#SPXcampaign In overnight session, bought to close $SPX Feb 24th 2200/2175 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.55 on Jan 25th.
Right after the bell, Sold to Open $SPX March 16th 2390/2415 call spread for 1.55, with SPX at 2322.
Author Archives: Jeff
And another SPX all-time high……
And another SPX all-time high… good morning all!
Econ Calendar for week of 2/13/17
This always is available all week on the menu at the top of the Bistro page (upper right)
Options Expiration 2/10/17
#OptionsExpiration #SPXcampaign #Earnings #VXXGame
— Expiring w/100% of max profit —
ATVI 36 and 36.5 puts
EXPE 117 puts
NVDA 108 puts
UVXY 39 calls
SPX 2275/2250 put spreads
Post close put spread sold
#SPXcampaign 14 minutes after the close, Sold to Open $SPX Feb 22nd 2300/2275 put spreads for 3.50. This gives me an #IronButterfly at the 2300 strike for this expiry. One or both will likely be rolled.
Jumping on the REGN train
#ShortStrangles Sold to Open $REGN March 17th 330/400 strangle for 6.10
AMZN stock sold
#Earnings #StockTrades Sold the $AMZN 810/840/870 #IronButterfly last Thursday for 26.10. Took assignment of the shares on Friday at 840.00. Put a 1.00 trailing stop on the stock today around 11am ET; just stopped out for 826.36. Profit on trade: $1,035
Thanks, @fuzzballl for the original trade idea!
SPX long call spread, small win
#SPXcampaign Keep missing the correct time windows for these long call spreads. But at least I got a double on this small one…
Sold to close $SPX Feb 13th 2330/2355 call spreads for .80. Bought for .35 on Jan 31st
FB covered call
#Earnings #StockTrades #CoveredCalls
This is an earnings trade that started in January 2016. I was assigned short stock at that time, held that most of the year (painfully), selling puts against it, then switched it to a long stock position in October. It is finally in profit territory above 133.00. I still like the stock long so I’m going to keep it as long as it holds up.
STO FB March 10th 140 call for .80
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX March 10th 2225/2200 put spreads for 1.50, with SPX at 2311.
RGLD covered call
#Earnings #StockTrades #CoveredCalls
STO RGLD April 77.5 covered call for 1.85. Replacing calls that will expire next week.
YELP trade closed
#Earnings #LongStraddle Sold to close $YELP Feb 10th 41.5 put for 4.75. Bought yesterday as part of the 41.5 straddle for 4.45. Order filled on the low tick 6 minutes after open. Small profit is good enough for me.
Earnings
#Earnings Looks like I picked the correct week to drop the Iron Butterflys. 5 for 5 on earnings trades this week, winners for ALK, EXPE, NVDA, and ATVI. All bullish trades. Guess it’s easy when the market keeps going up. YELP will be a small win or break-even, my first ATM long straddle in a couple years.
SPX put spread hedge
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Feb 16th (monthlys) 2300/2275 put spreads for 4.50.
YELP and EXPE
#Earnings Had to pay up for YELP by waiting until now… was 4.00 early, but I was filled for 4.45
Bought to open $YELP 41.5 straddle for 4.45.
EXPE, premium dropped to much on the 123/120, so I went naked:
Sold to Open $EXPE Feb 10th 117 puts for 1.25. 4.9% OTM.
EXPE earnings
#Earnings Been waiting for a fill on the $EXPE Feb 10th 123/120 put spread for 1.40. Hasn’t happened yet, but that and YELP long straddle are the two I’m looking to fill by day’s end.
EXPE is a bullish ATM trade. Chart is bullish and they usually react positively:
Oct. 27, 2016 AC 4.12%
July 28, 2016 AC -2.19%
April 28, 2016 AC 8.20%
Feb. 10, 2016 AC 9.56%
Oct. 29, 2015 AC 7.27%
July 30, 2015 AC 12.85%
April 30, 2015 AC 7.91%
Feb. 5, 2015 AC -11.51%
Oct. 30, 2014 AC 5.25%
July 31, 2014 AC 6.34%
May 1, 2014 AC -3.68%
Feb. 6, 2014 AC 14.29%
ATVI earnings
#Earnings Sold to Open $ATVI Feb 10th 36 puts for .36. Will add more or perhaps some 36.5 puts if premium rises. Biggest UP move: 14.4%, Biggest DOWN move: -7.9%, Average move: 6.1%. This trade is 8.7% OTM.
