1.50 (expire this Friday)
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Right before the bell, bought to close $SPX May 13th 1960/1935 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.35 on April 15th.
UVXY after the bell…
#VXXGame Filled on an open order, STO UVXY May 13th 13.5 puts for .283.
DATA earnings double diagonal
#Earnings, so much for my double diagonal experiment… I forgot to close it! So the short 51 call expires, will be assigned the stock from the short 51 put, and will still be holding May 13th long 52 call and long 49 put. Downside risk capped at 49.00. Upside gain uncapped.
Options Expiration 5/6/16
— Expiring —
$DATA 51 call (see separate post)
$NUGT 90 put
$SPX 2010/1980 put spreads
$SPX 2130/2155 call spreads
$UVXY 13.5 puts
— Assignment —
$UVXY 16 put, taking stock… not worried that we’ll be above 16 at some point next week
$DATA 51 put – (see separate post)
— #Earnings Loss —
$BABA 71/73/77 broken-wing put fly
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX May 11th 1980/1955 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.30 on Wednesday.
Market is down, but the…
Market is down, but the VIX is sleeping.
Short-term call spread sold
#SPXcampaign With SPX at 2048, sold to open $SPX May 13th 2090/2115 call spreads for 1.50.
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign In pre-market right after jobs report, bought to close $SPX May 19th 2140/2165 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.25 on Monday.
DATA double diagonal
#Earnings Sold to open $DATA double diagonal for .55. Max gain if stock doesn’t move, but a fairly wide range of profit, as high as 20% up or down, depending on how much IV drops tomorrow.
Sold May 6th 51 put and 51 call
Bought May 13th 49 put and 52 call
I had to enter each leg separately as a combo order would not fill. Haven’t tried these before so just doing a 1-lot and see how it all works tomorrow. Max loss $245
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX May 27th 2165/2190 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.50 last Thursday.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX June 3rd 2140/2165 call spreads for 1.35, with SPX at 2055.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign In Pre-market, bought to close May 6th 2025/2000 put spreads for .70. Sold for 3.10 on April 15th as a roll. Closed to avoid any risk into Friday and jobs report.
SPX going down, VIX going…
SPX going down, VIX going up; but no panic yet. We got close on Friday but have not yet fired any Downside signals on the Bistro VIX Indicator. This is why I have sold two near-term put spreads today on the spikes down; I’m cautious, but expecting more to see a drift downward than a big flush. I’m hoping for a rally tomorrow which I will sell into.
More SPX puts
#SPXcampaign — White knuckling it through some more short-term spreads:
Sold to Open $SPX May 11th (Wednesday) 1980/1955 put spreads for 1.30.
‘nother NUGT
#ContangoETFs STO $NUGT June 10th 50 put for 2.10
BABA earnings trade
#Earnings Bought to Open $BABA 71/73/77 put on butterfly for 1.50. This is a BEARISH trade. Sees max profit at 73.00, no downside loss possible; max loss of 1.50 above 77.00. Here are BABA’s one-day moves in its short history (average is 5.6%)
Jan. 28, 2016 BO -3.76%
Oct. 27, 2015 BO 4.04%
Aug. 12, 2015 BO -5.12%
May 7, 2015 BO 7.50%
Jan. 29, 2015 BO -8.77%
Nov. 4, 2014 BO 4.19%
NUGT put
#ContangoETFs STO $NUGT June 17th 65 put for 5.70
TSLA earnings
#Earnings Below are the 1-day moves after the last 12 earnings reports for $TLSA. It has a fairly high average move of 9.5%, with unpredictable direction. Expected move is around $19-$20 (8.4%). Given this, the premium is disappointingly low for OTM strikes. Please share any idea you have for trading the today!
