#Earnings Sold $FB Jan 29th 107 calls for 2.00 (from the condor). Half the position, giving me cost basis of 105.20 on short stock if assigned tomorrow.
Author Archives: Jeff
BABA closed
#Earnings BTC $BABA Jan 29th 76 calls and 64 puts for .05 each. Condor sold yesterday for .88.
CTXS closed
#Earnings Bought to close $CTXS Feb 19th 55 puts for .05. Sold yesterday for .55
Earnings today 1/28/16
#Earnings, here are the stocks to consider today…
I consider these the “rock stars,” symbols that have worked before and typically have juicy OTM options:
AMZN, EA
Also to look at, these have weeklys and high volume, but premium may be lower:
AAL, ABBV, AMGN, CVX, MA, MSFT, PSX, SWKS, WDC
Earnings results
#Earnings – FB condor call side is fully breached due to a stellar report and a huge overnight pop. I plan to sell half of my long calls at the open, giving me a short stock cost basis above 104.00. I will wait and see with the other half.
BABA and CTXS look good. NOW (for the first time) looks troublesome… need to give it time for a bounce. VLO looks flat.
Two-day put spread
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Jan 29th 1830/1805 put spreads for 1.30. Expire this Friday. Paired with 1955/1980 call spreads sold yesterday.
CTXS earnings
#Earnings Sold to Open $CTXS Feb 19th 55 puts for .55. Partial fill on this order during post-Fed volatility. 21-day moves after last 12 earnings: Biggest UP move: 12.5%, Biggest DOWN move: -3.7%, Average move: 6.4%. This trade is 17.4% OTM.
Initial reaction: Bonds UP, Gold/silver…
Initial reaction: Bonds UP, Gold/silver UP. Indices moving down.
VLO earnings
#Earnings … a bit more speculative than my other trades. I am already short some stock from last earnings, but the chart looks more bullish to me. Selling some fairly close puts; if stock drops it will close short stock and put me long the stock.
STO $VLO Jan 29th 64 puts for .60.
This is a very minor mover on earnings: Biggest UP move: 2.4% , Biggest DOWN move: -2.7% , Average move: 1.3% . This trade is 3.9% OTM.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Feb 18th 1625/1600 put spreads for .25. Originally sold for 1.25.
FB trade continued
#Earnings Sold to Open $FB Jan 29th 102/107 call spreads for .70. Completes iron condor started earlier.
Put your earnings trades on NOW
#Earnings Sold to Open $NOW Feb 19th 60 puts for 1.00. One-day moves after last 12 earnings: Biggest UP move: 15.3%, Biggest DOWN move: -11.5%, Average move: 9.0%.
Since these don’t expire for 20 days, let’s look at the biggest 21-day moves after the last 12 earnings:
Biggest UP move: 16.5%, Biggest DOWN move: -10.7%, Average move: 9.6%.
So as you can see, the stock does not significantly increase its post earnings moves between 1 and 21 days after earnings.
This trade is 21.2% OTM.
I have traded this on most earnings and have closed the trade for .05 or .10 within the next couple of days every time.
BABA earnings
#Earnings Sold to Open $BABA Jan 29th 59/64/76/81 iron condors for .88. Entered all at once. On last 12 earnings: Biggest UP move: 7.5% , Biggest DOWN move: -8.8% , Average move: 5.9% . These strikes are 9.6% (puts) and 7.3% (calls) OTM.
FB Earnings
#Earnings Sold to Open $FB Jan 29th 89/84 put spreads for .50. Going for an iron condor; going for 102/107 call spread on next bounce.
FB moves on last 12 earnings: Biggest UP move: 29.6% , Biggest DOWN move: -6.1% , Average move: 6.3% . These strikes are 7.3% (puts) and 6.3% (calls) OTM. I’m giving the put side a bit more room. The 29.6% up move is an outlier from July 2013… the next highest is +14.1%, and then all other moves were less than 7%.
Lately, there has been little…
Lately, there has been little reason to start selling index spreads until we have reached a 1% move in either direction. On SPX, 20 points in the new 5 points.
AAPL management
#Earnings Bought to close $AAPL Jan 29th 100 calls for .13. Clearing the way for remote chance of a rally back to 100 by week’s end. I am doubtful now, but closing these cheaply removes all upside risk. However, it also slightly increases your max loss.
