#VXXGame Rolled $SVXY Dec 15th 105 calls to March 125 for .25 credit
Author Archives: Jeff
Bulls on Parade
Open was highest TICK reading since early September
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign In pre-market, closed on GTC order: $SPX Nov 22nd 2560/2535 put spreads for .30. Sold for 2.80.
After market close yesterday, Sold Dec 4th 2575/2600 call spreads for 13.40 as an #ITMroll. Wish I’d waited until this morning!
More SPX
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX Nov 20th 2580/2555 for .35. Sold for 3.10 on Friday.
Closed Nov 27th 2580/2555 put spreads for 3.88. Sold for 6.55.
#Rolling Sold Dec 4th 2570/2545 put spreads for 4.00.
Closed Nov 27th 2570/2595 call spreads for 14.55. Sold for 16.00 last Monday.
#ITMroll Selling Dec 4th 2575/2600 call spreads, no fill yet
SPX calls sold, puts closed
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Dec 22nd 2640/2665 call spreads for 1.60.
Closed SPX Nov 24th 2535/2510 put spreads for .35. Sold for 1.95.
Econ Calendar week of 11/20/17
Be sure to periodically click “Home/REFRESH” above to keep Bistro features updated.
DUST in the wind
#ContangoETFs BTC $DUST Dec 15th call for .10. Sold for 1.25 on Sept 20th. Now I have no positions in DUST or NUGT. Waiting for whichever one makes a strong rally and I’ll sell calls again.
SQ is a monster
#LongCalls I didn’t post this (sorry) because it’s not my usual forte to buy calls, but on Nov 7th…
Bought two (2) $SQ March 50 calls for .85. They are trading at 3.50 today. I have been trying to add some other calls, and maybe even some #LongCallDiagonals but I never get any kind of pullback.
In the same vein, and for the same reasons (I think mobile pay is the future) I also
Bought two (2) $PYPL April 90 calls for .65 on Oct 26th. Also up but not as much as Square.
I don’t think either are done going up, but it would be nice to have an entry opportunity.
SPX trades
In pre-market, closed $SPX Nov 27th 2600/2625 for 2.95. Sold for 3.40.
#ReverseRoll Sold Nov 20th 2580/2555 put spreads for 3.10. These expire Monday.
Closed Nov 24th 2560/2585 call spreads for 18.40. Sold for 17.20 last week. Working on #ITMroll.
Closed Nov 17th 2575/2550 put spreads for .85. Sold for 5.80.
Sold Dec 14th (monthly) 2485/2460 put spreads for 1.50.
RH mgmt
#Earnings #ShortStrangles #Rolling
After my $RH Dec 1st 80/95 strangle got crushed yesterday, I have been legging into new positions.
Closed Dec 1st 95 calls for 10.20, 11.75, 12.60 (still holding 2 more)
Sold Dec 1st 95 puts for 2.00 and 1.30
Sold Dec 1st 100 puts for 3.20 and 2.55
Closed Dec 1st 80 put for .40. These should be .05 now but premium is hanging on.
Sticking with Dec 1st, prior to earnings for now. Haven’t sold calls yet as that has been continuously futile. I will probably try a couple on peaks.
Roll of STMP
#SPXcampaign #Rolling #ITMroll
Sold $STMP Dec 1st 200/180 put spreads for 17.75. This replaces my 200/185 put spreads expiring today, which will debit me 15.00. I went wider to make up the credit, with a 2-lot. A third option was assigned early with 190.35 cost basis, which I will hold for the eventual move back to 200.
NH-NL historical data
I’m intrigued by what @geewhiz112 and @las9427 mentioned about the New-High/New-Low indicator when I said I was suspending my Downside Warnings for assessment. I have found someone offering data going back to 1980 for a fee (McClellan), but I first wanted to check with y’all to see if anyone has access to the data. I would want back at least to 2001. Let me know if any ideas. Thanks!
