#VIXIndicator The close bumped us up to 11.68, so still no start of the countdown to an Upside Warning.
Author Archives: Jeff
Covered Calls
#CoveredCallCampaign
#Rolling $BABA hit 170 in the pre-market; I closed one of two calls I had at the 170 strike. Kept the other.
BTC BABA Sep 28th 170 call for 1.95. Sold for 1.55 on Sept 12th
#Rolling Sold BABA Oct 5th 175 call for 1.60
BTC $SQ Oct 5th 97 covered calls for .25. Sold for 2.45 on Sept 13th
Sold $MU Sept 28th 45 covered call for .90. I also am still long Oct 5th 45 calls.
BTC $OLED Sept 21st 122 covered call for .40. Sold for 1.50 last Friday.
Sold Sept 28th 124 call for 1.65.
NVDA Supercharger
#SuperCharger I was looking at a #Lophir but wasn’t liking the margin requirement R/R. This trade is a better fit.
Bought to open $SPX Oct 26th 247.5/257.5 bull call spreads for 7.30. Profit target: 9.40.
Interesting chart
I think it shows stock market performance is fairly unpredictable based on Washington’s makeup.
OK, but can it hit both in the same week?
Futures Up Modestly
$SPY is down due to ex-div
VIX can’t shake off the fear
#VIXIndicator We spent the morning in Upside Warning territory, but despite a steadily rising SPX all day, the VIX also rose steadily then ended up closing higher on the day.
MU earnings
Covered Calls
#CoveredCallCampaign
Sold $AAPL Oct 12th 227.5 covered call for 2.13
Sold $FB Oct 12th 172.5 covered call for 1.20
BTC $OLED Sep 21st 114 put for .15. Sold for 1.50 last Friday
PVTL owner
#Earnings #Assignment While waiting for $PVTL 22.5 puts to hopefully expire, I got assigned last night. At least it is cheap. No weeklies, and options premium is weak, so I will hopefully catch a bounce and sell it.
Ripping
We awake to a ripping rally and lowest VIX since early August.
TLRY puts
#Scary Sold $TLRY Sept 21st 150 puts for 1.85. One put in each of two retirement accounts.
VXX short stock
#VXXGame Waited a long time for this… Bought to cover 10 shares of $VXX shares for 26.95. Was early assigned 100 short shares on Feb 12th via a 27 short call. I will scale out as it moves down.
TLRY madness
Look at the Oct 19th ATM options.
240 call: 50.00
240 put: 105.00
I know puts usually are more than calls, but that’s quite a difference! Sell a straddle and your profit range at expiration would be 85.00-395.00
BABA covered call
#CoveredCallCampaign Nice to see some strength in this one, but worried it’s a dead cat.
Sold $BABA Oct 5th 170 covered call for 1.55.
TSLA should build rollercoasters
BREAKING: Tesla share sharply drop on report that the company is facing a U.S. criminal over Musk's statements https://t.co/2c272KfMhC pic.twitter.com/3qqWxjXdPh
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) September 18, 2018
FDX puts sold
#Earnings Post-earnings pullback: Selling at the 200 dma on a bullish trend;
Sold $FDX Oct 12th 240 puts for 2.90
Futures fading from highs
BREAKING: China retaliates against Trump’s new tariffs with its own 5%-10% tariffs on $60B of goods http://cnbc.com/id/105455033
GOOGL supercharger rolled
#SuperCharger Sold $GOOGL Sep 28th 1155/1165 bull call spreads for 6.50. Bought for 6.99 last Monday.
#Rolling Bought GOOGL Oct 5th 1140/1150 call spreads for 6.85.
I’m getting leery, however, of staying long anything.
TSLA roll
#Earnings #StrangleRoll
BTC $TSLA Sep 21st 260 put for .59. Sold for 11.95.
Stopped TSLA Sep 21st 300 calls for 7.80. Sold for 3.35.
Rolled to: Sold Sep 28th 275/322.5 strangles for 8.20.
AMZN rolled
#SuperCharger Bought to Open $AMZN Oct 19th 1865/1875 Bull Call Spread for 6.55. Moved strikes 25 points lower and bought this one for cheaper than usual.
AMZN SC closed
#Supercharger Sold to Close $AMZN Sep 28th 1890/1900 bull call spread for 6.50. Bought for 7.35 on Sept 6th.
As an experiment, I had also sold a 1-lot in the 1900/1890 put spread for 2.70. I entered the order to close for 3.55, which is the same .85 loss as the call spread. This put spread closed when AMZN hit 1923, and the call spread closed when it hit 1924. So as for stop loss, the experiment shows these spreads work about the same. I’ll try this again to see how the winners turn out.
Closed AZO
#SuperCharger Sold to close $AZO Sept 21st 725/735 bull call spread for 6.50. Bought for 7.35 on Aug 30th.