Earnings today
#Earnings, here are the stocks to consider today…
I consider these the “rock stars,” symbols that have worked before and typically have juicy OTM options:
BABA, CELG, FB, SNDK, UA, VLO, and with monthly options only: NOW
Also to look at, these have weeklys and high volume, but premium may be lower:
BMY, BRCM, BX, CAT, CTXS, EBAY, F, LLY, LVS, PYPL, QCOM, URI, V
Puts closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Feb 12th 1650/1625 put spreads for .30. Sold for 1.30. Closed a bit earlier than usual to keep put side manageable.
KOLD strangles
#ContangoETFs On the swings today, STO $KOLD August 80 put for 2.55 and Feb 220 call for 4.00.
Same-week call spread
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Jan 29th 1955/1980 call spreads for 1.45. These expire Friday, or I will roll if they get threatened. I do not believe this rally will get past 1920 before retracing or collapsing.
ETF Webinar…
If you haven’t watched yet, catch it soon as this is final two days it will be available on the site! Click here for details: https://optionsbistro.wordpress.com/2016/01/21/webinar-recording/
AAPL iron butterfly
#Earnings Sold to Open AAPL 95/100/105 iron butterfly for 3.85. Max profit 3.85, max loss 1.15. I may sell OTM options as well, but for now I am selling this while AAPL is pretty close to the center strike. These have worked before because although AAPL may move 5-10% tomorrow, it will often drift back to the mean by Friday expiration.
Trade details: Buy (1) 95 put, Sell (1) 100 put, Sell (1) 100 call,, Buy (1) 105 call. If you’re not sure about how to exit these, watch for my comments now through Friday, or ask any time.
Call spread
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Feb 26th 2015/2040 call spreads for 1.40.
NUGT calls
#ContangoETFs STO $NUGT Jun 65 calls for 1.50
Earnings candidates today
Today earnings season kicks into high gear. Here are key symbols reporting #Earnings tonight or Wednesday morning:
AAPL, ANTH, BA, BIIB, EBAY, EMC, T, UTX, VMW
All of these have weekly options.
Short-term put spread
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Feb 5th 1750/1725 put spreads for 1.50.
UVXY opportunist
#VXXGame Sold all of these in $UVXY in the last hour:
Jan 29th 60 calls for .50
Feb 19th 70 calls for 2.75
Feb 26th 95 call for 1.75
Feb 26th 110 calls for 1.20
March 18th 120 call for 2.60
June 17th 110 call for 9.50
Tracking Rolls
#Rolling #ReverseRoll
I got this question via email: “…with all my rolling of short positions, I’m having a hard time keeping track of each position. I’ve had to roll some positions 4-5 times, and more, especially SVXY, so that my cost basis seems to get lost in all the mess. I currently use an Excel spread sheet that I listed monthly trades, but then I found I had to search for the strike, then enter the roll position, and it just keeps going. Finding each position after a few rolls has been difficult. Any good way that you have found to keep track of the position when you roll, especially numerous rolls?”
I can’t do you much better than Excel, but maybe others can reply with their methods. I track each trade on Excel, and if I roll the position, I will extend that trade’s Excel row to the right, adding and subtracting the costs of each roll into the P/L for that trade… goal is to come out with a profit, or at least breakeven in the end. I can provide more detail if that’s not clear, but it can be a bit confusing with multiple rolls.
SBUX stopped
#Earnings Sold to close $SBUX stock for 58.02. Stopped out on my final batch, bought for 57.52 avg price after hours on earnings day last week. Not going to hold it through more potential market ugliness.
Put spread
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Feb 26th 1675/1650 put spreads for 1.25. This is really my first “normal” put sale in January, where I am selling on a typical down day rather than a violent down day, 5 weeks out.
Options Expiration 1/22/16
#OptionsExpiration
Expiring with max profit…
$ISRG 480/620 strangles
$UVXY 20 & 30 puts
$UVXY 70, 75, 80 calls
$VLO 74 call and 67 (covered) puts
$SPX 1995/2020 call spreads
$SPX 1750/1725 put spreads
No assignments – also, after hours fill on UVXY Feb 12th 29 put for .75
Have a great weekend everyone!
UVXY calls closed…
VLO short
I am still short stock from $VLO #Earnings play… assigned at 65.00, cost basis now 68.00.
Yesterday, Bought to close 100 shares for 64.00.
Today, STO VLO Feb 5th 73 call for .60.
Also have 74 call and 67 puts (likely) expiring tonight.