SPX calls stopped
#SPXcampaign Stopped $SPX Nov 17th 2590/2615 call spreads for 3.65. Sold for 2.50 on Tuesday. Although I closed many call spreads yesterday, I thought I could let this one expire. Not so. Will look to roll by day’s end. I don’t want to do anything too early as we’re back in freight train mode again.
STMP assigned
#Earnings #Rolling #Assignment #LongStock
Before I had a chance to roll my $STMP Nov 17th 200/185 ITM put spreads, I was assigned 100 shares at 200.00. I sold the corresponding long put today for 9.35, so cost basis 190.65. Working on a roll of the rest as well as a covered call.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to open $SPX Dec 14th 2640/2665 call spreads for 1.50.
RH strangling again
#Earnings So they snuck out Q3 guidance ahead of their earnings date, straining my 80/95 strangle once again. I have adjusted it higher three times already, but had planned to be out before their earnings date. Would have been a nice exit on the calls yesterday as the stock dropped to 83.00. Now it’s over 100!
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Closed a few more, without rolling yet:
Closed $SPX Nov 22nd 2590/2565 put spreads for 11.80. Sold for 8.60.
Closed Nov 22nd 2595/2620 call spreads for 1.90. Sold for 6.55
Closed Dec 1st 2630/2655 for .45. Sold for 1.60
SPX trades
Closed Nov 20th 2575/2600 call spreads for 5.85. Sold for 14.60 on Nov 6th.
#ReverseRoll Sold Nov 27th 2560/2535 put spreads for 5.40
Sold Nov 27th 2585/2560 put spreads for 10.15, as a partial roll of Nov 16th spread stopped this morning
Stopped Nov 17th 2560/2585 call spreads for 11.90. This was sold this morning for 9.40.
Sold Nov 29th 2565/2590 call spreads for 13.55, as an #ITMroll from Nov 22nd call stopped tis morning.
Killing downside warning
#SPXcampaign #VIXIndicator It’s becoming clear that Downside Warning needs to be scrapped. I’m taking it off the site and will determine a new strategy. The trigger will remain only as a set up for the eventual Upside Warning, which has been working like a charm.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Got stopped near the lows on some put spreads that were expiring today and tomorrow. Worst time to close them.
Stopped Nov 15th 2565/2540 put spreads for 8.10
#ReverseRoll Sold Nov 17th 2560/2585 call spreads for 9.40 (I will have to stop this by end of day if we don’t drop)
Stopped Nov 16th 2585/2560 put spreads for 16.90. No roll yet.
Stopped Nov 22nd 2555/2580 call spreads for 14.30. Rolling to a Nov 29th call spread as we move higher.
VIX and SPX
Well, if this does not turn into more of a correction, I will replace the Downside Warning with Iceman’s BTFD billboard. April was the last time we actually had some follow through on a downside warning, and it was only minor. Otherwise they have only meant buy the dip.
I can also say that the ITM call-spread rolling that worked beautifully before is NOT working for me this time. I experienced the usual drawdown, but have been stuck now with too many spreads close to the money and getting whipsawed on days like today. I am having to cease with selling rolls on some spreads I am closing, mainly because I need to get back to the standard strategy of 10-12 delta OTM spreads.
For now, I’m watching to see how the day ends. My main goal is to get call spreads closed while we’re down, as the inevitable move will be higher. However, we can’t shut the door on a correction before year’s end. I don’t know how much the delay of tax cuts will effect the market, but it is my opinion that nothing will be passed before Christmas. That could mean a deeper correction, but more likely a BTFD.
DOWNside Warning in effect
Upside Warning canceled
#VIXIndicator The Upside warning that started on Sept 22nd was finally canceled at the open today, as the VIX is now over 50% higher than its low on Nov 3rd. This constitutes a signal for the downside. A full downside warning will happen if we reach 14.38 today.
SPX trade
#SPXcampaign Forgot to post this yesterday. A put spread hit my stoop on the morning lows so I closed it, as well as its offsetting call spread (at a profit). I did not roll it yet.
Stopped $SPX Dec 8th 2510/2485 put spreads for 2.88.
Closed SPX Dec 8th 2650/2675 call spreads for .42.