The expiration on this spread is AFTER earnings, which is not ideal as you won’t get enough theta decay to take the desired profit unless you wait past earnings. I didn’t want to risk the full 7.35 on that coin toss.
Econ Calendar for week of 9/17/18
Be sure to periodically click “Home/REFRESH” to keep Bistro features updated
Options Expiration 9/14/18
— Expired —
$SPX 2810/2835/2955/2980 iron condors. Sold for 3.80 on Aug 29th.
OLED covered call
#PieTrades Sold $OLED Sep 21st 122 call for 1.50.
Trades of my day
#PieTrades created from busted #Earnings trades
Sold $OLED Sep 21st 114 put for 1.50. Selling a call before the close
#CoveredCallCampaign
Sold $AAPL Oct 5th 215 puts for 1.78. Offsetting 230 covered calls.
Sold $SQ Oct 5th 82 puts for 1.00.
#Earnings repair
BTC $TSLA Sep 21st 260 put for 1.40. Sold last week for 11.95. Still holding another, against 300 calls.
$RH Stopped out on Sep 28th 135 calls, for 5.55 and 8.00. Sold for 2.80.
Looks bullish now so sold Oct 5th 130 puts for 2.80.
MU pre-earnings speculation
#PreEarnings Taking a shot at $MU. Chips have been beaten up lately but starting to show support. MU is now bouncing off the consolidation area from early this year. Taking a slightly OTM long call. Even if earnings reaction next week is not stellar, stock will have until Oct 5th to reach the 47.00 break-even.
Bought to Open $MU Oct 5th 45 long calls for 2.02. Keep an eye out, you might get this cheaper if we drop more intraday.
Also long shares in a #PieTrade.
Reminder, this happens on Tuesday
#VXXGame $SVXY and $UVXY splits
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3386632-proshares-announces-reverse-share-splits-two-etfs#email_link
Same old story…
BREAKING: Dow sharply drops after reports says Trump wants to move forward with tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goodshttps://t.co/jfQ0xIUd9p pic.twitter.com/Boq8zVemOF
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) September 14, 2018
SPX condor sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Sep 28th 2815/2840/2950/2975 iron condors for 3.65. This is replacing the condor that expires tomorrow, but I’m going 5 points closer in on each side.
AAPL call roll
#CoveredCallCampaign BTC $AAPL Sep 28th 227.5 covered calls for 3.55. Sold for 3.60 on Tuesday, so broke even and covered commissions.
#Rolling Sold AAPL Oct 5th 230 calls for 3.60.
SQ covered calls
#CoveredCallCampaign This one has been a monster, and call premium is big. Got some of my calls run over so building my way back. I am long stock and also long Jan 2019 60 calls.
Sold $SQ Oct 5th 97 calls for 2.45.
Anyone have advice on rolling my Jan 60 calls? I can go to March or Jan 2020. Currently trading at 32.83. Can roll up to Jan 2020 80 call for 26.20, or Jan 2020 100 call for 17.40.
Thoughts?
PVTL call side closed
#Earnings BTC $PVTL Sep 21st 34 calls for .05. Condor sold yesterday for 1.70.
The 22.5 puts are recovering from overnight lows. Order in to close for .05 as well. Leaving the long legs as lottery tickets.
iPhone X s MAX
6.5″ display, just announced.
Watch live at https://www.apple.com/apple-events/september-2018/
1st earnings report
#Earnings Taking a shot on this one since premium is high, but defining max risk since this is its first earnings report, and the options expire next Friday.
Short Strikes are about 20% OTM.
Sold $PVTL Sep 21st 17.5/22.5/34/39 condors for 1.70.
Covered Calls and such
#CoveredCallCampaign
Yesterday:
Sold $BABA Sep 28th 170 call for 1.55
Sold $AAPL Sep 28th 227.5 calls for 3.60
#PieTrades
Closed $MU Sep 14th 47.5 covered call for .08. Sold last week for .75. Leaving the deck clear for earnings next week.
Today:
BTC $AMAT Sep 14th 125 covered call for 2.50. Sold last week for 2.00. Ex-div tomorrow, so I’ll wait until after to sell new calls. #PieTrades
#Earnings repair
Sold $TSLA Sep 21st 300 call for 4.25
Sold $RH Sep 28th 135 call for 2.30
GOOGL SuperCharger
#SuperCharger This worked so well a couple weeks ago, and now it looks like the pullback may be over.
Bought to Open $GOOGL Sept 28th 1155/1165 bull call spread for 6.99. Order in to close for 9.40.
RH & TSLA strangles
#Earnings Still working my way back from some earnings trades on these two.
Sold $RH Sept 28th 120 puts for 3.25. Will sell calls on a spike up.
Sold $TSLA Sept 21st 260 puts on Friday for 11.95.