Feb. 10, 2016 AC 4.73%
Nov. 3, 2015 AC 11.17%
Aug. 5, 2015 AC -8.88%
May 6, 2015 AC 2.76%
Feb. 11, 2015 AC -4.66%
Nov. 5, 2014 AC 4.43%
July 31, 2014 AC 4.46%
May 7, 2014 AC -11.30%
Feb. 19, 2014 AC 8.43%
Nov. 5, 2013 AC -14.50%
Aug. 7, 2013 AC 14.34%
May 8, 2013 AC 24.39%
SPX same-week puts
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX May 6th 2010/1985 put spreads for 1.40, with SPX at 2051.
NUGT roll
#ContangoETFs #Rolling
BTC $NUGT May 13th 95 call for 14.70
STO $NUGT June 17th 155 call for 8.00
I’ll sell the other half of this roll when we get the next pop up. I now have more puts than calls so adding puts costs margin and adding calls credits me margin.
UVXY 80% profit
#VXXGame BTC $UVXY May 13th 30 calls for .22. Sold for 1.15 on 4/4.
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX May 19th 2160/2185 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.75 on April 18th.
NUGT puts
#ContangoETFs STO $NUGT May 6th 90 puts for 1.95 (expire this Friday).
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign
Sold to Open $SPX June 3rd 1910/1885 put spreads for 1.35
Bought to close $SPX May 13th 2145/2170 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.35 last Thursday.
PCLN earnings
#Earnings $PCLN has some pretty juicy premium for a wide strangle or condor. Below are the three-day move after last 12 reports. Historically, upside has been the bigger risk. The 1560 call is going for 1.30 and is 16% OTM (above previous 15.4% move). And the 1200 put is going for 6.00, which is 10.4% OTM (below previous -9.6% move).
THREE-DAY MOVES
Wed 02/17/2016 BO 15.58%
Mon 11/09/2015 BO -9.56%
Wed 08/05/2015 BO 2.59%
Thu 05/07/2015 BO -4.69%
Thu 02/19/2015 BO 8.30%
Tue 11/04/2014 BO -8.40%
Mon 08/11/2014 BO 2.16%
Thu 05/08/2014 BO 0.36%
Thu 02/20/2014 AC 2.54%
Thu 11/07/2013 AC 4.91%
Thu 08/08/2013 AC 3.87%
Thu 05/09/2013 AC 3.78%
Another call spread added
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX May 19th 2140/2165 call spreads for 1.25
NUGT trades
#ContangoETFs #ReverseRoll What I’ve done today… I have to start closing my few remaining ITM calls due to margin pressure and I still believe upside risk greater than downside. I will build back slowly, sell more puts on down days. If any of my aggressive put positions become ITM I will be able to roll, possibly back into calls if the trend changes.
BTC NUGT May 13th 45 put for .10. Sold for .95 on 4/15
BTC NUGT May 13th 55 puts for .20. Sold for 2.50 on 4/15
BTC NUGT June 17th 60 call for 59.60. Sold for 10.80 on 2/8
BTC NUGT May 13th 120 call for 12.50. Sold for 2.05 on 4/15
STO June 3rd 80 put for 5.20
STO June 17th 100 put for 15.50
STO June 17th 45 puts for 1.25 (thanks @Ramie)
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX May 13th 2150/2175 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.67 in mid-April. I have more call spreads than put spreads so closing these releases margin.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX June 3rd 2150/2175 call spreads for 1.60.
Options Expiration 4/29/16
#OptionsExpiration
— Expiring w/max profit —
$FB 98, 100, 103 and 105 puts
$NUGT 50, 60, and 70 puts
$SPX 2135/2160 call spreads
–Expiring w/losses–
$AAPL 100/104/108 iron butterfly
$CMG 470/480/490 call butterfly (won with the put side)
$PYPL 42 long calls
— Assignments —
$DATA 49 covered call – stock called away
$SVXY 50 covered call – stock called away
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX May 27th 2135/2160 call spreads for 2.25 as a roll.
SPX puts stopped early
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX May 19th 1975/1950 put spreads for 2.50. Sold for 1.30 on April 20th.