Both spreads sold as an #IronCondor last week for 3.05.
End of day SPX trades
#SPXcampaign
Sold $SPX Dec 14th (monthly) 2635/2660 call spreads for 1.90
Sold $SPX Nov 17th 2590/2615 call spreads for 2.50. Expire this Friday at the close.
SPX puts sold
Sold $SPX Dec 14th (monthlys) 2450/2425 put spreads for 1.55.
Sold Nov 30th 2570/2545 put spreads for 6.50, as an #ATMroll from the 2585/2560 puts closed yesterday for 6.40. Was able to move down 15-points by waiting for the down open.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign
Closed $SPX Nov 20th 2560/2585 call spreads for 17.15. Sold for 20.25 last Monday.
#ITM roll Sold Nov 27th 2570/2595 call spreads for 16.00.
Closed Nov 20th 2585/2560 put spreads for 6.40. Sold for 6.10 last Monday.
Not rolling yet. Watching for next strong move and will sell in that direction, or a condor.
Closed Nov 24th 2625/2650 call spreads for .40. Sold for 1.75 on Oct 27th.
Econ Calendar for week of 11/13/17
Be sure to periodically click “Home/REFRESH” above to keep Bistro features updated.
VIX going up
#VIXindicator The VIX is trending up again. Closes at or beyond the upper or lower Bollinger bands often signal a reversal is imminent. On the last uptrend in late October we closed 4 days at or just outside the upper BB, then reversed. On the current uptrend, we haven’t closed that high yet, which suggests the VIX uptrend may continue, meaning more volatility in the coming week.
Final SPX trades
#SPXcampaign $SPX
Sold Dec 8th 2635/2660 call spreads for 1.51
Sold Dec 8th 2480/2455 put spreads for 1.44
Closed Nov 16th 2615/2640 call spreads for .45. Sold for 1.80 on Oct 20th
Sold Nov 15th 2595/2620 call spreads for 2.20
Sold Nov 24th 2510/2535 put spreads for 1.95
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Too much indecision to leave ITM put spreads over the weekend:
Closed Nov 15th 2595/2570 put spreads for 12.30. Sold in #InverseCondor for 23.25 on Nov 1st
Partially rolled to: Nov 22nd 2590/2565 put spreads for 8.70
Closed Nov 13th 2590/2565 put spreads for 9.35. Sold in an #InverseCondor for 23.00 on Oct 30th.
#CondorRoll Sold Nov 27th 2555/2580/2600/2625 condors for 11.00.
Also, Sold Nov 24th 2560/2585 call spreads for 17.30, as #ITMroll.
SPX puts stopped
#SPXcampaign I didn’t get the continuation of yesterday’s rally at the open so I’ve been watching for direction…. now that we’ve made a new high it looks more promising. Closed one put spread when it looked like it might fail a third time. Now I’m looking to sell the call spreads as rolls from yesterday, and then I will consider how to roll this stopped spread:
Stopped $SPX Nov 20th 2565/2540 put spreads for 4.00. Sold for 2.10 on Wednesday.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign $SPX
Closed Nov 22nd 2550/2525 put spreads for 2.70. Sold for 2.80 this morning. This was a mistake that I sold it, so I took it off once we bounced back. Covered commissions.
Closed Nov 17th 2550/2575 call spreads for 20.30. Sold last Friday for 19.00. Will roll tomorrow.
Sold Nov 22nd 2595/2600 call spreads for 6.65. A roll from the 2585/2610 spread closed earlier today for 5.95.
VIX juss can’t stop it
Just as happened on Oct 25th, the VIX peaked just shy of cancelling the Upside Warning. We are now on yet another rally off a small dip in SPX.
I did my first and only #InverseCondors last week, and am now white-knuckling through these dips for them to expire next week. If we can keep near the highs until then, I will have significantly reduced my ITM status on the call spread side, and I will pare down my put spread positions in anticipation of a deeper pullback. That’s the plan, if the market can hold off on any deeper dives until then. If not, my ITM positions will be puts rather than calls!