YELP earnings
#Earnings I am considering BUYING a YELP straddle at the end of the day. Right now, it would cost me 4.00, which would require a 9.1% to breakeven. Over last 12 earnings, Yelp’s Biggest UP move: 23.7%, Biggest DOWN move: -25.2%, Average move: 15.1%.
With such a high average move, it is worth a shot. I will see which strike it ends the day at and what the premium is.
NVDA earnings
#Earnings #ShortPuts Sold to Open $NVDA Feb 10th 108 puts for 1.20. Over last 12 earnings, Biggest UP move: 29.8%, Biggest DOWN move: -7.4%, Average move: 9.7%. This trade is 8.1% OTM.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Feb 13th 2270/2245 put spreads for .20. Sold for 2.30 on Monday.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign A standard campaign trade, and a more aggressive roll trade…
Sold to Open $SPX March 10th 2365/2390 call spreads for 1.30, with SPX at 2305
Sold to open $SPX Feb 24th 2320/2345 call spreads for 4.75, with SPX at 2306 #Rolling
NFLX strangle
#ShortStrangles My only remaining $NFLX position was the short June 175 call. So to hedge it…
Sold to Open NFLX June 120 put for 3.15.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Yesterday before the closing bell, I rolled a one-week out call spread:
Bought to close $SPX Feb 15th 2295/2320 call spreads for 6.75. Sold for 9.00 on Feb 3rd.
#Rolling: Sold to Open $SPX Feb 22nd 2300/2325 call spreads for 7.50.
This will be managed as an ITM spread… I will decide whether to roll based on the SPX price one week before expiration.
SPX, new all-time high
SPX, new all-time high
SPX Chart and VIX Indicator…
SPX Chart and VIX Indicator have been updated
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Feb 16th 2165/2140 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.30 on Jan 20th.
Sold to Open $SPX March 10th 2360/2385 call spreads for 1.45, with SPX at 2298.
ALK earnings
#Earnings Taking a bullish position as airlines have been performing well and chart is bullish.
STO $ALK Feb 17th 95/90 put spreads for 1.80. Max risk 3.20.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold an extra put spread, $SPX Feb 13th 2270/2245 for 2.30, with SPX at 2289 and one week to expiration.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX March 10th 2190/2165 put spreads for 1.50, with SPX at 2294.
Econ Calendar week of 2/6/17
VIX Indicator and SPX Chart…
VIX Indicator and SPX Chart have been updated
Options Expiration 2/3/17
#OptionsExpiration #Earnings #SPXcampaign #IronButterfly #CoveredCalls #Assignment #ShortPuts #ShortCalls #VXXGame #StockTrades #ShortStrangles
–Expiring w/max profit–
FB 123, 126, 129 puts
FB 138 covered calls
REGN 340/400 strangle
UVXY 32 and 40 calls
SPX 2260/2235 put spreads. Sold for 3.35 on Jan 24th
SPX 2245/2220 put spreads. Sold for 1.35 on Monday
— Assignment ?? —
AMZN 840 put… was going to let the 810 long put cancel it out, but looks like I may get stock instead
— Expired w/Max loss —
AAPL 118/121/124 iron butterfly
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to open $SPX 2205/2180 put spreads for 1.30, with SPX at 2297. Not usually selling put spreads on up days, but this fulfills my basic campaign strategy of 2 call spreads and 2 put spreads per week. Next week I’ll be selling the March 10th expiry.
SPX roll
#SPXcampaign #Rolling a roll
Bought to close $SPX Feb 6th 2290 calls for 8.70. Sold as 2290/2315 call spreads for 4.10 on Wednesday. (saving the 2315 long calls for Monday in case we get a strong pop)
Sold to Open $SPX Feb 15th 2295/2320 call spreads for 9.00. Will roll this again off it is ATM or ITM next week (one week before expiration.