Bought to close $SPX May 27th 1950/1925 put spreads for 2.25. Sold for 1.25 yesterday.
Closed these two before the 3.00 stop level to avoid waking up Monday to a bloodbath. I had too many put spreads that would all hit their stops at about the same time. Leaving plenty of risk on, but lightening the load. Now I’ll consider a call spread on rally into close.
NFLX earnings closed
#Earnings Bought to close $NFLX Apr 29th 90 puts for .25 to avoid possible assignment. Sold for 1.00 on earnings day (4/18).
NUGT rolls
#ContangoETFs #ReverseRoll This first option was OTM on Monday, and was 23.00 this morning. So much for patience!
BTC NUGT Apr 29th 85 call for 30.65. Sold for 4.20 on 4/8
BTC NUGT May 6th 55 puts for .10. Sold for 2.00 on 4/12
BTC NUGT May 6th 70 put for .20. Sold for 2.65 on 4/20
BTC NUGT May 13th 50 puts for .15. Sold for 1.75 on 4/13
STO NUGT May 27th 70 puts for 2.40
STO NUGT June 10th 70 put for 4.00
VIX indicator
Although we thus far have fallen short of triggering a Downside signal, I’m removing the Upside Warning that’s been in effect since March 15th. It served its purpose, albeit a little late, as the market has remained strong since the Feb 11th low. If we don’t get a downside warning, keep call spreads at 2135 or higher. But if we continue lower, Downside signals are likely to be hit next week (if not today). The first signal is 17.21 (high today so far is 17.09)… if that’s not hit today, it will be adjusted to 18.75 and 19.03 for Monday. I will be looking at taking off at least one put spread today before their stops are hit to reduce downside risk going into weekend.
AMZN earnings closed for $1.33
#Earnings Yesterday I sold $AMZN Apr 29 540/520 put spreads for 1.40. At the open this morning, I closed the (4) short puts for .01, no commissions, so I paid $4 to free up the margin on a hairy day for the market. I then put in an order to sell the 520 puts for .01, and it just filled, but I was charged $1.33 in commission. Question… can you sell way OTM puts like this on expiration day and make a profit? I’ve done it last couple of weeks with NUGT in the last 15 minutes before the close (using options about .25-.75 OTM). If your margin can handle it, you can scalp a few hundred.
SPX puts stopped
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX May 11th (Wednesday) 2050/2025 puts spreads for 7.60. Sold for 3.50 on April 21st as a roll. Will look to sell an IC as a roll.
Check out PCLN, up on…
Check out PCLN, up on a crappy day, boosted from EXPE earnings and surge. Also, the CEO is leaving after having a relationship with an employee. So there’s that. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/04/28/priceline-ceo-resigns-after–work-relationship/83639054/
NUGT reverse rolling
#ContangoETFs #ReverseRoll
BTC NUGT May 13th 105 call for 13.00. Sold for 3.50 on 4/11.
BTC NUGT June 17th 105 call for 22.20. Sold for 5.50 on 4/7.
STO NUGT May 27th 80 put for 4.40
STO NUGT June 17th 70 put for 5.35 and 72 put for 5.50
STO NUGT June 3rd 90 put for 9.50
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX May 6th 2140/2165 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.25 on Apr 18th.
NUGT is the new KOLD
#ContangoETFs Now that KOLD has relaxed it has been solidly replaced by NUGT as the ETF that won’t quit. I have slowed the call selling but still get hammered on these moves up (even though I’m short more puts than calls). If market weakness persists, this could keep flying.
UVXY calls sold during this spike
#VXXGame
STO UVXY May 20th 23 call for 1.00
STO UVXY May 27th 28 call for .65
STO UVXY June 17th 30 calls for 1.28
STO UVXY Sept 30 call for 3.20
We just hit the lowest…
We just hit the lowest TICK reading since August 2014 (on TC2000).
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX May 27th 1950/1925 put spreads for 1.25, with SPX at 2085.
