#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX Jan 26th 2800/2825 call spreads for 5.80. Sold for 3.60 yesterday. These got close to 7.00 at the highs. It is still a folly to attempt to short this market.
Author Archives: Jeff
SPX long calls closed
#SPXcampaign Closed the $SPX Jan 16th 2750/2770 call spreads for 18.40.
This expires Monday and the max gain is 20.00. I figured if I could get 18.40 of that today, it was worth closing early. I didn’t really think it would fill when the morning started, but it did.
Bought for 2.80 on Jan 5th, the day after the Upside Warning fired.
FB covered call campaign
#CoveredCalls #CoveredCallCampaign #earnings
Got whipsawed on this one… first time in the year since I started this, so not bad.
Sold $FB Jan 26th 182.5 call for 1.30 on Jan 2nd.
Closed it for 5.50 on Wednesday.
Today, we get the dip I wish I’d waited for. But now looking at a run up into earnings, so I sold Jan 26th 180 put for 3.55.
Earnings are Jan 31st. I will look into strangles on the day before.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Closed on GTC order in pre-market:
$SPX Jan 17th 2730/2705 put spreads for .40. Sold for 6.50.
SPX calls sold (he said meekly)
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Jan 26th 2800/2825 call spreads for 3.60.
I decided to dip my toe in since we had such a strong surge at the end of the day. If we get any pullback or consolidation over next couple of days, I can close this for under a dollar. If not, I’ll stop it at 5.00 or 6.00.
Riding the Wave
Other than one option sold in $GUSH, just riding the wave today as the Upside Warning brings us higher. I’m going to sell my long $SPX Jan 12th 2750/2775 call spreads today for 13.75 or best I can get before the close. It may go higher tomorrow, but for that I have the same spread with Tuesday’s expiration.
I gotta believe we’re due for a consolidation period soon, but it’s hard to pick a top. Rather than my typical 5-weeks-out, I will probably try selling some shorter term call spreads, as they will lose their value very fast once we consolidate.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Feb 9th 2660/2635 put spreads for 1.55.
Using the dip, 2
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Jan 22nd 2740/2715 put spreads for 7.50 (wish I’d waited 10 minutes).
#VXXGame Sold to Open $SVXY March 16th 130/110 put spread for 8.05. That cost me 2K in margin as opposed to a naked March 120 put, for which they wanted 12K. I guess that means I’m long the market.
Using the dip
#SPXcampaign Bought to open $SPX Jan 19th (Friday PM) 2765/2785 call spreads for 3.20. Also orders in to sell some put spreads.
#VXXGame Bought to CLOSE $SVXY Jan 19th 125 call for 11.15. Sold for 3.75 on Oct 26th. Looking for roll options.
Sold partial of SPX long
#SPXcampaign Sold a third of my LONG $SPX Jan 12th 2750/2775 call spreads for 10.45. These were bought for only .45 back on Dec 11th. I’m keeping the rest until Friday’s expiration.
SPX closures
#SPXcampaign Closed on GTC orders:
$SPX Jan 26th 2605/2580 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.45.
$SPX Jan 16th 2700/2675 put spreads for .30. Sold for 4.75.
SPX closures
#SPXcampaign These closed this morning on GTC orders:
$SPX Jan 12th 2690/2665 put spreads for .25. Sold for 3.20 one Jan 3rd.
$SPX Jan 18th 2620/2595 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.60 on Dec 22nd.
Upside Warning working… this morning’s minor drop another entry opportunity.
SPX more puts sold
#SPXcampaign Earlier sold my standard, 5-week-out, campaign trade (Feb 9th expiry). Here I’m selling an aggressive, ATM, shorter timeframe as it looks like the morning weakness is ending. This one will be on a shorter leash, and if we haven’t moved higher by this Friday I will likely roll it.
Sold $SPX Jan 19th (Friday PM expiration) 2740/2715 put spreads for 6.95.
Announcement…
I’m changing the name of my site to Options Blockchain Bistro-Coin. I’m selling only 100 shares, opening ask is $1.6 million each.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Feb 9th 2650/2625 put spreads for 1.60.
Econ Calendar for week of 1/8/18
Be sure to periodically click “Home/REFRESH” to keep Bistro features updated.