Busted earnings trades
#Earnings Well, this quarter has been quite dismal for #IronButterflies and #IronCondors. I’m taking losses on FOUR this week. Naked options or one-sided credit spreads, meanwhile, have all been winners. Even though these losses are small (by design), I’ll have to rethink this strategy; although one win can make up for several losses, it doesn’t matter much if no wins are to be had!
BTC ANTM Feb 3rd 155 calls for 4.20. Sold as part of IB for 3.75
BTC MRK Feb 3rd 62 calls for 1.97. Sold as part of IB for 1.19.
Also looking at max losses on AAPL (.66) and AMZN (3.90).
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Feb 16th 2150/2125 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.50 on Jan 17th.
SPX calls sold, puts closed
#SPXcampaign At the open, bought to close $SPX Feb 10th 2180/2155 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.45 on Jan 13th.
One hour, 49 min after the open, Sold to Open $SPX March 3rd 2350/2375 call spreads for 1.50, when SPX was at 2296.
January Jobs report
+227,000 in January
Unemployment rate 4.8%, up .1%
UE6 unemployment 9.4%, up .2%
Labor Force participation 62.9%, up .2%
Wages up 0.1%, slowing from +0.2%
AMZN down initially
Looks pretty good for neutral plays as it should come back by morning or midday.
CMG also looks good for neutral plays.
VIX Indicator and SPX Chart…
VIX Indicator and SPX Chart have been updated
SPX stuck
#SPXcampaign It seems we may like to stay in consolidation. Last week we had a small push up that never amounted to much, and this week we’ve had the same thing down. In the end, we’re still stuck. Maybe jobs report Friday will unstick us, but I’m not waiting.
Adding an extra condor, each side sold separately:
Sold to Open $SPX Feb 21st 2300/2325 call spreads for 5.40
Sold to Open $SPX Feb 21st 2250/2225 put spreads for 3.60
VIX tick
Looks like the FOMC 2pm ET volatility resulted in a bad VIX tick, down to 9.97, which would be lowest level since February 2007. I’m not buying it… look for it to be adjusted in a day or two.
MRK earnings
#Earnings #IronButterfly Not a big mover on earnings, so playing for little to no movement.
Sold to Open $MRK Feb 3rd 60/62/64 iron butterfly for 1.19. Max risk .81.
Oct. 25, 2016 BO 1.97%
July 29, 2016 BO 0.39%
May 5, 2016 BO -1.31%
Feb. 3, 2016 BO -0.71%
Oct. 27, 2015 BO 1.05%
July 28, 2015 BO 0.92%
April 28, 2015 BO 5.04%
Feb. 4, 2015 BO -3.22%
Oct. 27, 2014 BO -2.01%
July 29, 2014 BO 1.05%
April 29, 2014 BO 3.59%
Feb. 5, 2014 BO 0.03%
Avg move = 1.8%
FB earnings
#Earnings #StockTrades #ShortPuts #CoveredCalls
Already long stock, short 138 and 140 covered calls, short 126 and 129 puts.
Today, sold to open $FB Feb 3rd 123 puts for .65. Will add more if price goes up.
Biggest UP move: 15.5%, Biggest DOWN move: -6.1%, Average move: 5.6%. This trade is 6% OTM.
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX March 3rd 2345/2370 call spreads for 1.40, with SPX at 2281. Missed fills on the early pop up.
#Rolling Sold to Open $SPX Feb 6th 2290/2315 call spreads for 4.10. It seems we are having trouble getting higher. So I am hedging my long trades with aggressive short trades. I will roll this if we break above 2290 before Monday’s expiration.
#OptionsExpiration Expired last night: SPX Jan 31st 2225/2200 put spreads. Sold as part of a #CondorRoll for 4.60 on Jan 6th.
ANTM puts closed
#Earnings Bought to close $ANTM Feb 3rd 152.5 puts for .35. Now need a pullback below 155 to get out with profit. (Sold 145/152.5/155/162.5 #IronCondor yesterday for 3.75).