Sold $TSLA Slot 21st 300 call yesterday for 2.40.
FB covered calls
#CoveredCallCampaign Have we found its bottom?
Sold $FB Oct 5th 175 covered calls for 1.50.
DUST call
#ContangoETFs Sold $DUST March 60 call for 5.35, adding to my position.
Econ Calendar for week of 9/10/18
Options Expiration 9/7/18
Just a couple….
$FIVE 104 puts, #Earnings trade sold yesterday for 1.20
$RH 180 calls, sold a couple weeks ago for 3.68
Trades
#CoveredCallCampaign Sold $FB Oct 5th 160 puts for 4.00.
#PieTrades Sold $MU Sep 14th 47.5 covered call for .75
#PieTrades Sold $OLED Sep 14th 125 call for 2.00.
#SyntheticCoveredCalls Closed $PYPL Sep 21st 95 calls for .11. Sold for 1.10 on Tuesday.
August Jobs Report
#Jobs Slightly better than expected.
+201,000 non-farm payroll jobs, vs 191K expected
Unemployment steady at 3.9%
U6 unemployment at 7.4%, down by 0.1
Wages up 0.4%, 2.9% year over year, an improvement over recent months
Labor force participation 62.7%, down 0.2
FIVE earnings
#Earnings Sold $FIVE Sept 28th 100 puts for 1.20. Biggest UP move: 21.9%, Biggest DOWN move: -9.3%, Average move: 6.3%. This trade is -9.7% OTM.
AMZN Supercharger
#SuperCharger Bought $AMZN Sept 28th 1890/1900 call spreads for 7.35. Plan to close for 9.40 or more. Thanks @mortlightman for the idea… I was trying to do this with NFLX but wasn’t finding good prices.
More stops
#Rolling #Earnings #CoveredCallCampaign
Had to stop two rolls I made yesterday. I have not re-rolled them, as I’m going to wait for things to settle down and choose my positions carefully.
BTC $FB Oct 5th 165 puts for 6.17.
BTC $RH Sep 28th 129 puts for 7.25.
My IB software has been funky on trade history so I don’t have sale prices handy.
Trades today
Had to make a few rolls today:
Rolled $FB Sep 14th 170 puts to Oct 5th 165 puts, .10 credit.
Closed $FB Sep 14th 182.5 calls for .20
#Earnings #Rolling Rolled $RH Sep 7th 135 puts to Sep 28th 129 puts, .40 credit.
#CoveredCallCampaign Sold $BABA Sep 21st 177.5 covered call for 1.54 (what’s happening to BABA?)
#PieTrades Sold $AMAT Sep 14th 42.5 covered call for .72
#ContangoETFs Sold $DUST Nov 60 call for 1.95
Over or the start?
The VIX was docile once again but NASDAQ stocks not looking pretty today. Is this the start of something bigger, or is it already over?
PYPL synthetic covered
#Earnings My long languishing Jan 2019 100 calls are looking better. Selling calls against them has been a bitch. Truing again:
Sold $PYPL Sept 21st 95 #SyntheticCoveredCalls for 1.10
RH earnings
#Earnings $RH down as much as 6% today before earnings after the bell. This is a huge mover and I have spent much of the last couple years being involved in repair trades after earnings. Including now… I already have a Sep 7th 135/180 strangle. So I’m not adding anything new. If the stock moves LESS than its average quarterly move on earnings, I could STILL have one of my sides breached. Be careful out there!
Over last 12 quarters: Biggest UP move: 38.5%, Biggest DOWN move: -28.8%, Average move: 18.6%. Bias is +5.66%.
Econ Calendar for week of 9/3/18
#Jobs report is Friday at 8:30am ET
AMBA double ender
#Earnings Sold some of my $AMBA Aug 31st 40 calls for .25. Nice to get a little profit on this side after taking the win on the put side this morning. Holding the rest in case we go even higher.
Weekly roll of OLED
#Earnings #CoveredCalls Working my way back to profit on busted earnings call from last quarter.
Yesterday, BTC $OLED Aug 31st 124 covered call for .40. Sold for 1.50 last Friday.
Today, Sold OLED Sep 7th 125 call for 1.75.
ULTA reversal
#Earnings Quite an overnight reversal… which I’d bought stock at 225 on the initial dip. Now my 275 short calls are threatened.
AMBA mostly closed
#Earnings #LongStraddle Sold most of my $AMBA Aug 31st 40 puts for 5.40 at the open. Will wait to see if the stock goes lower for the rest. Straddles bought yesterday for 4.09.
AMBA earnings
#Earnings Bought $AMBA Aug 31st 40 straddle. Filled at 4.09; described in my earlier post.
