#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Nov 25th 2025/2000 put spreads for 1.55, with SPX at 2150.
Author Archives: Jeff
VIX Indicator updated, no SPX…
VIX Indicator and SPX chart are updated
VIX has crept down five days straight, but without any huge single-day drops. Downside warning not yet canceled… would need a close below 12.50.
Looks like Visa trade might work if it can remain quiet.
AVGO stock sold
#Earnings I was assigned some shares from an earnings trade in early September. With all options premium factored in, my cost basis is 174.76.
Sold half my stock today for 176.33. Holding the other half with a short 177.5 call expiring this Friday.
NFLX trades
#Earnings #Rolling We hit 129 so I’m rolling my short calls that expire Friday. I covered them as NFLX fell back down. And I sold more puts:
BTC NFLX Oct 28th 129 calls, 2.35 avg price. Sold last week for .79 avg price.
#ReverseRoll to:
STO NFLX Oct 28th 123 put for 1.00
STO NFLX Dec 16th 110 put for 1.50
STO NFLX March 17th 95 put for 2.55
(Jan 20th 105.71 put sold earlier for 2.82)
DUST calls
#ContangoETFs Sold to Open DUST Nov 18th 55 call for 1.70. Orders in for a couple others.
V earnings
#Earnings Visa seems a better candidate than AAPL for the neutral play. It has not moved much recently, but did have some bigger moves a couple years ago. I’ll play for another small move.
STO $V Oct 28th 81/83/85 iron butterfly for 1.55. Max loss .45.
Here are the 5-DAY moves over last three years:
Thu 07/21/2016 AC -0.10%
Thu 04/21/2016 AC -4.60%
Thu 01/28/2016 BO -3.63%
Mon 11/02/2015 BO 0.94%
Thu 07/23/2015 AC 4.50%
Thu 04/30/2015 AC 3.93%
Thu 01/29/2015 AC 7.25%
Wed 10/29/2014 AC 16.33%
Thu 07/24/2014 AC -5.40%
Thu 04/24/2014 AC -0.33%
Thu 01/30/2014 BO 2.39%
Wed 10/30/2013 AC -2.72%
AAPL earnings
#Earnings Was considering a tight condor, but APPL’s average 5-day move has been 6% over the last three years. Not sure if I want to play it, as farther OTM strikes not too rich in premium. Other thoughts?
Tue 07/26/2016 AC 7.79%
Tue 04/26/2016 AC -10.16%
Tue 01/26/2016 AC -2.65%
Tue 10/27/2015 AC 4.32%
Tue 07/21/2015 AC -4.78%
Mon 04/27/2015 AC -2.78%
Tue 01/27/2015 AC 7.34%
Mon 10/20/2014 AC 5.47%
Tue 07/22/2014 AC 3.11%
Wed 04/23/2014 AC 13.21%
Mon 01/27/2014 AC -9.06%
Mon 10/28/2013 AC -1.86%
NFLX put sold
#Earnings Sold to Open $NFLX Jan 20th 2017 105.71 put for 2.82.
Have orders in for several other puts but this is the only one that filled before the bounce.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign In pre-market, bought to close $SPX Nov 4th 2010/1985 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.45 on Oct 4th.
Econ calendar for week of 10/24/16
VIX Indicator and SPX Chart have been updated
I hope you all are having a fantabulous weekend!
Options Expiration 10/21/16
— Expiring —
AVGO 175 covered call
DUST 60 call
FB 126 covered put
ISRG 650/600 put spreads
NFLX 85 puts
NFLX 120 puts
NUGT 25 call
RGLD 82.5 and 85 covered calls
— Expiring with full loss —
TLT 140 long calls
NFLX calls sold
#Earnings #Rolling Sold all of the following as my rolls. Will look to sell puts on any weakness:
Oct 28th 130 call for 1.10
Oct 28th 129 call for 1.35
Dec 16th 130 calls for 5.05
Jan 20th 130 call for 8.30
Mar 17th 150 calls for 4.50
June 16th 175 call for 3.00
I have no ITM positions and I will look to keep it that way.
NFLX rolling
#Earnings Although it would ave been best to close the Oct 21st 115 calls under $4 on Tues or Wed, at least I closed most of them this morning under $8. Closed all but one then was away from the computer when it shot to the moon. Closed the last one for 10.50. Avg price on closing all: 8.35.
