#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Sept 9th 2240/2265 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.35 on Aug 9.
Bought to close $SPX Aug 31st 2210/2235 call spreads for .20. Sold for 3.60 on Aug 11.
Author Archives: Jeff
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Sept 2nd 2225/2250 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.50 on Aug 2nd.
NUGT calls
#ContangoETFs Starting to replace the puts I closed earlier: STO NUGT Sept 23rd 30 calls for 1.70.
SPX calls sold, puts closed
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Sept 23rd 2240/2265 calls for 1.65
Bought to close $SPX Aug 29th 2140/2115 put spreads for .20. Sold on Wednesday for 1.50.
Reaction…
After taking some initial hits, Gold, S&P, Bonds, and Financials are all up now.
Closing Losing Trade before Yellen’s speech.
Thanks, Robert, for helping me with my post’s title…
#ContangoETFs BTC NUGT Sept 9th 24 puts for 2.70. Sold for 1.18, effective price. I have a few short puts near the money, so just closing this strike before she speaks. NUGT has been known to go nuts after Fed.
Added to VIX
Bought another $VIX Sept 20th 14 call for 1.50, adding to my position.
Moving…
Sorry I’ve been MIA much of yesterday and today. We bought a house in north Portland and have been moving out of our rental house. Not trading much today.
DG earnings flop
#Earnings Well, looks like I was Wrong-Way McGee on this one. That’s why I keep the directional ones cheap.
SPX only .5% down… VIX…
SPX only .5% down… VIX up but not dramatically. Nothing like Aug 24th of last year!
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to open $SPX Sept 15th 2065/2040 put spreads for 1.30, with SPX at 2175.
SPX short-term puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Aug 29th 2140/2115 put spreads for 1.50, with SPX at 2178. My first Monday-expiring SPX spread!
NUGT implodes
Wow, total panic selling… 20% down! GDX 6.9% down. GLD only 1.1% down.
NUGT call closed
#ContangoETFs BTC $NUGT Sept 16th 180 call for 1.50. Sold for 9.20 on 6/3.
Looking to #StrangleRoll my Sept 9th 120 put.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Sept 23rd 2050/2025 put spreads for 1.25, with SPX at 2183.
DG earnings
#Earnings Low cost BULLISH earnings trade on $DG. Bought to open DG Aug 26th 93.5/95.5/97.5 call butterfly for .30. Current price 91.70, expected move 4.05. This trade is at 4.2% up, which is the expected move and the average move on earnings. Max gain about 1.70.
Over last three years, Biggest UP move: 10.7%, Biggest DOWN move: -3.2%, Average move: 4.1%.
Well, things will get exciting…
Well, things will get exciting some day. Will you be ready?
TSLA rallying
TSLA rallying
SPX call roll sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to open #SPX Sept 9th 2200/2225 call spreads for 8.00. Last part of the condor roll from Friday’s stopped spread. Waiting a couple of days paid off as I was able to get much better position.
NUGT roll
#ContangoETFs Bought to close NUGT Aug 26th 100 put for .15. Sold for 7.18 on July 20th.
Sold to Open NUGT Sept 16th 115 put for 5.50.
Much like @fuzzballl, I am trying to sell one call and one put each week in NUGT.
Bistro
FYI, the number that pops up on the orange tab at bottom represented new posts, but sometimes it will show a large number as “new” when they are not. This occurs when I am categorizing past posts… when I update old posts it sometimes shows them as “new” on the counter.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Sept 23rd 2245/2270 call spreads for 1.35, with SPX at 2182.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Aug 24th 2140/2115 put spreads for .20. This is the other half of the call spread closed an hour ago, sold for 1.60 on Aug 12th.
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Aug 24th 2200/2225 call spreads for .20. Sold for 2.80 on Aug 3rd.
Trying to get a fill on new spreads but missing the fills before each reversal.
LOW stock
#Earnings #SpreadConversion Sold to close $LOW stock for 78.25. Cleared out half of my position, salvaging failed iron butterfly into a profitable trade. Will look for higher prices to sell the remainder, with a stop at 77.50. I don’t want to hold the stock long-term.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign In pre-market, bought to close $SPX Sept 2nd 2040/2015 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.35 on Aug 1st.
LOW and RGLD earnings
#Earnings #SpreadConversion That’s a new hashtag I just made up for converting an ITM credit spread into a stock position.
LOW original position: 79.5/81.5/83.5 iron butterfly for 1.48. Exited some more LOW stock at 77.75 (cost basis 77.10). Closed remaining long puts, so will be assigned on more with cost basis of 77.50.