SVXY roll
#VXXGame Doing a @fuzzballl style #ReverseRoll on this one. My naked call was bound for #EarlyAssignment any day now so I finally closed it. Getting some of that premium back with an ITM put spread. If we have a significant drop before June, I can sell the long put and take assignment of the stock at a decent cost basis.
Closed $SVXY Jan 16th 97.5 call for 38.35. Sold as the 195 call for 6.25 on 1/6/17, exactly a year ago…. cost basis 3.125, so not a great trade!
Sold SVXY June 150/110 put spread for 18.40. So for instance if SVXY dips to 80 at June expiration, I would get the stock at 101.60 cost basis. I’ll be looking for another roll on the next pullback.
Bespoke’s List of the Most Volatile Stocks on Earnings
#Earnings https://www.bespokepremium.com/think-big-blog/bespokes-list-of-the-most-volatile-stocks-on-earnings-2/
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Here are the $SPX trades I made on the Great Market Dip of 2018 (the 3-point drop between 9:30 and 9:55 PT)
Sold Feb 2nd 2660/2635 put spreads for 1.55
Sold Jan 17th 2730/2705 put spreads for 6.50
BOUGHT Jan 16th 2750/2770 call spreads for 2.80
AVGO call added
#ShortStrangles Sold another $AVGO Feb 16th 290 call for 3.75. Why do I get the feeling I will have to roll it?
SPX trade
#SPXcampaign I was futzing around with taking some risk off yesterday, but was not filled. Then I forgot to take the order off, so this closed overnight, regretfully now that it’s trading at .60.
Closed $SPX Jan 8th 2710/2685 put spreads for 1.40. Sold for 6.20 on Wednesday.
December Jobs Report
+148,000 non-farm payroll jobs, vs 180K expected
Unemployment holds steady at 4.1%
U6 unemployment up one tenth to 8.1%
Wages up 0.3%, totaling +2.5% for the year
Labor force participation holds at 62.7%
Upside Warning in effect
#VIXIndicator #Market An Upside Warning went into effect, meaning the risk is to upside: higher prices on the indices. I was hoping for some relaxation or minor pullback to start us off, but we are over 8 points higher again on $SPX. No use fighting it.
Jobs report in 20 minutes.
STZ earnings
#Earnings Bullish trend, stellar earnings performance.
Sold $STZ Jan 19th 220 put for 2.20. Will add another.
One day moves: Biggest UP move: 6.4%, Biggest DOWN move: -7.1%, Average move: 3.8%. +2.6% upside bias. This trade is -3.9% OTM.
Over last 12 reports, -7.1% was its only move down the day after, and that improved to only -2.7% thirteen days later (which is roughly expiration).
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX Jan 18th (monthlys) 2750/2775 call spreads for 2.15. Sold for 1.60.
That puts me 100% long SPX.
strangling AVGO
#ShortStrangles Sold $AVGO Feb 16th 290 call for 3.25.
Sold (2) 250 puts for 5.85 last week… now making this a strangle. Will add another 290 at a higher price to balance the quantity.
VIX lows
The VIX is trading under 9.00 for the sixth time ever.
SPX puts
#SPXcampaign Changed my mind… got enough pullback:
Sold $SPX Jan 16th 2700/2675 put spreads for 4.75.
SPX all calls gone
#SPXcampaign Closed my last short call spread:
$SPX Feb 2nd 2750/2775 call spreads for 3.60. Sold for 1.50 yesterday.
Waiting to roll. Whether we are up or down tomorrow I will sell new put spreads, but I’m going to wait in case we have a pullback. A mild pullback tomorrow will still likely result in an Upside Warning and would be a better place to start long positions than at all-time highs. Then again, we could just continue higher and get long anyway.
SPX reverse roll
#SPXcampaign I’m jumping on this train. It hasn’t failed lately and I don’t see any reason it’s going to fail now. Holding off on BUYING any longs… would like to see another day and maybe some slight pullback.
Stopped $SPX Jan 26th 2740/2765 call spreads for 4.10. Sold for 1.80 last week.
#ReverseRoll Jan 8th 2710/2685 put spreads for 6.20. Slightly ITM.
If you didn't panic buy…
If you didn't panic buy the 1st open you can always panic buy the 2nd open. pic.twitter.com/5tsqENQ2J2
— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) January 3, 2018
Closing more call spreads
#SPXcampaign
Closed Jan 26th 2740/2765 call spreads for 2.95. Sold last week for 1.70.