AAPL puts closed
#Earnings Bought to close $AAPL Feb 3rd 121 puts for .02. Now looking for a pullback below 124 by Friday’s close. (Sold the 118/121/124 #IronButterfly yesterday for 2.44)
SPX long
#SPXcampaign Bought to open $SPX Feb 13th 2330/2355 call spreads for .35 earlier. Another cheap long shot, but the kind of trade that can explode if a rally pushes through. I have the same spread expiring this coming Monday, Feb 6th, that is now unlikely to do much. I am trying for another week since both yesterday and today failed to get ugly and ended with a rally.
New 5-day low on the…
New 5-day low on the Dow, but not SPX
AAPL iron butterfly
#Earnings Can’t choose whether to be bullish or bearish, and not liking OTM premium anyway, so going with a neutral ATM #IronButterfly that will have 3 days to find its center. Max risk .56
Sold to Open #$AAPL Feb 3rd 118/121/124 iron butterfly for 2.44.
ANTM earnings condor
#Earnings #IronCondor This is a 1:1 iron condor, tight wingspan, almost an iron butterfly. Breakevens are 158.75 and 148.75.
Sold to Open $ANTM 145/152.5/155/162.5 for 3.75. Max loss 3.75. Biggest UP move: 5.5%, Biggest DOWN move: -4.7%, Average move: 2.5%.
Breakevens are about 2.9%-3.5% OTM.
UA and UAA tank… wow
UA and UAA tank… wow
Double down, risk-reversal
#SPXcampaign Considering this pullback as an opportunity. I doubled down on a #LongCallSpread… Bought to Open $SPX Feb 6th 2330/2355 call spreads for .25. Bought the first batch for 1.35 last week. Cost basis now .85.
Then, sold to open SPX Feb 3rd 2245/2220 put spreads for 1.35. This turns the long spreads into a #RiskReversal, reducing my cost to only .30 for a double-sized long spread. If we start to rally into Friday’s job report, the long spread could get back to 2.00 or 3.00. If not, my loss is minimal. Of course, if this is beginning a correction, then it’s not so pretty.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX March 3rd 2165/2140 put spreads for 1.35, with SPX at 2277.
Econ Calendar for week of 1/30/17
Blue star = Market Moving Indicator; Yellow square = Merits Extra Attention; Pink Circle = Other Key Indicator
VIX Indicator and SPX Position…
VIX Indicator and SPX Position Chart are updated
Options Expiration 1/27/17
#OptionsExpiration #Earnings #ShortStrangles #ShortPuts #ShortCalls #IronButterfly #VXXGame #Assignment #BullPutSpreads
–Expiring w/max profit–
EBAY 28.5 puts
FB 126 put
FFIV 157.5 calls
LUV 50/49 put spreads
SPX 2260/2235 put spreads
UVXY 37 calls
–Assignment–
SBUX 60 puts, stock assigned, cost basis 56.73
–Expired w/max loss–
COF 85/87/89 iron butterfly
SPX 2300/2325 LONG call spread, bought for 1.10, closed half for 4.70 so overall profitable trade.
COF trade
#Earnings, If you’re in this trade is probably a good idea to close the 87 short calls. If COF ends the day under 89, you will be assigned short stock if you don’t close the short calls.
JNJ break today
#Earnings #IronButterfly Getting the surge we wanted on JNJ at the last minute. We can get out now for less than max loss… Just put a .15 trailing stop on the option price to close the 115 short puts. At the moment I will be stopped at 1.73, but I hope it goes down from here (meaning stock continues UP).
(Sold the Jan 27th 113/115/117 iron butterfly for 1.35 on Monday)
FB covered call roll
#Earnings #CoveredCalls #StockTrade #ShortStrangles #StrangleRoll
BTC $FB Jan 27th 130 call for 1.98. Sold for .53 on Jan 10th.
STO $FB Feb 3rd 126/138 strangle for 2.58.
Going into next week’s earnings with a long bias; I am long stock. I will be selling additional options the day of earnings.
GOOGL extra
#Earnings I covered the short 815 puts for .10 earlier… I put in an order to sell the long 805’s for .05, and it filled a few minutes ago as the stock was going back UP. Someone had to close their shorts I guess!
Indices down, but VIX just…
Indices down, but VIX just hit a new 2.5 year low
GOOGL trade closed
#Earnings Bought to close $GOOGL Jan 27th 815 puts for .10. Sold the 815/805 put spreads yesterday for 1.40. No reason to risk it if I can close this cheaply.