RGLD original position: 87.5/85 put spreads for 1.25. Sold my long 85 puts for 1.82 (avg price). Will be assigned stock via 87.5 puts, cost basis will be 84.43.
Won’t take much to recover with profits from both positions, despite having a max loss if I’d allowed to expire as spreads.
SPX rolling
#SPXcampaign Using market timing this morning to execute some rolls. Closed spreads near the lows, now waiting for higher levels to sell the rolls.
Bought to close $SPX Aug 26th 2175/2200 call spreads for 11.00 (in pre-market). Sold for 12.10 on 7/22.
Partial roll: Sold to Open SPX Sept 9th 2140/2115 put spreads for 3.35
2nd half of roll: Will sell SPX Sept 9th 2200/2225 call spreads for 7.75, if it can fill today. If not, will add a contract or come down a strike.
Bought to close $SPX Aug 26th 2135/2160 for 22.25. Sold last Friday for 21.50. This is my continued experiment of rolling out a fully ITM spread, one week and one strike higher at a time. Looking to sell the Sept 2nd 2140/2165 spread for 22.40. Probably can’t get that price, so I will take what I can get and add a put spread to make up the difference.
Crazy LOW trade
#Earnings While selling naked is preferred with a large account, using spreads can give you an effectively naked position… you don’t have to wait for expiration and just take the loss if your spreads end up completely ITM.
Sold partial $LOW stock position for 77.25. Assigned vis 81.5 puts Wednesday night with a 77.10 cost basis.
Also, sold one of my remaining 79.5 puts for 2.25. Will be assigned tonight via my 81.5 puts, cost basis on that batch will be 77.34.
By selling your ITM long puts, you leave yourself to be assigned on your newly naked puts, but at a very low cost basis. I’ve already exited some of the trade with a small profit… will wait for more recovery to take better profits on the rest of the stock.
Expired SPX
#SPXcampaign #OptionsExpiration Expired at this morning’s open: $SPX Aug 18th 2110/2085 put spreads. Sold for 2.50 on Aug 1.
Correction time?
Today, we had SKEW above 135 again… third time since Brexit. Will it mean something this time?
VIX daily chart in a squeeze
SPX in a daily squeeze
SPX monthly chart in a squeeze… that doesn’t happen often, but previously it was followed by corrections, like the 2001-2003 decline and the 2008 crash; or followed by sustained rallies, 2012-2015, 2005-2007, and 1995-2000 massive rally.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Sept 15th 2235/2260 call spreads for 1.45, with SPX at 2185.
LOW stock assigned
#Earnings #Assignment I was assigned $LOW stock last night from my 79.5/81.5/83.5 iron butterfly…. kind of unusual to be assigned from short puts that are part of a spread, but it happened to about 3/4’s of my position. Today I sold the long puts for 2.92, so combined with the 1.48 at which I sold the IBF, my cost basis on the stock is 77.10. A reasonable position. I may sell the remainder of the longs and take the rest of the stock on Friday.
LOW and PCLN earnings
#Earnings $LOW has made an above average move down, making my chances to profit from 81.5 IB pretty slim. Closing the 8.15 short calls for .01, just in case we get a nice rally into Friday.
$PCLN, I have two 20-point IB’s, centered at 1360 and 1370, sold before earnings. These look to be a bust as it started rallying yesterday. Will let these expire and execute for max loss, about 1.30.
$RGLD, I have the 87.5/85 put spread. My only hope was another gold rally off the Fed, which has happened last few times and may have started just now. Still a lot to hope for to get to 87.5.
So, small wins with DIS and REGN, but that’s 2 for 5 on August earnings trades. At least losses are defined!
NUGT put
#ContangoETFs STO $NUGT Sept 9th 120 put for 5.90
PCLN rallying
PCLN rallying
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Aug 26th 2230/2255 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.45 on July 29th.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open Aug 26th 2150/2125 put spreads for 2.70, with SPX at 2179. An extra short-termer offsetting calls I previously sold at this expiration.
LOW earnings
#Earnings Sold to Open $LOW Aug 19th 79.5/81.5/83.5 iron butterfly for 1.48. Max risk .52. Over last 3 years, Biggest UP move: 6.4%, Biggest DOWN move: -6.2%, Average move: 3.0%. Price needs to be at less than a 2% move in either direction by Friday’s close to profit.
HAIN in pain
#FallingKnife trade, anyone? Or more like falling anvil?
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open Sept 15th 2075/2050 put spreads for 1.60, with SPX at 2180.
Earnings candidates
#Earnings
$AAP – iron butterfly or tight condor
$HAIN – see @thomberg1201 post below
$HD – not a big mover but trend is up
SPX calls sold / puts closed
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Sept 15th 2245/2270 call spreads for 1.65, with SPX at 2190.