AMBA earnings
#Earnings This one has had a volatile recent history. Last 12 quarters: Biggest UP move: 14.3%, Biggest DOWN move: -22.4%, Average move: 10.3%. So I’m taking the $YELP approach and betting on a big move.
Buying the 40 straddle. A 9.8% move will be breakeven at expiration… but in the morning premium will be higher.
My bid is in a 3.95, not filled. I’ll get it in the last hour if I need to adjust.
ULTA earnings
#Earnings Sold $ULTA Aug 31st 220/275 strangles for 1.80.
Biggest UP move: 17.3%, Biggest DOWN move: -9.1%, Average move: 6.4%. Bias +2.7%. My strikes are +13.2% and -9.5% OTM.
SQ
Parabolic.
CRM closed
#Earnings $CRM
Strangles sold for 1.53. Closed for .35
Condors sold for .58. Closed for .20
Considering ULTA, LULU, AMBA for tonight.
Covered Calls
#CoveredCallCampaign BTC $FB Sep 7th 167.5 puts for .20. Sold in a #StrangleRoll a couple weeks ago.
Sold $FB Sep 21st 185 covered call for 1.50.
Yesterday, BTC $BABA Sep 14th 195 covered call for .15. Sold for 1.50 the day after earnings, 8/23.
Exit TSLA
#Earnings #Rolling Bought to close $THA Sep 7th 300/327.5 strangles for 10.35. Sold on Tuesday for 9.65. Exiting since my put side was breached. Fortunately theta worked in my favor for 2 days so the loss is small. My broker upped margin requirements on TSLA so this was a big chunk of buying power. I’ll leave TSLA alone for a few days and reconsider.
CRM mgt
#Earnings Bought to close the $CRM Aug 31st 162.5 calls for .05 in both my strangles and condors. Now looking to close the short 147 puts. All sold yesterday.
What happened next?
Reverse Split Happy Fun Time!
ProShares announces reverse share splits on two ETFs
Aug. 29, 2018 4:27 PM ET|About: ProShares Short VIX Short-T… (SVXY)|By: Liz Kiesche, SA News Editor
ProShares reports reverse shares splits on two of its ProShares Trust II ETFs; the splits won’t change the total value of a shareholder’s investment.
ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (NYSEARCA:UVXY) split ratio 1:5; CUSIP number will change to 74347W148 from 74347W163.
ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (NYSEARCA:SVXY) split ratio 1:4; CUSIP number will change to 74347W130 from 74347W627.
All reverse splits will be effective before the market open on Sept. 18, 2018, when the funds will begin trading at their post-split price. Ticker symbols for the funds will not be changed.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3386632-proshares-announces-reverse-share-splits-two-etfs#email_link
SPX condor
#SPXcampaign Jumping back in after a month-long break.
Sold $SPX Sept 14th (Friday PM expiration) 2810/2835/2955/2980 condors for 3.80.
CRM earnings
#Earnings Sold $CRM Aug 31st 147/162.5 strangles for 1.53.
Also, sold 145/147/162.5/165 unbalanced iron condors for 0.58
Biggest UP move: 11.0%, Biggest DOWN move: -4.4%, Average move: 3.3%. These strikes are about +/- 5.0% OTM. The 11% up move is an outlier… it occurred in Feb 2016. Next highest move was +4.1%.
AMZN closed
#Lophir Closed on GTC order: $AMZN 1820/1855/1885/1915 Lophir put trade for 4.30. Sold for 8.70 yesterday. The gap higher today made this only a one-day trade, although I think the very wide bid/ask spread on a trade like this can work in your favor on both ends, provided you can be patient and don’t force a fill. Thanks @kathycon for the idea!
MU pie roll
#PieTrades Rolled $MU Aug 31 50 covered call to the Sep 7th 50.5, .30 credit
#CoveredCallCampaign Rolled $AAPL Aug 31st 205 covered calls to Sep 7th 207.5 calls, 2.00 debit. Clawing my way up the strikes until I get a pullback.
GOOGL closed
#SuperCharger Closed on GTC order: $GOOGL Sep 7th 1200/1210 bull call spread for 9.45. Bought for 7.20 on 8/23.
Strangling TSLA again
#Earnings #Rolling Seems to have found a range, so after last week’s successful trade I’m trying again.
Yesterday, sold $TSLA Sp 7th 300/327.5 strangles for 9.65.
Other than that, my main work has been trying to stay ahead of #CoveredCalls in $AAPL, $PYPL and $SQ. It’s nice to be long all of these but selling calls is a bitch! I keep having to stop out and roll.
Econ Calendar for week of 8/27/18
Rolling OLED, all the kids are doing it
#Rolling #CoveredCalls
BTC $OLED Aug 24th 122 call for .45. Sold for 1.65 on Aug 16th.
STO $OLED Aug 31st 124 covered call for 1.50.
No expirations, have a good weekend all!