I will carry the position as more market volatility could bring lower stock prices to sell more puts or cover the stock position
UVXY puts
#VXXGame STO $UVXY Feb 12th 29 puts for .60
STO $UVXY Feb 19th 29 puts for 1.05
Puts closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to Close $SPX Feb 5th 1615/1790 put spreads for .15. Sold on Wednesday for 1.25.
OptionsBistro.com – new shortened URL
#Welcome – Hello, all… I’m proud to announce you can now enter simply “optionsbistro.com” (without the wordpress part) to navigate here. And the old way will still work so no need to change your bookmarks.
Also, please become a Member/Contributor if you are not already! Simply reply below or email me any time and I will send you an invitation. You can then make your own Posts and be part of the action.
Thanks all for your involvement and enthusiasm. Much more to come, and I’m always open to suggestions!
Jeff
New call spread
#SPXcampaign, since I just closed the Feb 12th 2070 spread this morning, rolling it down with a new position.
Sold to Open $SPX Feb 12th 2015/2040 call spreads for 1.25, with SPX at 1903.
After hours Earnings trading
#Earnings, last night I bought $SBUX stock as it spiked down after the close, at 57.90, 57.48, and 57.20. I have sold half of the position today at 58.00, 58.50, and 59.00. Holding the rest for now. This is a John Carter technique, the idea being that stocks can often have sharp spikes in both directions in the first minutes after release. You can thus set buy orders at the expected move area on stocks you believe should react positively to earnings, then sell once it moves up. In this case, SBUX didn’t recover after hours and stayed down overnight, but is now benefitting from a rallying market today, not to mention a record quarter (lower guidance was the reason for the dip).
Calls closed
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Feb 12th 2070/2095 call spreads for .20. Could have closed for less but was going to let expire. Now I just want it out of the way with profit.
Good morning…
Wednesday’s VIX candle shows a high-spike wick, which is often a sign of a correction bottom. Since we exceeded the Oct 2014 SPX low of 1820 on that day, watch for a possible recovery. Until we have multiple days of lower VIX closes, I will remain protective of downside risk and will sell call spreads. The true sign that new market highs could be coming will be VIX closing below 16.93 for three consecutive days.
Webinar Recording – Contango ETFs, Jan 20, 2016
This recording has expired. It was I held on Jan 20th and was posted here for one week. It will return, as we’ll as other webinars. If you have questions or comments, you can reply to this post. Thanks.
another call spread
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Feb 5th 1990/2015 call spreads for 1.25. In this market I have been making many round trips in each expiration, as the wild swings allow entry then a cheap exit a few days (or hours) later.
LONG put spread
#SPXcampaign Bought to open $SPX Feb 5th 1675/1650 put spreads for 1.10. This is for our possible trip below 1800 tomorrow or next week. This spread should at least be a double if we go there. If not, it is a smaller loss than all of the credit spreads I have been selling.
ISRG Earnings
#Earnings Sold to Open $ISRG Jan 22nd 480/620 strangles for 2.40. Over last 12 earnings, Biggest UP move: 17.7% , Biggest DOWN move: -11.5% , Average move: 6.9% . These strikes are 11.4% (puts) and 14.4% (calls) OTM.
ETF Webinar Recording
This video has expired for now. Look for it and other webinars to return soon.
Excuse the testing…
Hey all, I know some of you may be getting emails with “Tests” and other posts… don’t worry about them, I’m just working on some functions. Site seems to be working fine, just a slow trading day so not many people are posting. Thanks!
Protected: This is a password test
Call Spread
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Feb 18th 2010/2035 call spreads for 1.25. Will wait to sell more if we rally a lot higher today.
Bulls on Parade
According to TC2000 charting, we just hit the highest TICK reading since May 8th.
Ok, we hit 1820. Now…
Ok, we hit 1820. Now what? We might rally for a day or few, but if we come back down to test today’s lows again, be ready for 1700’s.
TZA roll
#ContangoETFs #Rolling Rolled short calls into a strangle
BTC TZA Feb 18th 70 calls for 7.95
STO TZA March 18th 80 calls for 7.15
STO TZA March 18th 50 puts for 1.00
Stat break
Lowest day on SPX since February 2014 (we have exceeded Oct 2014 correction lows)
VIX hit 150% above Oct 28th low, and at a new high, beating Friday’s high (highest since 9/1/15)
Lowest day ever on USO, which started in 2006
SVXY lowest level since Dec 2012 (when I started #VXXGame!)
In sharp contrast, UVXY was this high only 3 months ago
TWTR bottom?