AMZN earnings
#Earnings Sold to Open $AMZN Apr 29th 540/520 put spreads for 1.40. Short strike is 11% OTM, outside its biggest down move over last 12 earnings.
Icahn speaks, AAPL dumps
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/28/icahn-we-no-longer-have-a-position-in-apple.html
#VXXGame, second day in a…
#VXXGame, second day in a row of all-time lows in UVXY and VXX.
SPX call spreads sold
#SPXcampaign Keep missing the put spread fills on the down moves. Need to be more aggressive since every dip is bought.
Sold to Open $SPX May 13th 2145/2170 call spreads for 1.35 (as a partial roll to earlier stopped spreads)
Sold to Open $SPX May 27th 2165/2190 call spreads for 1.50 (standard weekly spread)
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign In pre-market, bought to close Apr 29th 2125/2150 call spreads for .40. Sold for 1.35 on March 28th. Put on the close order yesterday as an attempt to exit before Fed… didn’t fill during the day. I wish I’d remembered to take the order off when I saw futures were down before bed (or at least lowered to .20). But, I’ll take the winner anyway.
NUGT calls
#ContangoETFs Highest strikes
STO NUGT May 20th 130 call for 2.80
STO NUGT May 27th 130 call for 4.10
Fed action trades
#Earnings #ContangoETFs #VXXGame Not as much as I was trying to get, but made these trades after the announcement…
STO $FB Apr 29th puts for .85. Adding to puts previous sold at 103 and 100.
BTC $FB June 17th 130 call for .28. Sold for 1.23 in Feb.
STO $NUGT May 20th 60 put for 2.60
BTC $UVXY Jan 2017 80 call for 1.50. Sold for 15.47 (avg price) last August.
BTC $UVXY June 15 put for 3.10. Sold in March for 1.40. Missed fills on some calls I tried to sell.
Also missed a fill on SPX put spread.
CMG earnings butterfly
#Earnings Sold to close $CMG 400/410/420 put butterfly for 2.50. Far short of max profit but enough to be a winner from the 1.70 cost of putting this and the bullish one on yesterday (placed at expected move both above and below). First time I tried that, will have to consider more often on these stocks that typically move. Wish I had bought more than one so I could keep some for possible lower prices into Friday, but 420 seems like a decent support level.
New all-time lows
#VXXGame New lows in UVXY (first time since April 19th) and new low in VXX, breaking its previous all-time low on August 5th, 2015.
Ready for Fed?
I believe Yellen will be dovish and reaction will be positive for markets… but regardless, volatility at announcement time (2pm ET) means premium can jump all over the place.
PYPL spec earnings play
#Earnings Total speculative play, Bought $PYPL Apr 29th 42 calls for .45. It has only reported twice, went down 5% first time and up 10% second time. This is just a shot at it continuing bullish trend and popping up in the morning.
FB earnings
#Earnings Here is the entire history of Facebook earnings (15 reports). Biggest UP move: 29.6%, Biggest DOWN move: -11.69%, Average move: 8.2%.
Jan. 27, 2016 AC 15.52%
Nov. 4, 2015 AC 4.63%
July 29, 2015 AC -1.83%
April 22, 2015 AC -2.62%
Jan. 28, 2015 AC 2.30%
Oct. 28, 2014 AC -6.07%
July 23, 2014 AC 5.17%
April 23, 2014 AC -0.79%
Jan. 29, 2014 AC 14.10%
Oct. 30, 2013 AC 2.42%
July 24, 2013 AC 29.61%
May 1, 2013 AC 5.61%
Jan. 30, 2013 AC -0.83%
Oct. 23, 2012 AC 19.12%
July 26, 2012 AC -11.69%
After hours stock
Filled on order to buy $AAPL stock for 99.00
AAPL iron butterfly
#Earnings Your typical ATM play, with 3 days to work if AAPL bounces around until Friday.
Sold to Open 100/104/108 iron butterflies for 3.22… risking .78 to make 3.22.
Options Bistro 