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign $SPX
Yesterday:
Closed Nov 15th 2540/2565 call spreads for 23.30. Sold for 20.70 on Nov 1st
Rolled to Nov 22nd 2555/2580 for 20.90.
Closed Nov 15th 2575/2600 call spreads for 16.45. Sold in #InverseCondor on Nov 1st for 23.25.
Not yet rolled (was waiting for this morning, but that hasn’t worked out yet)
Sold Nov 20th 2540/2565 put spreads for 2.10.
Today:
Sold Nov 22nd 2560/2535 put spreads for 3.05
Sold Nov 22nd 2550/2525 put spreads for 2.80
Closed Nov 17th 2585/2610 call spreads for 5.95. Sold last Friday for 14.10. Plan to roll this if we can rally back higher.
Good morning!
And we open with the lowest TICK reading since June.
Do we kill the chicken?
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Nov 13th 2560/2535 put spreads for 1.70. Sold for 4.00 last Thursday.
At this point the SPX chart resembles that of Aug 8th. On that day, we opened with a rally to new all-time high of 2490, then reversed intraday and close lower. We then pulled back to 2417 over the following two weeks.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX Nov 8th 2580/2555 put spreads for .90. Sold for 6.15 on Oct 27th. If we get a pullback today, I’m not letting this one get into trouble a day before expiration.
SPX new condor
#SPXcampaign Sold my first 5-week position as a condor:
Sold $SPX Dec 8th 2485/2510/2650/2675 #IronCondor for 3.05
SPX trades
Sold $SPX Nov 20th 2560/2585 call spreads for 20.25, as an #ITMroll from spread closed yesterday.
Stopped Nov 16th 2610/2635 for 2.70. Will look for a roll.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Since today marks a further validation of the Upside Warning on the #VIXindicator, I’m selling an additional aggressive put spread, and holding off on selling new call spreads and an #ITMroll.
Sold $SPX Nov 16th (monthly) 2585/2560 call spreads for 5.10.
STMP
A wild ride today
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign $SPX
Closed on GTC orders:
Nov 8th 2540/2515 put spreads for .20. Originally sold for 2.00
Nov 16th 2465/2440 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.50 on Oct 19th.
Closed Nov 13th 2570/2595 call spreads for 16.25. Sold last Monday as part of an #InverseCondor for 23.00. (Leaving the 2590/2565 put spread on for hopeful expiration)
#ITMroll Sold Nov 20th 2575/2600 call spreads for 14.60.
Closed Nov 13th 2540/2565 call spreads for 23.45. Sold last Monday for 20.50.
Not yet rolled
Sold Nov 20th 2585/2560 put spreads for 6.10.
GUSH
#ContangoETFs Hey @ramie77, since DRIP has dropped, is it time to give GUSH a gander?
Econ Calendar for week of 11/6/17
Be sure to periodically click “Home/REFRESH” above to keep Bistro features updated.
Options Expiration 11/3/17
— Expired w/Max Profit —
AAPL 157.5 and 160 puts
AAPL 177.5 calls
FB 172.5 puts
FB 192.5 calls (partially covered)
— #Assignment —
LITE 62 puts (cost basis 60.50)
— Expired w/Max Loss —
CC 55.5/57.5/59.5 #UnbalancedButterfly (sold for .60, loss of 1.40)
STMP 200/180 put spreads (sold for 4.15, loss of 15.85. Rolled out 2 weeks)
TSLA 320/325/330 #UnbalancedButterfly (sold for 2.15, loss of 2.85)
SPX add’l roll
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Nov 15th 2565/2540 put spreads for 2.90.
STMP roll
FB covered call
#CoveredCalls #LongStock Staying long the stock and replacing the earnings options expiring today.
Sold $FB Dec 1st 187.5 covered call for 1.25
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign $SPX Today, in chronological order:
Before open, closed on GTC order: Nov 10th 2490/2465 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.55 on Oct 13th.
Sold Dec 1st 2490/2465 put spreads for 1.45
Closed Nov 10th 2565/2590 call spreads for 14.00. Sold for 10.80 on Oct 26th.