Bought to close $SPX Aug 26th 2050/2025 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.60 on July 28th.
SPX puts closed
#SPXcampaign In pre-market, Bought to Close $SPX Aug 26th 2040/2015 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.30 on July 25th.
SPX monster
#SPXcampaign This morning I was a rolling fool. I have been managing my way (slowly) out of call spreads that were (and are being) crushed. It will either take a few months or one decent pullback to get me out. I’m being patient and aggressive at the same time.
And I’m using the experience to understand how to roll ITM. It is not as difficult as I thought, save for the fact that you experience large drawdowns and heavy margin requirements. But veterans of #VXXGame know all about that!
Bought to close $SPX Aug 18th 2130/2155 call spreads for 23.20. Sold as a roll for 6.35 on June 28th.
Rolled to: $SPX Aug 24th 2135/2160 call spreads for 21.50, and Aug 31st 2140/2115 put spreads for 2.45.
Here I am trying to do just a one-week roll, while moving one strike higher. Thinking is that whenever a correction comes, my call spread will drain of value more quickly with a near-dated spread. PLUS, near-dated actually have more spread premium than further ones (due to bigger difference between short and long strikes). Also added a slightly further-out put spread to bring in a credit on the roll.
Sold to Open Sept 9th 2080/2055 put spreads for 1.30, standard weekly spread.
Sold to Open Aug 24th 2140/2115 put spreads. Roll spread to offset calls sold earlier this week.
Good news is I have 2195/2220 calls and 2150/2125 puts expiring today. This was a similar roll two weeks ago from a partially ITM spread… so I can get out of these suckers!
I got busy this week and have not updated the SPX Chart… will do before Monday.
DIS earnings closed
#Earnings BTC $DIS Aug 12th 96.5 calls for 1.08 (avg price). Sold as part of iron butterfly for 1.58 on Tuesday. Small profit, but profit nonetheless.
Party like it’s…
Yesterday was the first time since December 31, 1999, that the S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq all closed at record highs on the same day.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to open $SPX Aug 31st 2210/2235 call spreads for 3.60, as a partial roll from stopped ITM spreads. We continue the grind higher, but it is slow enough that call spreads are working well, even fairly close to the money.
RGLD earnings
#Earnings Sold to Open $RGLD Aug 19th 87.5/85 put spreads for 1.25. A partially ITM bullish spread, playing the trend and gold bullishness. Also, if it drops on earnings, it will have 10 days to recover. 1:1 risk/reward.
SPX call spread closed
#SPXcampaign Bought to close $SPX Aug 18th 2225/2250 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.55 on July 22nd.
UVXY closed
#VXXGame, earlier at the opening low, BTC UVXY Sept 9th 58 call for .34. Sold for 1.80 on Aug 2.
SPX puts sold
#SPXcampaign One standard campaign spread and one partial roll
Sold to Open $SPX Sept 9th 2060/2035 puts for 1.25, with SPX at 2176.
Sold to Open $SPX Sept 2nd 2125/2100 puts for 2.75, with SPX at 2178.
SKEW is up
For the first time since June, the SKEW went above 135.00 yesterday. SKEW is often a predictor of corrections (readings above 135) or rallies (below 120). On this chart, SKEW is in red, SPY in yellow. You can see a pop to 140 preceded the late June pullback from Brexit.
DIS Earnings
#Earnings Sold to Open $DIS Aug 12th 94.5/96.5/98.5 iron butterfly for 1.58. Over last 3 years, Biggest UP move: 7.6%, Biggest DOWN move: -9.2%, Average move: 3.3%. This trade profits best if DIS ends week with less than a 2% move either direction.
Max risk .42.
DIS earnings, looking at iron…
DIS earnings, looking at iron butterfly, 2 points on either side
NUGT call closed
#ContangoETFs BTC NUGT Aug 19th 200 call for 1.95 to free up margin. Sold for 16.20 on July 1st.
SPX rolls
#SPXcampaign These are the rolls I’ve been dreading. In a case of bad timing, I didn’t close when we hit lows last week and got stuck closing at new highs. I would be holding through this if expiration was any later. I will be piecing together enough rolls to make up the loss.
Bought to close $SPX Aug 12th 2160/2185 call spreads for 19.95. Partially rolled:
Sold to Open $SPX Sept 2nd 2175/2200 call spreads for 14.40.