Now working on the rolls.
NFLX put
#Earnings STO NFLX Oct 28th 120 put for 1.20. Working on rolling 115 calls today. Considering Dec 120/125 strangle for starters
GS earnings trade closed
#Earnings I closed the call spread for 2.30, but it is currently closable for breakeven. Get out now unless you think we could drop closer to 170 by the close.
VIX Indicator and SPX Charts…
VIX Indicator and SPX Charts have been updated
NFLX calls sold
#Earnings STO NFLX Oct 28th 130 calls for .50
Anything good for earnings tonight?…
Anything good for earnings tonight? Haven’t gotten to it yet.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign On the lowest tick of the day, this order filled: Sold to Open $SPX Nov 17th 1990/1965 put spreads for 1.45, with SPX at 2133.
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Before selling the spread below, this one closed 9 minutes after the open: Bought to close $SPX Nov 4th 2215/2240 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.65 on Oct 7th.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Nov 17th 2215/2240 call spreads for 1.50, with SPX at 2146.
Options Expiration 10/19/16
#OptionsExpiration #SPXcampaign
Expiring today $SPX Oct 19th 2055/2080/2150/2175 iron condors, sold as a roll last Thursday for 5.25.
NFLX, more calls sold
#Earnings Working around my short Oct 21st 115 calls… I did not sell puts, as I should have yesterday and today. On today’s surge I am adding calls: STO $NFLX Oct 28th 129 calls for .52.
Will get on the ball and add puts when I can.
Earnings today
Not finding anything exciting, but interested in what anyone else is looking at.
SPX extra calls sold
#SPXcampaign My call spreads for Nov 4th were already closed for profits, but since I still have some put spreads open, I sold an extra call spread to offset:
Sold to open $SPX Nov 4th 2185/2210 call spreads for 2.25, with SPX at 2141.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Oct 28th 202/1985 put spreads for .2o. Sold for 1.30 on Sept 29th.
ISRG earnings
#Earnings Eneded up with two 650 puts (2.15) and two long 600 puts (.25), so put spreads for 1.90.
ISRG earnings
#Earnings Sold to Open $ISRG 650 put for 2.15. Biggest UP move: 17.7% , Biggest DOWN move: -11.5% , Average move: 6.3% . This trade is 8.6% OTM. I will probably add to this, and also buy 600 puts for disaster protection. -11.5% done move was in April 2014 and the lat time ISRG moved down big.
GS trade
#Earnings For the Iron Butterfly, your max loss is small if the Stock moves up or down too much for your trade to work. With expiration on Friday, we have 4 days for price to settle back to 170 giving us max profit. Right now, the trade is closable for breakeven. It is okay to do that, but in my view isn’t the point… you accepted the small max risk and should be okay taking that loss on Friday is we don’t return to 170. IB’s are thread-the-needle type trades that require patience.
I am waiting and watching for a cheaper exit between now and Friday’s close.
SPX puts closed, calls sold
#SPXcampaign In Pre-market, bought to close $SPX Oct 28th 2000/1975 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.35 on Sept 26th.
Sold to Open $SPX Nov 17th 2225/2250 call spreads for 1.55, with SPX at 2143.
Boom!
#Earnings After a four straight quarters of down moves, NFLX resumes its huge moves UP on earnings. At least it is easier to manage ITM 115 calls than it was ITM 700 calls.
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Oct 28th 2200/2225 call spreads for .20. Sold for 4.50 on Oct 5th.
NFLX price not moving but…
NFLX price not moving but options premiums going up.
GS earnings
#Earnings Not a big mover on earnings: Biggest UP move: 3.0%, Biggest DOWN move: -2.6%, Average move: 1.6%.
Going for neutral iron butterfly: STO $GS Oct 21st 167.5/170/172.5 IB for 2.05. Max risk = .45.
NFLX earnings
#Earnings Over last three years, over five days after earnings, Biggest UP move: 25.4%, Biggest DOWN move: -19.9%, Average move: 12.7%. Seems to be an upside bias to earnings premiums. Looking to sell the 85 put for .53, 14 points OTM, and the 115 call for .75, 16 points OTM. The farther out call is selling for more than the closer put.
These strikes are 14.1% and 16.2% OTM respectively.