#CondorRoll Sold Nov 17th 2550/2575/2585/2610 condors for 14.10
Closed Nov 10th 2535/2560 call spreads for 22.00. Sold for 18.90 on Oct 26th.
#ITMroll Sold Nov 17th 2550/2575 call spreads for 19.00
Sold Dec 1st 2630/2655 call spreads for 1.60.
Closed on GTC order: Nov 6th 2560/2535 put spreads for .30. Sold for 3.45 on Oct 20th.
VIX dropping
#VIXIndicator The VIX is closing in on another validation of the Upside Warning. If it closes below 9.98 today and Monday, that will be three in a row below the 78.6% Fib retracement of the last spike, which historically is less compelling than an original Upside Warning but still a decent indicator of more upside, or at least further delay before a correction.
MELI closed
#Earnings BTC $MELI Nov 17th 200/210/280/290 iron condors for 1.12. Sold for 2.35, so just over 50% of max profit and out 2 weeks early.
Rough earnings
#Earnings AAPL and MELI looking fine for strangles/condors… LITE and STMP not looking good for longs. Considering whether to take loss, take assignment, or roll. TSLA and CC butterflys are out of reach, too, but smaller losses so I’ll let them go.
SHOP closed
#Earnings BTC $SHOP Nov 3rd 100 puts for .45. Strangles sold for 3.30 on Monday. Total exit price: .85
Jobs Report for October
U.S. gained 261,000 non-farm payroll jobs in October, vs. +310K expected; biggest monthly gain this year; Sept revised from -33K to +18K.
Unemployment rate DOWN 0.1 to 4.1%.
U6 dropped to 7.9%, its lowest in over a decade.
Avg hourly earnings down -0.04%.
Labor Force Participation up to 62.7%, down from Sept.
Maybe Stamps are going out of style…
$STMP down, at least at first.
MELI and AAPL up.
CC down.
Earnings
Bring ’em on!
AAPL add on
#Earnings Sold a 160 put for .90, since the 157.5’s became too cheap. So I’m short 177.5 calls and 157.5 and 160 puts.
STMP earnings
#Earnings Sold $STMP Nov 3rd 200/180 put spreads for 4.15. Biggest UP move: 38.1%, Biggest DOWN move: -6.2%, Average move: 16.3%. This trade is -8.3% OTM.
MELI earnings
#Earnings #IronCondor Thanks @fuzzballl for heads up on this one. Leaning a bit bullish (based on historical performance) and going with a condor for protection and less margin:
Sold $MELI Nov 17th 200/210/280/290 condors for 2.35
Closing up SHOP
#Earnings Started closing the Nov 3rd 100/125 strangle, sold for 3.30 on Monday.
Closed all of the 125 calls for .05.
Closed one 100 put for 1.45. Hopefully can get out of rest for lower, but watching as this one has been as low as 94.51 since earnings. The weakness may be over, but watching.
CC earnings
#Earnings #UnbalancedButterfly Never traded this before but strong historical earnings results and a bullish trade. Sold $CC Nov 3rd 55.5/57.5/59.5 (1/3/2) unbalanced put butterfly for .60.
Max profit at 57.5: 2.60
Minimum profit above 57.5: .60
Max loss under 55.5: 1.40
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Nov 13th 2560/25635 put spreads for 4.00, as a #ReverseRoll from calls stopped yesterday.
Also yesterday, forgot to post:
Closed Nov 8th 2530/2505 put spreads for .60. Sold for 3.70
AAPL earnings
#Earnings Sold $AAPL Nov 3rd 157.5/177.5 strangles for 1.23. Small position to start, may add more on each side with intraday swings.
Biggest UP move: 6.5%, Biggest DOWN move: -6.6%, Average move: 4.2%. With stock at 166.50 my short strikes are +6.6% and -5.4% OTM.
FB earnings
#Earnings #CoveredCalls Sold $FB Nov 3rd 192.5 covered calls for 1.15 and 1.30
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign $SPX
Closed Nov 8th 2525/2550 call spreads for 23.75. Sold last Wednesday for 19.40.