Closed Jan 5th 2795/2720 call spreads for 11.80. Sold in a condor Friday for 7.35. Letting the 2675/2650 put spreads expire.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Feb 2nd 2620/2595 put spreads for 1.50.
SPX calls stopped
#SPXcampaign Spent the weekend wondering if I’d be challenged on the put side. Wrong again!
Closed $SPX Jan 3rd 2690 calls for 11.60. Sold in a condor for 6.50 on Thursday. I will be rolling into something, not sure what yet. A new Upside warning may be firing tomorrow.
Adding to NUGT ladder
#ContangoETFs Sold $NUGT March 44 call for 1.50. I now have a NUGT ladder that matches my $DUST ladder, all in calls.
New all-time high
$SPX notched a new one… so much for any bearishness in the new year. Another VIX close below 9.85 but will the FOURTH attempt at three in a row be the charm for an Upside Warning? I posted this in the Twitter feed earlier but I’ll now leave it here:
Dow up +25% in ’17 … time to look for a pullback?
Since ’50, up >25% YTD 10 times.
Higher next year 8 times with 6 of those times up double digits.
Avg +12.6% vs avg yearly return of +8.5%.
In other words, don’t turn bearish simply because ’17 was up a lot.
SPX closures
#SPXcampaign A flurry of put spreads closed in the last 20 minutes as $SPX ticked higher. I’m sitting now slightly ITM on a call spread expiring tomorrow (2690/2715). If we don’t open flat or lower, I will have to roll it.
Closed June 3rd 2775/2750 put spreads for .50. Sold in the condor for 6.50 on Thursday.
Closed June 3rd 2670/2645 put spreads for .30. Sold for 3.35
Closed Jan 12th 2580/2555 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.45
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Feb 2nd 2750/2775 call spreads for 1.50
Closed on GTC order:
Jan 12th 2575/2550 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.45
FB covered call
#CoveredCalls #CoveredCallCampaign
Sold $FB Jan 19th 182.5 call for 1.30.
Expires before earnings
Econ Calendar for week of 1/1/18
Be sure to periodically click “Home/REFRESH” to keep Bistro features updated.
JOBS report is this Friday, 8:30am ET
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign These were sold on Friday’s plunging close.
Closed $SPX Jan 2nd 2665 puts for .20. Sold on the 2665/2640 put spreads for 1.30.
Filled on final plunge
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Jan 2nd 2665/2640 put spreads for 1.30. Could have gotten over 2.00 if I had thought the punch down would be so sharp. Looks like it might have gone ITM in the after market. These expire on Tuesday, OTM, I hope.
Dumping LITE
#Earnings #LongStock Dumped these shares for 48.85. Tax loss. Sick of watching it do nothing.
Starting fresh for the new year! See y’all then!
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign These are the second two standard weekly trades:
Sold $SPX Jan 26th 2735/2760 call spreads for 1.90.
Sold $SPX Jan 26th 2605/2580 put spreads for 1.50.
Also, closed on GTC order:
Jan 12th 2740/2765 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.45 last week.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Looks like we may end the year with the typical down day. It has been the case on the last day of December 15 out of the last 20 years. I was able to unload some remnants at the open, although missed a fill in my long Dec 29th 2700 calls… about .50-.80 at the open but it dropped to quickly on me, so closed for only .25
Closed $SPX Dec 29th 2715 long calls for .05 (closed the short side of this spread yesterday)
Closed Dec 29th 2665 long puts for .20 (closed the short side of this spread yesterday)
Closed Dec 29th 2700 long calls for .25 (long spread bought for 2.85 last week when I though the Upside Warning was going to fire)
Also:
Sold Jan 5th 2650/2675/2695/2720 #CondorRoll for 7.30. This puts me in two tight condors for next week, as I sold the Jan 3rd 2650/2675/2790/2715 condor yesterday.
I would expect a small rally next week, but ready to roll as always.
(Almost) Can’t win with $RH
#ShortStrangles It is fitting that after weeks of being blown out to the upside that my short PUTS go ITM on the day of expiry. This started as a Sept 8th 38/64.5 #Earnings strangle. I’ve been rolling out the call side ever since, and now finally ending the trade with trouble on the put side.
