#CoveredCalls #CoveredCallCampaign #SyntheticCoveredCall #LongLEAPs
Sold $AAPL June 1st 187.5 covered calls for 1.58
Sold $TQQQ May 18th 160 synthetic covered call for 1.60.
Author Archives: Jeff
SPX roll
#SPXcampaign Every attempt to roll this lower was not filled due to market strength. So I’m ending up rolling it to a HIGHER put spread at 1.5x size. I feel comfortable doing this since we are still not far from the bottom of the recent range.
Sold $SPX May 25th 2525/2500 put spreads for 2.30. #Rolling from May 25th 2500/2475 puts stopped yesterday.
AAPL earnings closed
#Earnings #CoveredCallCampaign
I was trying to exit the calls for pennies yesterday but not filled, and now the Oracle has AAPL bulls on a rampage.
Closed $AAPL May 4th 180 calls for .46 (today), and 160 puts for .02 (on Wednesday). #ShortStrangle sold for 1.27 on Tuesday.
April Jobs report
#Jobs Fewer than expected jobs added, but lowest UE rate since 2000, and wage growth sluggish.
+164,000 non-farm payroll jobs, vs 192K expected
Unemployment falls to 3.9%, lowest since 2000
U6 unemployment at 7.8%, down by .2 and lowest since 2001
Wages up 0.15%, reflecting 2.6% annualized, down from last month
Labor force participation 62.8%, down 0.1
Mar revised up from 103k to 135k
Feb revised down from 326k to 324k
TQQQ, UVXY, and FDX
#LongLEAPs #syntheticstock #syntheticcoveredcall
Closed $TQQQ May 11th 165 call for .30. Sold for 1.70 on Apr 24th. Sold against the long Jan 2020 150 call. Will sell a new one when we move higher.
#VXXGame Sold $UVXY Sept 20 call for 2.75. (today)
Earlier this week, closed these for profits:
UVXY June 15th 30 call for .40 (sold for 2.125)
UVXY Jan 2019 70 call for 1.20 (sold for 6.50)
UVXY Jan 2019 65 call for 1.15 (sold for 3.50)
#Earnings #Rolling (on Monday)
Closed $FDX May 4th 237.5 put for .24. Sold for 5.55 on 4/11.
Closed $FDX May 4th 235 put for .16. Sold for 6.05 on 4/11.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Certainly is a difficult market for these trades as traditional stops can be hit quite often, and often on the lows. The whipsaw hit me today, but I choose to stick to my rules as the pain of going deeply underwater if the drop gets serious is much worse than the irritation of having to roll after getting stopped out on the lows.
Stopped: $SPX May 25th 2500/2475 put spreads for 3.25. Sold for 1.60 last Friday. This is the second time around on this spread… a true example of “whipsaw.” I tried to roll further down but missed my fill. Now holding off until we get a better place to sell the roll.
Stopped: $SPX June 1st 2490/2465 put spreads for 2.80. Sold for 1.75 on Monday.
#CondorRoll: Sold June 1st 2410/2435/2740/2765 condors for 2.90.
All that said, I have allowed the May 17th 2540/2515 put spread to significantly breach my stops TWICE; once last week and again today, without touching it. The vast majority of “stops” I’ve executed since early Feb have been on spreads that would have ended up expiring OTM, so I’m allowing some leeway.
BABA earnings
#Earnings #ShortStrangles #CoveredCallCampaign
I’m long stock on this one. Legging into a strangle.
Sold May 4th 165 puts for .75.
Looking to sell 195 calls for .75 as stock rises off the lows.
AMZN call butterfly
This is an idea from John Carter at simplertrading.com. He bought it yesterday (a 10-lot), I’m getting a slightly better price today (for a 1-lot). Risking $275 for max gain of $2200-ish. Idea is that price will gravitate toward 1600 for the monthly expiration.
Bought to Open $AMZN May 18th 1575/1600/1625 call butterfly for 2.75.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign
Sold to Open $SPX June 1st 2450/2425 put spreads for 1.70.
Closed on GTC order: May 25th 2795/2820 call spreads for .20. Sold last week for 1.65.
TSLA closed
#Earnings #ShortStrangles Closed $TSLA May 4th 265/330 strangles for .65. Sold for 3.40 yesterday.
SQ earnings closed
#Earnings #CoveredCallCampaign
Closed $SQ May 4th 45 puts for .15. Sold yesterday in the 45/55 #ShortStrangles for 1.00. I’ll let the calls expire.