Long Volatility
#VXXGame Inspired by @optioniceman‘s last post and the new VIX low, I am selling some SVXY calls for the first time in probably a year and also buying some VIX calls:
BTO $VIX Sept 20th 14 calls for 1.80
STO $SVXY Dec 95 calls for 3.50
STO $SVXY Jan ’17 105 calls for 2.50
Earlier:
BTC $UVXY Aug 19th 60 call for .02. Sold last Tuesday for .60
BTC $UVXY Aug 26th 58 call for .12. Sold Last Tuesday for 1.15
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Sept 9th 2240-2265 call spreads for 1.35, with SPX at all-time high of 2186.
Selling these normal campaign spreads 30 days out around 10-delta has been working fine for weeks. I am still dealing with ATM and ITM rolled spreads that are the tough part. More on that to follow.
Highs and Lows
This is similar to the post I put up last Friday:
New all-time $SPX high
New all-time $NDX high
All time lows in $VXX and $UVXY
New 50-week high in $SVXY
New 52-week low in $VIX
VXX game closes after the bell
#VXXGame After the bell, these two closing orders filled:
BTC SVXY Jan 2017 30 put for 1.40. Sold for 7.05 on Jan 6th of 2015
BTC UVXY Sept 2nd 58 call for .28. Sold for 1.50 last Tuesday.
CHTR earnings
#Earnings Following trade is VOIDED. Mistake on entry; I did not get these prices so I’m closing for a small loss now, not worth the risk.
Sold to Open $CHTR Aug 12th 215/220/250/255 iron condors for 1.70. Over last 3 years: Biggest 5-DAY UP move: 5.5%, Biggest DOWN move: -8.0%, Average 5-day move: 3.9%. This trade is about 6.3% OTM on each side.
Options Expiration 8/5/16
#OptionsExpiration
–Expiring–
$NUGT 120 put
$SPX 2145/2120 put spreads
$SPX 2125/2100 put spreads
Also, at the close, STO NUGT Sept 2nd 105 put for 3.10.
New VIX 52-week low was…
New VIX 52-week low was just hit
Highs and Lows
New all-time $SPX high
New 52-week $RUT high
All time lows in $VXX and $UVXY
Today’s low so far .05 above 52-week low in $VIX
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign
In pre-market, Bought to close Aug 12th 2080/2055 put spreads for .20. Sold as part of a condor-roll on July 15th.
Bought to close $SPX Aug 18th 2040/2015 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.30 on July 19th.
Sold to Open $SPX Sept 2nd 2225/2250 call spreads for 1.60. I sold this spread on Monday as well… wanted to use the 2230 short for my second spread, but since I could only get about 1.10, I just doubled up on the 2225.
@fuzzballl, did Dan exit his…
@fuzzballl, did Dan exit his $FEYE trade before it tanked just now?
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Earlier I closed the Aug 5th 2200 calls for .05 to clear up margin. A double-sized position that was sold as part of the 2200/2225 spread in two phases: for 1.30 on July 28th, and last week as part of a condor-roll for 1.49.
REGN double diagonal closed
#Earnings Sold to Close $REGN Aug 5th 420/460 Aug 18th 410/470 double diagonal for 3.00. Bought yesterday for 1.40. A double on this, but thought it might do much better. Premium dropped more than I expected out of the Aug 18th long options.
PCLN were moved to TONIGHT…
PCLN earnings were moved to TONIGHT after close
PCLN, TSLA, REGN
#Earnings Looking like a good morning for neutral trades on earnings… not much movement. I love the smell of IV-suck in the morning.
VIX Indicator and SPX Position…
VIX Indicator and SPX Position Chart are updated. Have a good evening everyone!
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold to Open $SPX Aug 24th 2200/2225 call spreads for 2.80, with SPX at 2163.
PCLN iron butterfly
#Earnings Sold to Open $PCLN Aug 19th 1340/1360/1380 iron butterfly for 18.75.
This trade will profit if PCLN is between 1341 and 1378 two weeks from Friday. It will also be possible to leg out of there are any wild swings between now and then. Low probability, low risk (max risk 1.25). If it moves big tomorrow, it will then have time to drift back to the mean.
REGN earnings double diagonal
#Earnings Bought to open a double diagonal on REGN for earnings for 1.40.
Sold Aug 5th 420/460 strangle for 9.30.
Bought Aug 18th 410/470 strangle for 10.70.
This gives 6% downside and 8% upside for breakevens, assuming exiting full trade by this Friday (trade was entered earlier when REGN was higher). Max gain and risk depend on IV drop tomorrow, but looks to be about risking 1.2 to make 1.
Over last three years on earnings: Biggest UP move: 7.4%, Biggest DOWN move: -6.3%, Average move: 4.1%.