STO $NFLX Oct 21st 85/115 strangles for 1.27.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Nov 17th 1960/1935 put spreads for 1.50, with SPX at 2127.
I am still selling put spreads, even with a Downside Warning in effect. Everything has remained fairly orderly in the SPX so I’m not spooked yet. I will take profits early or stop out if anything violent starts happening.
Econ Calendar week of 10/17/16
Options Expiration 10/14/16
Alls I gots expiring is the DUST 55 call. Have a great weekend everyone!
AZO earnings closed
#Earnings BTC $AZO Oct 21st 800 call for .20. Sold for 2.76 on 9/21. Now flat in AZO; all earnings trades closed yesterday and today.
SPX puts sold, puts closed
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open Nov 11th 1980/1955 put spreads for 1.30, with SPX at 2137.
Earlier: Bought to close $SPX Oct 20th 2050/2025 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.30 on Sept 22nd.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Nov 11th 2220/2245 call spreads for 2.00, with SPX at 2144.
Looks like gold may have…
Looks like gold may have found its bottom
Is the VIXIndicator punking us?
#VIXIndicator Well, if that was a near-term bottom today, that will be three Downside Warnings in a row that occurred on the day of the market bottom… Brexit in June, last month and this month.
That is not the historical norm, but if it’s becoming a new reality I may need to look at some adjustments. The main purpose of the Downside Warnings is to avoid huge dumps like August 2015. For the bigger corrections, it has always given fair warning before the huge dive. It may just be that it is less useful on these smaller dips.
AZO naked put closed
#Earnings Bought to close $AZO Oct 21st 690 put for .20. Sold for 3.07 on 9/21. Now just waiting for the 800 call to close.
SPX next-day spread closed same day
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Oct 14th 2090/2065 put spreads for .40. Sold 2.5 hours ago for 2.10.
Overcoming fear
It’s the toughest thing about trading, and nothing has provided a bigger leap away from fear than my recent experience of managing an ITM call spread. I was short the August 2130/2155 call spread as the SPX reached all time highs of 2193. It was a big trade, too, over twice my normal size, and it sucked as the index went through my strikes (I had already rolled several call spreads, but let this one sit). But as it sat there ITM for days and then weeks, I grew more relaxed and started exploring ways to roll my way out. I figured a system, without increasing position size, and started rolling it one week before it expired. All it would take is a decent pullback or two and I’d be out. It took about 6 rolls and now I’m out with no loss, in fact retaining the profit I expected on the original trade.
Going ITM and realizing max loss seems to be a great fear for many option traders. To help overcome it, I suggest trading an ITM spread on an index. Indices do not have huge overnight gaps like stocks, and there is no possibility of early assignment, as they are cash settled at expiration, never earlier. Your risk never changes, whether you are 100 points OTM or 100 points ITM (except with Portfolio Margin, which is unpredictable).
Today, I sold a 1-lot:
Sold to Open $SPX Nov 25th 2175/2150 put spread for 14.00. I will wait until mid November to even worry about it. It will be similar to having a trade go against you, except we now have the benefit of a very fat credit upon entry, rather than the 1.30 or so for which we usually sell these spreads.
Feel free to join if you are looking to overcome some of your fear. If you do it, understand that if it remains ITM in November, we may be selling condors or extra options during the rolls. But as before, I do not plan to increase risk very much. #SPXcampaign #FearTrade #ITMrolling
Fat fingered stop
#SPXcampaign I was holding the $SPX Oct 19th 2100/2075. My stop was the September lows, so when we broke that this morning, I considered closing it. I entered a stop price of 5.40, but did not want to submit the trade until I saw how the bounce would act. Well, guess what? I mistakenly submitted it.
As many expected, the 2120 area held (so far). But it’s done, so I decided to roll into an iron condor with the same expiration and same number of contracts. No doubt risky, probably more to the upside. But I will roll either side, if either are threatened.
Stopped: Bought to close SPX Oct 19th 2100/2075 put spreads for 5.40. Sold for 2.75 last Thursday.
Rolled to: Sold to Open SPX Oct 19th 2055/2080/2150/2175 iron condors for 5.25. Paid a .15 debit on the roll, but that’s okay since I brought in a heft 2.75 on the initial sale.
SPX next-day puts sold
#SPXcampaign — risky as we are still dropping…
Sold to Open $SPX Oct 14th 2090/2065 put spreads for 2.10, with SPX at 2115.