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Closed on GTC order: $SPX May 17th 2775/2800 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.55 on April 20th.
SQ earnings
#Earnings #ShortStrangles #CoveredCallCampaign
Sold $SQ 45/55 May 4th strangles for 1.00. Leans slightly bullish. I am also long the stock so some of the calls are covered.
Biggest UP move: 14.0%, Biggest DOWN move: -21.7%, Average move: 8.2%.
Stock at 48.50 at time of fill, strikes are +13.4% and -7.2% OTM.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX June 1st 2760/2785 call spreads for 1.75.
Closed on GTC order: May 4th 2575/2550 put spreads for .30. Sold in a #CondorRoll for 7.15 on April 12th.
TSLA earnings
#Earnings Sold $TSLA May 4th 265/330 #ShortStrangles for 3.19. Biggest UP move: 11.2%, Biggest DOWN move: -8.9%, Average move: 5.7%. Strikes are +10.0% and -11.7% OTM. Leaning a bit bearish as we’re bellow 200ma and recent performance.
AAPL strangles
#Earnings #CoveredCallCampaign
Sold $AAPL May 4th 160/180 #ShortStrangles for 1.27. I am also long the stock, so short calls are covered. Leaning slightly bullish on strike selection.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX May 11th 2500/2475 put spreads for .95. Sold for 1.85 on Apr 13th.
#ReverseRoll PLUS: Sold May 18th 2700/2725 call spreads for 3.80.
Closed the put spread earlier than usual and sold the call spread to balance out the SPX campaign portfolio…. I am heavier on short puts but prefer to be more balanced in such a range bound market.
SHOP closed
#Earnings Closed $SHOP May 4th 115/150 strangles for 1.10. Sold yesterday for 1.75. I wasn’t liking the weakness and don’t want to tie up the margin if the puts go ITM.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Closed the iron condor I sold last week for this Friday’s expiry. Pulled in decent profit today rather than giving it the chance to blow me up on either end.
Closed $SPX May 4th 2625/2600 put spreads for 3.95. Sold for 10.00 last Wednesday.
Closed $SPX May 4th 2690/2715 call spreads for 2.00. Sold for 6.40 on Thursday.
Also, right at the closing bell, filled on: SPX June 1st 2490/2465 put spreads for 1.75.
SHOP earnings
#Earnings Selling $SHOP May 4th 115/150 strangles. Trying for 1.90, no fill yet.
Econ Calendar for week of 4/30/18
Be sure to periodically click “Home/REFRESH” to keep Bistro features updated.
April Jobs Report is this Friday, 8:30am ET.
FB roll
#Earnings #CoveredCallCampaign #StrangleRoll #ShortStrangles
Closed $FB Apr 27th 170 call for 2.95. Sold for 1.00 on Wednesday.
Sold FB May 18th 165/180 strangle for 2.92.
SPX sales
#SPXcampaign
Sold $SPX May 25th 2500/2475 put spreads for 1.60
Sold $SPX May 25th 2785/2810 call spreads for 1.50
SQ put
#CoveredCalls #CoveredCallCampaign
Closed $SQ Apr 27th 46 put for .05. Sold for 1.20 on 4/16 as a #ReverseRoll from a breached covered call. Now waiting for earnings next Wednesday.
AMZN, scraping for pennies
#Earnings Closed the 25-pt #IronButterfly for 24.70, saving myself 30 bucks from allowing it to be exercised. Working on something for the 30-pointers…. dare I try to leg out on this pullback?
AMZN earnings
#Earnings Trying what has become my usual on this one: #IronButterfly
Looking at 25-pt and 30-pt wide centered on 1525. Gigantically favorable R:R.
SPX condor roll
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX May 11th 2500/2525/2750/2775 condors for 3.10, as a #CondorRoll from put spread stopped yesterday.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX May 4th 2690/2715 call spreads for 6.40. This offsets the $10 put spread sold yesterday with same expiry. Fairly aggressive condor of expiration a week from tomorrow.
FB covered call
#Earnings #CoveredCalls #CoveredCallCampaign
Sold $FB Apr 27th 170 covered call for 1.00.
SPX puts stopped
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX May 25th 2500/2475 put spreads for 2.90. Sold yesterday for 1.70. I’ll look to roll later today. This started the day going over the 3.00 stop level, so got out on the bounce. I also am not going to let my 10-dollar spread go negative. If the bleeding doesn’t stop soon I will be out.