TWTR has been slaughtered since Jan 1, and hit new lows today. But after being down 9% yesterday, it has bounced today and is down only 2.4% while markets keep dropping. It’s valuation alone must becoming attractive. Is it a bottom?
put spread
#SPXcampaign Sold to open $SPX Feb 5th 1615/1590 put spreads for 1.25.
As we hit 3.5% down on the day, that will be the final spread I try. We will need some strong bounce days in the mix for these put spreads to survive. Today’s drop is the biggest of the year and VIX just hit its highest level since Sept 1st.
calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Jan 29th 2000/2025 call spreads for .20. Sold last Thursday for 1.35.
TZA rolling
#EarlyAssignment #Rolling #ContangoETFs
Although I have been rolling my $TZA position that started as a Jan 15th 50 calls, I did not roll my Jan 22nd 50 calls. One was assigned last night, so today rolled the whole position:
Assigned (1) TZA Jan 22nd 50 call
STC (100) TZA stock for 69.75
BTC (1) TZA Jan 22nd 50 call for 19.90
STO (2) TZA March 50 calls for 20.60
UVXY adds
#VXXGame Keeping these close to expiration, as not sure how high this can get in coming weeks.
Adding to positions:
STO UVXY Jan 22nd 70 call for 1.00
STO UVXY Jan 22nd 75 calls for .60
STO UVXY Jan 22nd 80 calls for .36
STO UVXY Jan 29th 95 calls for 1.00
NFLX closed
#Earnings BTC $NFLX Jan 22nd 85 puts for .05. Sold yesterday for .72 (avg price)
SPX puts added
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Jan 22nd 1750/1725 put spreads for 1.30. These are added to the ones I sold last week, so this is now a double position. Expires this Friday, unless we drop 100 points more.
UVXY strikes added up to 95 on weeklys
STO $UVXY Jan 29th 95 calls for 1.00
Contango ETF webinar – TODAY (Wednesday)
Learn about the ETFs that OptionsBistro traders love, like UVXY, NUGT, and KOLD! The products that, by design, are dragged downward over time, giving traders an edge.
If you have not previously replied, this is your chance… there are limited spaces remaining, so the first people to reply to this post will get the remaining slots. If you miss out, look for a recording that will be posted on this site for a limited time starting Thursday.
Thanks!
Put spread
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Feb 18th 1625/1600 put spreads for 1.25.
Calls closed
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Feb 12th 2060/2085 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.25 on Jan 11.
Volatility
STC $VIX Jan 19th 19 call for 7.00. Bought for 2.87 in Dec. One more left I will sell by day’s end.
STO $UVXY Jan 22nd 70 calls for .65
STO $UVXY Jan 22nd 75 calls for .45
ETF circus
STO $KOLD August 265 call for 14.00
STO $DUST March 40 calls for 1.25
BTC $BOIL March 50 call for .05. Sold for 1.05 on Nov 5th
March strikes were added for KOLD, but highest strike is only 165, which is currently 5 points ITM.
NFLX earnings
#Earnings STO $NFLX Jan 22nd 85 puts for .75. Got .85 for one earlier, so I will sell some more if price moves lower. Over last 12 earnings reports, one-day Biggest UP move: 42.2% , Biggest DOWN move: -19.4% , Average move: 15.8% . This trade is 19.4% OTM.
Call spread
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Feb 18th 2025/2050 call spreads for 1.40.
Good morning…
I will look to sell SPX call spreads today, and other shorting ideas. At some point we will rise out of this rut and going short will be the wrong play. Until that happens, this is the play that is working. I believe 1820 needs to be tested before the correction can end.
Options Expiration 1/15/16
#OptionsExpiration
Expiring with max profit…
$DUST 22 and 23 calls
$KOLD 110, 114, 119, 120, and 130 puts
$KOLD 200 call
$NUGT 20 put
$NUGT 34, 45, 50 calls
$SVXY 30 put
$UVXY 20, 22, 23, and 35 puts
$UVXY 35/33 put spread
$UVXY 100, 110, 125 calls
$VLO 74 call
$ZSL 65/67.5 call spreads
$ZSL 70 and 72.5 calls
#Assignment
$KOLD 150, 155, 159, 160 calls, stock I bought today called away. Will sell roll positions in coming days.
Pre-expiration final trades
BTC $AAPL 100 puts for 2.90. Sold Tuesday as part of a strangle for 2.34, so .56 loss.