Even though I’m closing the 90’s at a small loss, the 85 was profitable and 110 calls also closed for .05. This puts me barely in the green on $RH so I’m walking away. I will be back next earnings. Love the challenge.
Closed $RH Dec 29th 85 put for .10. Sold for 1.65 on 12/6.
Closed $RH Dec 29th 90 puts for 2.65. Sold for 1.25, avg price.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Since $SPX has been up only 5 times in the last 20 years on the last day of the year, I closed the put side of this #IronButterfly. Letting the call side expire.
Closed $SPX Dec 29th 2690/2665 put spread for 7.40. Sold in an #IBroll for 17.55 last week (with 2690/2715 calls)
Also, trying to shake up this dull market: Sold June 3rd 2650/2675/2690/2715 #IronCondor for 6.50. These expire in just two trading days. My expectation is a slight drop tomorrow and then an up day on Tuesday.
AVGO bullish
#ShortPuts Taking a pre-earnings long position in $AVGO. Doing this old school… not diving into the #Fuzzy trades yet.
Sold $AVGO Feb 16th 250 puts for 5.85.
Saw this on Fast Money last night and the chart set up looks good, along with NFLX.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Missed the top and never got an afternoon bounce. So I sold this when we were flat-on-day.
Sold $SPX Jan 26th 2740/2765 call spreads for 1.85.
Closed on GTC orders:
Dec 27th 2665/2640 put spreads (yesterday)
Jan 5th 2570/2545 put spreads (today)
NUGT roll
#ContangoETFs Rolled a NUGT call to avoid falling ITM:
Closed $NUGT Jan 19th 30 call for 2.96. Sold for 1.30 early in Dec
#Rolling Sold NUGT June 40 call for 3.35
Also, sold highest June strike, 47 call for 2.46.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Jan 26th 2600/2575 put spreads for 1.70.
Econ Calendar for week of 12/25/17
Be sure to periodically click “Home/REFRESH” to keep Bistro features updated.
I Think We Missed Again, Oh
#VIXIndicator CBOE is showing closing VIX price of 9.90. Upside Warning denied third time in a row!
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Replacing the Dec 26th spread I closed this morning:
Sold $SPX Jan 3rd 2670/2645 put spreads for 3.40.
FB covered calls
#LongStock #CoveredCallCampaign
Bought to close $FB Dec 29th 182.5 call for .15. Sold for 1.60.
100 shares purchased for 126.00
Sold covered calls starting late April. Covered call total income: $1,400. Cost basis on stock 112.00.
VXX / UVXY Long Put Diagonals update
#LongPutDiagonals #VXXGame These trades were all put on late August or early September.
$UVXY Jan 2019 long 30 puts, bought for 19.10, now 24.02
$UVXY Jan 2019 30/40 call credit spreads, sold for 1.96, now .70
$VXX Jan 2019 long 20 puts, bought for 1.77 (avg price), now 4.20
$VXX Jan 2019 50/60 call credit spreads, sold for 2.21, now 1.00
(yesterday, closed one call spread for .90)
The “diagonal” portion of these trades is currently dormant, as selling puts in these was a folly in recent months. I have not calculated total losses from the attempt, but it did take a bite out of the above profits. I anticipate scaling out of these trades starting sometime in the summer.
I also bought these cold on Sept 5th… wish I had more:
VXX June 2018 25 put, bought for 1.33, now 4.17
VXX Jan 2019 25 put, bought for 3.46, now 7.18
VXX Jan 2019 15 puts, bought for .61, now 1.83.
Look for the next volatility spike and reverse splits to get long 2020 LEAP puts.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Jan 18th (monthly) 2620/2595 put spreads for 1.60.
In anticipation of an Upside Warning:
Bought to open $SPX Dec 29th 2700/2725 LONG call spreads for 2.50.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX Dec 26th 2680/2655 put spreads for 2.50. Sold for 5.65 on Wednesday. Since this expires on the next trading day, I’m taking off risk since it’s close to ATM. Don’t want to get slammed with this if we open with a pullback on Tuesday.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Stepping cautiously, once again, into short call spreads. Feels like we may end the year more in consolidation than rally.
Sold $SPX Jan 12th 2740/2765 call spreads for 1.50
Sold $SPX Jan 18th (monthly) 2750/2775 call spreads for 1.60.