Also, closed on GTC orders:
May 4th 2750/2775 call spreads for .30. Sold in a #CondorRoll for 7.15 on Apr 12th.
May 17th 2810/2835 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.50 on Apr 16th.
FB slump
#Earnings Tough to make a call for earnings. It’s breaking more support this morning. It’s biggest recent drop on earnings is only -5.6%, and it has a positive bias after earnings. Even a good earnings report (which is likely) may just be another excuse to sell. I’m probably staying away, although might sell calls if we get a late day rally.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcamaign Making a bet that the low is in… change my mind if we get down to 2600…
Sold $SPX May 4th 2625/2600 put spreads for 10.00.
SPX long again
#SPXcampaign Bought $SPX May 18th 2770/2790 call spreads for .90. Got these a little early in today’s drop, but it is the same position I’ve turned around twice by selling on the highs.
SPX stop and roll
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX May 17th 2535/2510 put spreads for 3.10. Sold Friday for 1.60.
#CondorRoll Increased position size and sold May 18th 2440/2465/2780/2805 condors for 2.20.
The roll leans bullish, with higher premium on the put side, since we are at the bottom of the consolidation range.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX May 25th 2500/2475 put spreads for 1.70.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX May 25th 2795/2820 call spreads for 1.65.
Closed on GTC orders:
Yesterday: May 11th 2825/2850 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.75 on Apr 10th.
Today: May 11th 2400/2375 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.75 on Apr 9th.
TQQQ call sold
#LongLEAPs #SyntheticStock #SyntheticCoveredCall
Sold $TQQQ May 11th 165 call for 1.70. Against my long Jan 2020 150 call.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX May 14th 2675/2650 put spreads for 9.30. Sold Friday for 10.25. Since we did NOT start the week with a nice bounce, I’m exiting this with plans to enter something similar later, perhaps today. Since this is a trade I’ve rolled three times, each time bleeding more, I’m getting out iwht a small profit this time.
Also, in pre-market, closed on GTC order: SPX Apr 27th 2750/2775 call spreads for .30. Sold for 2.35 on April 6th.
Econ Calendar for week of 4/23/18
Be sure to periodically click “Home/REFRESH” to keep Bistro features updated.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX May 17th 2775/2800 call spreads for 1.55.
Sold SPX May 14th 2675/2650 put spreads for 10.25. Another aggressive roll but with a more manageable time frame.
Joining the TQQQ Queue
#LongLEAPs Bought to Open $TQQQ Jan 2020 150 call for 41.00. To break even, underlying only has to reach its all-time high from last month, and I got 21 months to do it. Meanwhile, I’ll be selling calls against it.
Volatility not kicking up
#Market Today we are down less than 1%, which in 2018 is notable. VIX not up much, and UVXY and VXX could barely be considered to be spiking, given the huge drop they saw in the last week. UVXY had been at 20 for a couple weeks, then a quick drop to 15, and barely up today.
Meantime, SPX could barely get above 2700. Is this the new normal? Consolidating indices all year and volatility drifts downward as we get used to it?
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Closed on GTC order: $SPX May 4th 2810/2835 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.45 on Apr 5th.
Closed Apr 25th 2680/2655 put spreads for 9.70. Sold for 5.65 yesterday. I had to step away for a few, and that’s when the plunge happened, just before I failed to get a fill on a break-even order. Now I may have gotten out on the lows. My ability to trade these short-term near-the-money spreads has totally sucked since early March. I was killing it with them in February and it got my confidence up, so the market had to affirm who’s daddy.
RH trade closed
#Earnings #ShortStrangle #StrangleRoll
Closed $RH Apr 20th 87.5 puts for .60. Sold as the 87.5/100 #StrangleRoll from breached short calls for 4.535 on Mar 29th. Letting the calls expire. Total profit in trade, 2.11.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Looks like early March all over again… a multi-day rally cut short by the volatility of 2018.
Sold $SPX May 17th 2535/2510 put spreads for 1.60.
Looking to already close the short-term put spread I sold at yesterday’s close. I thought the bounce yesterday looked decent and would lead to a stronger morning. Not the case. AAPL is not helping the overall market.
SPX roll
#SPXcampaign #Rolling Sold $SPX Apr 25th 2680/2655 put spreads for 5.65 after the bell, as a roll from the spread stopped earlier.
BABA roll
#CoveredCallCampaign #ShortPuts
Closed $BABA Apr 20th 190 put for 7.95, to avoid early assignment tonight. Sold for 3.85 on March 15th.