#ITMroll Sold Nov 15th 2540/2565 call spreads for 20.70.
Closed Nov 8th 2540/2565 call spreads for 22.65. Sold for 19.35 on Oct 24th.
#InverseCondor Rolled to Nov 15th 2575/2600 calls and 2595/2570 put spreads for 23.25.
Stopped Nov 10th 2600/2625 call spreads for 3.80 (4.00 stop was hit)
Working on a #ReverseRoll
TSLA earnings
#Earnings Sold $TSLA Nov 3rd 320/325/330 unbalanced (2/3/1) put butterfly for 2.15.
Bought two 320 puts, sold 3 325 puts, bought one 330 put. Net credit 2.15.
Max profit with 325 pin, 7.15. Minimum profit if above 325, 2.15 . Max loss of 2.85 to downside below 320.
MA earnings closed
#Earnings BTC $MA Nov 3rd 150/148 put spreads for .25. Sold for 1.00 on Monday.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign BTC $SPX Oct 31st 2565/2540 put spreads for .35. Sold for 3.70 on Friday.
Sold Nov 13th 2540/2565 call spreads for 20.50 as an #ITMroll from Nov 6 spread stopped yesterday.
LITE earnings
#Earnings I’ve never traded this but it has juicy premiums, and upside bias on its short history of earnings (since Nov 2015). Using a spread for disaster protection.
Sold $LITE Nov 3rd 62/57 put spreads for 1.50. Biggest UP move: 14.1%, Biggest DOWN move: -3.7%, Average move: 6.1%. This trade is -3.2% OTM.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Dec 1st 2625/2650 call spreads for 1.70.
RH roll again
#Earnings #ShortStrangles #Rolling Will some one tame this beast!?! This is my fourth roll.
BTC $RH Nov 17th 70/95 strangles for 6.95. Sold for 4.97 on Oct 16th.
STO $RH Dec 1st 85/95 strangles for 7.25.
History: Sep 8th 36/64.5 on 9/5
Rolled to: Oct 20th 65/75 on 9/7
Rolled to: Oct 27th 72/80 on Oct 5th
Rolled to: Nov 17th 75/90 on Oct 16th.
Original trade sold for 1.10, now up to 2.01 total credit.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign $SPX Today, in chronological order:
(Friday after close) BTC #ITMroll Nov 6th 2520/2545 call spreads for 23.50. Sold for 22.10 last Monday.
Today:
BTC Nov 1st 2540/2515 put spreads for .35. Sold Oct 18th for 2.70.
BTC #ITMroll Nov 6th 2525/2550 call spreads for 23.20. Sold for 22.25 on Oct 20th.
Sold Nov 13th 2570/2595 call spreads and 2590/2565 put spreads for 23.00 total, as an #InverseCondor to roll one of the Nov 6th #ITMroll call spreads stopped above. This gives me a much higher call spread strike. One of these two will be rolled next Monday, or both if they are both ITM.
BTC Nov 10th 2460/2435 put spreads for .32. Sold for 1.45 on Oct 9th.
Sold Dec 1st 2480/2455 put spreads for 1.47.
(the above 2 were done together as one trade, which seemed to “trick” my broker into a better margin outcome that they were showing had I done them separately)
BTC Nov 10th 2600/2625 call spreads for 1.95. Sold for 1.68 in early October. This is a double position so I’m doing a #ReverseRoll on half since it got close to my stop level on Friday.
Sold Nov 8th 2540/2515 put spreads for 2.00 as a #ReverseRoll
Still waiting to sell another #ITMroll, hopefully during a rally into the close. My news alerts said that today’s drop was due to word that corporate tax cuts may come in phases. If that’s really the reason, sounds like another dip to buy.
MA earnings
#Earnings Sold $MA Nov 3rd 150/148 put spreads for 1.00. 1:1 risk/reward for ATM spread… bullish trade. Biggest UP move: 9.4%, Biggest DOWN move: -2.7%, Average move: 2.6%. Stock needs to end the week above 150 for full profit.