Also, closed on GTC order:
SPX Dec 26th 2645/2620 put spreads for .25. Sold for 4.70.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Closed on GTC order: $SPX Dec 22nd 2660/2635 put spreads for .40. Sold for 8.00 last week.
RH calls
NUGT flying
#ContangoETFs Sold $NUGT Jan 19th 30 call for 1.30
Sold $NUGT June 40 call
These are the same call strikes I’m already holding in $DUST, so they are margin free.
SPX puts
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Dec 26th 2680/2655 put spreads for 5.65.
SPX bummer
#SPXcampaign Should have gone with my instincts and exited all of this at the open. But man, that drop was fast. Now I most likely exited all of these near the bottom.
Closed $SPX Dec 20th 2690/2665 put spreads for 12.55. Sold for 3.90 on Monday.
Sold $SPX Jan 12th 2750/2775 LONG call spreads for .60. Bought for .45 last week. Sold half of this. Keeping the other half to either profit higher or expire worthless.
Sold $SPX Dec 22nd 2700/2725 LONG call spreads for .75. Bought yesterday for 1.50.
What a crappy way to start the day.
Using the TICK
#TradeSchool I’m sitting on the short $SPX Dec 20th 2690/2665 put spread expiring today. Nice open followed by steep dive. Spread went from around 3.00 at open to over 9.00. That’s the peril you face sitting on ATM spreads expiring same day. So I was facing a loss, watching the charts. If it wasn’t for the TICKs, I probably would have exited at the lows. While the SPX consolidated flat-on-day, it looked like it wanted to break lower. But the TICKs, which I always have on my screens right next to SPX, showed a bottoming and then steady trend higher. So I felt comfortable waiting for the TICK trend to break before exiting, but it didn’t break and the SPX eventually lifted. Not sure how high we’ll get, but at least I didn’t panic exit at lows.
SVXY roll
#VXXGame Yesterday, closed $SVXY March 125 call for 17.25. Sold for 9.70 on Nov 21st.
Yesterday, sold Feb 90 put for 3.17.
This morning, sold June 150 call for 14.95
Another Upside Warning denied
#VIXIndicator, like last week, we got two consecutive closes below the 78.6% line, but then are denied the third. So no Upside Warning. Maybe this market wants to top out.
SPX long
#SPXcampaign Picked up a quickie long play for a potential pop tomorrow due to tax bill. Mind you, I think we could see a “sell the news” dump, but I lean toward a rally thanks to the holidays.
Bought $SPX Dec 22nd 2700/2720 call spreads for 1.50.
One step left…
BREAKING: GOP tax bill passes the House; now moves to Senate for approval. https://t.co/9YCWBH5nvq pic.twitter.com/Ow51YV6SjK
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) December 19, 2017
STMP’d out
#Earnings #LongStock Sold to close final batch of $STMP stock for 187.15.
This closes the trade started on Nov 2nd when I sold 200/180 put spreads for 4.15, x2 for max profit of 827.90, max loss of 3,172.10. Stock tanked and I rolled the spreads, got assigned early, and I’m finally out with ending profit of $327.56
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Jan 18th (monthly) 2610/2585 put spreads for 1.60.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign
Closed $SPX Jan 12th 2730/2755 call spreads for 3.50. Foolishly sold on Friday for 1.50.
#ReverseRoll Sold to Open Dec 20th 2690/2665 put spreads for 3.90
EDIT: was not filled on Jan 18th (monthly) 2600/2575 put spreads for 1.45
VXXgame pre-spreading
#VXXGame Starting a new experiment today. With $UVXY at all-time lows again, I bought some far OTM calls for cheap. This should lessen the margin requirement to sell lower strike calls on the next vol spike. Since I have portfolio margin these positions should help me overall with carrying short volatility trades. I will add some more positions in the coming days/weeks if we continue to barrel higher.
Bought (10) March 91 calls for .15 each.
Bought (1) Jan 2019 75 call for 1.70.
Highest available strikes on each.
NUGT call
#ContangoETFs Sold $NUGT Jan 2019 50 call for 4.10. This offsets the $DUST 50 call I sold for the same price a couple weeks ago. I’m building a NUGT ladder to match the one I have in DUST… short calls only on both.
STMP stock sold
#Earnings #LongStock Sold half of my remaining shares of $STMP for 180.85. Cost basis is 182.35. I’ll hold my remaining 100 for a higher exit, so I can at least breakeven on this one.