#Rolling Sold BABA May 4th 187.5 put for 9.55. Moved down a strike and after earnings.
FDX trades
#Earnings #Rolling
Closed $FDX Apr 20th 255 call for .74. Sold for 1.15 on March 23rd.
Sold FDX May 25th 237.5 puts for 2.33.
After closing ITM puts under margin pressure, I have now rolled them all back into profit range. I still think this is a decent bullish candidate on pullbacks. The call was over 3.00 yesterday so slipping out today in case it rallies back tomorrow.
CP earnings closed
#Earnings BTC $CP Apr 20th 175 puts for .45. Sold yesterday for 1.10.
SPX puts stopped
#SPXcampaign I love these short-term reverse rolls when a rally starts, but of course they only work with a sustained rally… since January, sustained rallies haven’t been happening. Thus, got whipsawed on this one, albeit without much damage. Stopped out when we started dropping for the third time, and of course, that led to the strongest bounce. Will likely roll into a condor later, depending on how the day shakes out.
Closed $SPX April 20th 2690/2665 put spreads for 5.35. Sold for 4.35 as a #ReverseRoll on Tuesday.
CP earnings
#Earnings The only thing I’m doing today is selling $CP Apr 20th 175 puts for 1.15. Fairly close to the money, but CP has only moved down more than 3% one time on earnings in the last 8 years.
Not filled yet, but stock is pulling back now. I’ll drop to 1.10 if necessary.
Biggest UP move: 5.9%, Biggest DOWN move: -5.2%, Average move: 2.9%. This trade is -2.8% OTM.
SPX calls stopped
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX May 4th 2760/2785 call spreads for 4.25. Sold for 1.70 on Apr 3rd.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign
In pre-market, closed on GTC order: $SPX May 4th 2400/2375 put spread for .20. Sold for 1.60 on Apr 6th.
After open, sold SPX May 17th 2540/2515 put spreads for 1.60
Keeping up with the DROP
#VXXGame VXX products plummeting. Only a few positions in trouble, more than outweighed by my short calls that are deteriorating.
BTC $UVXY Apr 27 19 put for 3.95. Sold for 1.56 on Apr 3rd.
BTC $VXX Apr 27 44.5 put for 3.60. Sold for 1.25 on Apr 3rd.
BTC UVXY Jan 2019 70 call for 1.20. Sold for 6.50 (avg price) in February. Still have several remaining.
Sold UVXY Sept 25 call for 2.27
Sold VXX Sept 50 call for 5.65
Bought VXX June 15th 30 puts for .18, adding to my position.
NFLX closed
#Earnings Closed $NFLX Apr 20th 275 puts for .10. Sold yesterday for 3.433 (avg price).
Effective Upside warning possible
#VIXIndicator As I discussed last month, we are in a “double-header” downside warning which is rare. Rarer still is when the second warning does not print a higher VIX high or a lower SPX low. This makes it less clear when we get an Upside Warning. If we measure from the first warning’s spike, we will get the Upside with a close below 17.76 today (which is likely). If we go with the second warning, we have to wait for three closes below 12.61.
I suspect by the time we drop to 12.61, a sustained rally will already be underway. Because of last month’s head-fake, with three closes below 17.76 leading us right into more volatility, I remain cautiously optimistic for new market highs.
Covered calls
#CoveredCallCampaign #CoveredCalls.
On Friday, closed $SQ Apr 27th 50 call for 1.77. Strike was breached, so I closed, and then stock dropped a lot more. Today, I sold Apr 27th 46 put for 1.20. Getting this roll in before earnings on May 2nd.
Today, closed $FB Apr 27th 175 call for 1.55. Sold for 1.60 on 3/29… I believe I sold this when earnings were expected to be around May 1. Now they are confirmed for Apr 25th, and I don’t want to be in its way.
VXX dump
#VXXGame Hard to keep ahead of short puts once the drop commences…
BTC $UVXY Apr 27 19 put for 3.45. Sold for 1.56 on Apr 3rd.
BTC $VXX Apr 27 44 put for 2.48. Sold for 1.15 on Apr 3rd.
Closed partial positions. Will close the remainder later, probably roll into short calls, which is the side that always works.
Also, earlier, closed UVXY March 18th 25 call for .54. Sold for 3.175 in March.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX May 17th 2810/2835 call spreads for 1.50.