SBUX busted butterfly
#Earnings #IronButterfly #StockTrades Took a bullish shot on this one with the 58/60/62 IB for 1.47. I am planning to sell the long 58 puts at the open for around 2.00, leaving me short the naked 60 puts. This will total 3.47 in premium received, meaning my cost basis on the stock, when assigned tonight, will be 56.53. I am comfortable with that for hopefully a quick turnaround to sell the stock on a pop next week. If it drops further I can hold it through its dip until recovery. This company isn’t going anywhere.
VIX Indicator and SPX Position…
VIX Indicator and SPX Position Chart have been Updated
SPX long call spread
#SPXcampaign Bought to Open $SPX Feb 6th 2330/2335 call spreads for 1.35, about 6 minutes after the bell. Looking to close when the spread reaches 5.00-10.00.
SPX reverse roll
#SPXcampaign Stopping out and reversing my most endangered call spread.
Bought to close $SPX Feb 24th 2230/2255 call spreads for 3.90. Sold on Tuesday for 1.40
#ReverseRoll: Sold to Open SPX Feb 10th 2275/2250 put spreads for 3.95, with SPX at 2296.
Outlook remains bullish. Today the VIX is having its 3rd close beneath the most recent 78.6 Fib line (drawn from 12/21 low and 1/19 high). This is another confirmation of the ongoing Upside Warning.
FFIV puts closed
#Earnings BTC FFIV Jan 27th 130 puts for .10. Sold yesterday as the 130/157.5 strangle for .90. Letting the calls expire. This is to avoid any possible downdraft tomorrow.
Allowing the LUV and EBAY trades to expire
JNJ and COF will have to move tomorrow to become winners, but they are IB’s so loss is minimal.
GOOGL earnings
#Earnings #BullPutSpreads GOOGL looking bullish but I’d prefer to stay OTM in case its one day performance pulls back a bit. Going with a spread rather than naked since I don’t want to take assignment of such an expensive stock, and the margin requirement provides far better return percentage.
Sold to Open $GOOGL Jan 27th 815/805 put spreads for 1.40. Biggest UP move: 16.3%, Biggest DOWN move: -5.4%, Average move: 4.5%. This trade is 4.6% OTM.
SBUX earnings
#Earnings SBUX has not been a big mover on recent earnings, so placing a slightly bullish 1:3 #IronButterfly, looking for a close around 60.00 tomorrow.
Sold to Open $SBUX Jan 27th 58/60/62 iron butterfly for 1.47. Biggest UP move: 6.6%, Biggest DOWN move: -4.9%, Average move: 2.3%. Center strike is +2.0% OTM.
SPX calls sold, puts closed
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Feb 24th 2365/2390 call spreads for 1.35, with SPX at 2298.
Bought to close SPX Feb 10th 2150/2125 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.35 on Jan 9th.
SPX call spread stopped
#SPXcampaign Handling this one as an ITM position, but taking this morning’s weakness as opportunity to close, so I can replace it (hopefully) at higher strikes on the next rally.
Bought to close $SPX Feb 6th 2290/2315 call spreads for 11.00. Sold for 6.70 on Tuesday as a roll.
FFIV and EBAY trades looking good, Mortimer…
Now if LUV does well in the morning, I’ll be 3-for-3 overnight.
SPX, closing half of long calls
#SPXcampaign Sold to Close $SPX Jan 27th 2300/2325 call spreads for 4.00. Bought for 1.10 yesterday. That was on my Reg-T marin accounts. For my Portfolio margin account, I closed only the long calls and left the 2325 shorts to expire Friday: Sold to Close $SPX Jan 27th 2300 calls for 4.70.
Will look to close the remainder of the spreads after they reach 8.00. If they don’t will exit before the theta drains out.
EBAY earnings
#Earnings #ShortPuts Sold to Open $EBAY Jan 27th 28.5 puts for .30. Biggest UP move: 13.9%, Biggest DOWN move: -12.5%, Average move: 6.4%. This trade is -5.9% OTM.
Playing this one bullish; 28.5 is just below 200 ema. 28.5 stock price is easy to manage if assigned.