BTC $VLO 67 (covered) puts for .57. Sold for .87 avg price. Keeping my short stock position as I think I’ll have better chance to unload next week.
BTC $TZA July 65 calls for 14.00. Sold for 10.40 on Wednesday. Been rolling this one whenever it hits ATM… will sell the roll next week as I expect TZA goes higher.
STO $TZA April 85 for 6.05… adding 1 at each dollar increment: 4.05, 5.05, 6.05
STC $TLT Jan 15th 123 call for 2.75. Bought for 1.42 avg price.
Final put spread
#SPXcampaign STO $SPX Jan 29th 1700/1675 put spreads for 1.25. Sold three call spreads yesterday, and three put spreads today. I can do a whole month’s trading in two days in this market.
UVXY rocket
Getting uglier folks… was trying to exit these earlier with profit, but didn’t fill, and they could get worse. Closing now to avoid assignment. Will look to roll, but will wait for possibly higher prices next week (or today)
BTC $UVXY Jan 15th 50 calls for 2.10. Sold for .55 on Wednesday
also, escaped with this one with tiny profit:
BTC $UVXY Jan 15th 55 calls for .49. Sold for .57 yesterday.
Iron condors
#SPXcampaign Selling put spreads to offset call spreads sold yesterday.
STO $SPX Jan 22nd 1750/1725 puts spreads for 1.30. These expire next Friday.
UVXY & SVXY
I’ve gotten some questions about these and the way some of us sell them. I’ll give some answers here, and then I encourage anyone to ask further questions so the group can answer. Also, those experienced with trading these, please add to this post with your comments…
These both are based on $VXX, which is the “VIX Short-Term Futures ETN” that tracks $VIX futures contracts. It is infected by contango under normal market conditions, meaning over the long term it is always headed down (I will cover this phenomenon in next week’s webinar). But during volatile markets, in can have dramatic spikes up.
The $UVXY is an ETF that seeks to return 2x the VXX move on a DAILY basis. Because UVXY is two-times the VXX, the downward pressure over time is greater in UVXY than VXX, but the up spikes can be much larger.
The $SVXY is the 1x inverse of the VXX. The inverse aspect would indicate a general uptrend overtime, however, over the last 16 months, the SVXY has been under performing and can be slow in reaching new highs.
Most traders here predominantly SELL volatility when the VIX and VXX spike higher, and thus profit when volatility settles down. The most common methods are to sell UVXY calls and sell SVXY puts. Some also sell VXX calls, or sell spreads. But most of us sell these naked. All of us have reaped very strong profits from this strategy over the last 4 to 5 years. The difficult part is when we get into a correction and many positions sold on initial vol spikes go underwater. You need to control your position size and roll options when necessary so your account does not blow up during these times. ALSO, you must be leery if we are entering a bear market. None of these products existed in 2008, so no one really knows how they will perform in another financial crash or an extended downtrend. Personally, I have been more cautious lately with these products for this reason.
What works for me best is to sell near term way OTM strikes that are very unlikely to get hit. Last week I was selling UVXY Jan 100 to 125 calls for .30 or so each. As you can see, since then UVXY has only moved from 30 to 50. Also, I sell highest strikes at the furthest expiration dates, like Jan 2017 and 2018. These will return pretty high premium, but will deflate dramatically when volatility relaxes. Many traders will add strikes from all expirations, including weekly, and at multiple strikes.
We also will take assignment of SVXY stock, sometimes UVXY stock, and sell covered calls until stock is called away. Some of us will hold these positions through large drawdowns, knowing the volatility event will eventually end. I do not recommend that unless you have ice in your veins. We also sell naked PUTS in UVXY, especially in times like now when rallies like yesterday are usually followed by more volatility. Check out the long list of expirations that will be posted at the end of the day, and you’ll get an idea of some of the positions that are being traded.
Hope this helps! The traders here are all very helpful and can answer further questions. – Jeff
KOLD rolling
#ContangoETFs – I made the error of getting too bearish on this and I sold Jan calls recently that will now be costly to cover. Fool myself once. I will now stick to only further OTM calls and puts. Not posting specific trades because I’m doing them piecemeal, but today closing Jan 150, 155, 159, and 160 calls. I bought some stock at 166.10 to have called away. Also sold Feb 120 puts for 2.20 and May 270 call for 9.00. Will sell more in coming weeks… right now giving my margin a rest. Still short some deep ITM calls in Feb, and numerous Feb and May calls over 220. #Rolling