We just broke the September…
We just broke the September lows in SPX
UVXY call
#VXXGame Followed @Ramie, STO UVXY Jan 2018 60 call for 7.10.
AZO condors closed
#Earnings Bought to close $AZO 680/690/800/810 iron condors for .20. Sold for 2.00 on Sept 21st.
I have an additional naked strangle at the same short strikes. I have orders in to close each option at .20; thought those orders would fill before the condor.
Downside Warning fired
Downside Warning fired
VIX Indicator and SPX Chart updated
#VIXIndicator We are set to open with VIX above 16.53, which will fire a Downside Warning. Keep on guard for further volatility in the coming days or weeks.
Econ Calendar week of 10/10/16
Okay, this is much too late to be posting this. I’ve set a weekly reminder so I won’t forget!
SPX call spreads closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Nov 4th 2235/2260 call spreads for .20. Sold last week for 1.40.
VIX Indicator and SPX Charts have been updated
The VIX came within .06 of firing a second signal today. This does not mean that if it had done that, there would be a much greater chance of a correction… it’s just sticking with the rules and trading by them. No Warning yet means remain cautious but continue the #SPXcampaign as normal… sell both call and put spreads, roll if stops are hit, and close for 80-90% of max profit.
SPX condor roll sold
#SPXcampaign #CondorRoll
Sold to Open $SPX Nov 11th 1900/1925/2225/2250 iron condors for 2.00. This is a roll from earlier stopped spread, at 1.5x position size.
SPX puts stopped
#SPXcampaign This one hit the 3.00 stop level: Bought to close $SPX Nov 4th 2050/2025 put spreads for 2.80. Sold last Friday for 1.85. Will look to roll today or tomorrow.
FB covered puts
#ShortStock #CoveredPuts #Earnings #Rolling some $FB positions…
BTC FB Oct 14th 125 put for .07. Sold for 1.10 on Sept 16th.
BTC FB Dec 90 put for .11. Sold for 2.68 on June 15th.
STO FB Oct 28th 127 put for 1.11
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Oct 28th 2230/2255 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.30 on Sept 27th.
DUST call
#ContangoETFs Sold to Open $DUST Oct 14th 55 call for 1.25. Expires this Friday.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Nov 11th 2000/1975 put spreads for 1.30, with SPX at 2156.
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign In Pre-Market, bought to close $SPX Oct 14th 2185/2210 call spreads for .80. Sold for 7.60 on Sept 28th. I’m nearing the end of my ITM rolling, recouping all losses from a few spreads that went completely ITM over the summer.
Boring day…
…but interesting that VIX has been flat all day despite the indices all up significantly. I still don’t feel that new highs are in the cards without first having a deeper dip than we got in September.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Nov 11th 2240/2265 call spreads for 1.55, with SPX at 2169.
Options Expiration 10/7/16
–Expiring–
$FB 125 covered put
$NUGT 23 and 30 calls
$SPX 2190/2215 call spreads, sold last Friday for 3.50
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Oct 19th 2210/2235 call spreads for .20. Sold last Friday for 2.10.
SPX call spread sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Nov 4th 2215/2240 call spreads for 1.65. Tried selling the 2220 short spread this morning for 2.00 on the pop up, but missed the fill and watched my dreams dissolve away.
Next week I’ll be selling Nov 11th spreads, starting with calls first thing Monday.
DUST closed and sold calls
#ContangoETFs
BTC $DUST Oct 7th 50 call for .50. Sold for 1.475 (avg price) on Tuesday.
STO $DUST Oct 21st 60 call for 2.00.
Still have another 50 call that’s expiring today. Will look to close or roll as day progresses.
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Oct 28th 2235/2260 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.25 on Sept 28th.
SPX puts sold, calls closed
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Nov 4th 2050/2025 put spreads for 1.85
Bought to close $SPX Oct 20th 2225/2250 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.55 on Sept 19th.
Jobs Results
156,000 non-farm added in September.
Unemployment rate up to 5.0%, as numbers added to both employed and unemployed (job participation went up slightly).
VIX Indicator and SPX Chart have been updated
Have a great jobs Friday everyone!
UVXY call closed
#VXXGame Bought to close $UVXY Dec 55 call for .86. Sold for 4.40 on Sept 13th.