NFLX puts sold
#Earnings. Sold to open $NFLX April 20th 275 puts for 3.65. May add more, and possibly calls if I can find some premium high up.
NFLX kicks it off
#Earnings season begins! Here are the 5-day moves on NFLX. Strong bullish bias. Pulling back now gives good entry opportunity.
Mon 01/22/2018 AC 20.66%
Mon 10/16/2017 AC -4.20%
Mon 07/17/2017 AC 16.59%
Mon 04/17/2017 AC -2.97%
Wed 01/18/2017 AC 3.09%
Mon 10/17/2016 AC 27.75%
Mon 07/18/2016 AC -13.07%
Mon 04/18/2016 AC -11.53%
Tue 01/19/2016 AC -6.64%
Wed 10/14/2015 AC -7.74%
Wed 07/15/2015 AC 12.65%
Wed 04/15/2015 AC 19.33%
SPX calls closed
Good morning!
#SPXcampaign. Closed on GTC order: $SPX Apr 27th 2800/2825 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.50 on March 28th.
Volatility drop continues. I’m cautiously shifting to a bullish stance, but still need to break through SPX resistance.
Econ Calendar for week of 4/16/18
Be sure to periodically click “Home/REFRESH” to keep Bistro features updated.
No SPX for you
Flying at 30,000 feet and I can’t load SPX options into the IB platform. Need to sell a call spread, dammit. Guess I could do 60 SPY spreads instead.
SPX condor sold
#SPXcampaign What do you do when you’re bored? A 3-week, 20-delta condor will work. Last one of these I did worked great, so we’ll try again. VIX finally got down to my 17.76 level, but SPX does not yet look like it wants to rally.
Sold $SPX May 4th 2550/2575/2750/2775 #CondorRoll for 7.15.
Also, just filled,
Sold May 11th 2500/2475 put spreads for 1.85.
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX Apr 20th 2700/2725 call spreads for 7.05. Sold on Tuesday for 7.50.
For the first time in awhile the VIX is showing actual weakness in the last hour. Need to see what tomorrow brings.
UVXY trades
#VXXGame Took some $UVXY profits and also added some more hedges.
BTC Apr 20th 25 call for .20. Sold for 1.47 on Apr 2nd.
BTC May 18th 25 call for 1.04. Sold for 3.175 (avg price) in March. Leaving one open.
BTC June 15th 40 call for .66. Sold for 2.75 on Feb 2nd.
BTO May 18th 44 calls for .20. Highest strike. My April 59 long calls rolling off next Friday so shifting to May and June.
Testing… testing…
Turn around?
I’m being cautious with short positions… yesterday was pretty weak in SPX but VIX didn’t budge much and in fact had a lower high, low, and close. And today we are opening strong with VIX further down. Earnings season is starting, and the general bullishness about 1st quarter results may be what breaks us free of this volatility.
VXX gamin’
#VXXGame
BTC $UVXY April 20th 26 calls for .25. Sold for 1.45 on April 2nd.
BTO $UVXY May 18th 40 call for .30. Adding to my position, which is cheap long calls to hedge the sale of higher-premium, lower-strike calls.
Trades this week
#ContangoETFs #CoveredCalls #CoveredCallCampaign #VXXGame #Earnings
Here are a few trades other than SPX:
Today: BTC $DUST Jun 15th 40 call for .25. Sold for 3.05 on Dec 4th.
Yesterday: BTC $FB Apr 20th 160 put for 3.00. Sold for 1.37 on March 19th. Backed out to early, not anticipating the rally the Zuck’s testimony would create.
Friday: BTC $FDX Apr 20th 235 puts for 6.77. Sold for 6.75 on 3/23 as when #Rolling from an earnings trade. I had margin pressure on Friday. Scaling back in since then:
Sold May 4th 235 put for 6.05;
Sold May 4th 237.5 put for 5.55.
This one seems like a buy… it’s just waiting for market to relax.
Friday: Closed $BABA Apr 27th 200 call for .18. Sold for 1.90 on 3/29.
Today: Sold BABA May 11th 195 call for 1.40
Tuesday: Sold $SQ Apr 27th 50 covered call for 1.01
Friday: Sold $UVXY Jan 2020 59 call for 4.80.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX May 11th 2825/2850 call spreads for 1.75.
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.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Apr 20th 2700/2725 call spreads for 7.50.
SPX creeping up again… VIX going nowhere.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX Apr 20th 2625/2600 put spreads for 6.50. Sold for 10.25 on Friday.
