Taking off a few positions to reduce exposure. I still have relatively large positions in out of the money calls in January, which I will continue to pare back into market strength.
Bought to close:
$UVXY Jan 20 2017 170 call @ 1.74. Sold for 15.25 on 1/15/16.
$UVXY Jan 20 2017 115 call @ 2.55. Sold for 33.00 on 8/27/15.
$VXX Jan 20 2017 66 call @ .54. Sold for 7.00 on 12/31/14.
Rolled April 600 covered call up and out to May 650 for 5.00 credit.
#Rolling
Sold $NUGT Apr 22 65 put @ 1.70
This week, the Department of Labor finally released its new fiduciary rule, which requires investment advisers to put the interests of their clients ahead of those of themselves or the firms for which they work. On the surface this sounds good, and in its final form it may end up being good (no opinion here yet, I don’t know enough about all its ramifications), but the most interesting part from my perspective was the past 12 months of back and forth between the DOL and the financial industry (the OCC was a major force in this) about the proposals to restrict or eliminate trading of options in IRA accounts, restrict educational information from brokers/trading platforms, and prevent entertainment figures like Jim Cramer, Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman from offering specific recommendations or advice to their viewers and listeners.
The most important of the above concerns for me was the restrictions on IRA accounts and the industry responded in a very big way apparently, since the final DOL rule does not affect the ability to trade options (or futures) in IRA accounts. The final rule also spares the restrictions on entertainment personalities so I guess we will continue to hear “buy-buy-buy!” screaming from the TV, so that’s a comfort. There is also still some clarity that needs to be worked out on the issue of how much options education can be offered to IRA account holders by their brokers.
I don’t know if the financial industry won out on this issue because of the sheer weight of the groundswell, or because they were actually able to convince the DOL that many IRA account holders utilize options to reduce risk (covered calls, etc). From what I understand it is a bit of a surprise they ended up completely leaving this issue alone so either way score a victory for the industry in defending something worth defending. However it happened, I believe it ends up being a good thing for retirement account investors.
Some articles:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160406006592/en/OCC-Gratified-DOL-Fiduciary-Rule-Benefit-Users
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-brokers-fiduciary-options-idUSKCN0X427F
Wall Street Dodged a Bullet on the Retirement Fiduciary Rule
There is also an article that summarizes the issue nicely on Barrons.com if you have access.
#OptionsExpiration for 4/8
Only 2 expirations this week.
$NFLX 04/08/2016 115.00 calls
$NUGT 04/08/2016 100.00 calls
No assignments.
Borrowing this idea from Iceman.
Sold $UVXY Apr 29 16 puts @ .80.
Sold $NUGT Jun 17 105 call @ 7.30. Highest strike.
Sold $NUGT Jan 20 2017 105 call @ 19.50. Highest strike.
I was away from my desk for the last couple of hours of the trading day, but was filled on these:
Sold $NUGT May 20 95 call @ 4.00
Sold $SVXY May 27 (weekly) 39 put @ 2.00
Taking this September position off at more than 90% max profit
Bought to close $TSLA Sep 16 60 puts @ .16. Sold for 2.20 on 2/10.
Sold $CMG Apr 22 420 put @ 3.00
Sold the following:
$NUGT Apr 15 75 calls @ 1.20
$NUGT Apr 22 90 call @ 1.44
Borrowed this idea from TastyTrade.
Sold $AMZN Apr 15 560/615 strangle for 4.05 credit. Will look to manage early as theta decay kicks into high gear.
Taking advantage of the strength in biotech to close this position for around 75% of max profit.
Bought to close $BIB May 20 30 puts @ .35. Sold for 1.50 on 1/15.
#OptionsExpiration for 4/1
Only 2 expirations this week
$NUGT 04/01/2016 90 calls
$UVXY 04/01/2016 115 calls
No assignments.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Sold $SVXY Jun 17 65 call @ 1.25
Bought to close $CMG Apr 8 465 put @ 6.40. Sold for 11.49 on 3/17 as a rollout from the Mar 475 put which had gone ITM. Overall 2.20 profit on the rolled position and I’m glad to get out of this one. I’m still short the Apr 15 440 put which is looking better today as well. Still not ready to eat any burritos yet though…
Sold $SPX Apr 29 2140/2165 BeCS @ 1.30
#SPXCampaign
Sold $TLT May 20 125 puts @ 1.15. Offsets and creates a short strangle with May 135 calls.
Joining the party
Sold $SPX May 6 2140/2165 call spreads @ 1.45
Sold $SVXY Sep 16 70 call @ 1.50
Adding positions in expirations where I had none. Highest strikes.
Sold $NUGT May 20 95 call @ 3.70
Sold $NUGT APr 29 (weekly) 105 call @ 1.25
Taking this one off for an overall profit.
Bought to close $NUGT Apr 8 63 call @ 2.35.
Sold for 10.20 on 3/3, as a rollout from Mar 18 60 call.
Overall profit 1.58.
#OptionsExpiration for 3/24
Only 1 expiration today:
$NUGT 03/24/2016 80 calls.
No assignments.
Have a great 3 day/holiday weekend everyone.
Sold $TLT May 20 135 calls @ 1.14
Adding another position against short calls. Sold $NUGT Apr 29 35 put @ 1.80.
Sold $FSLR Apr 29 (weekly) 60 put @ 1.74
Sold $RIG May 20 7.00 puts @ .35. It’s been a steep pullback but I’m willing to take assignment if the stock is below 7 at May expiration. The strike is below the Feb 24 low of 7.67, and another 25% down from current levels. Earnings are not expected until after May options expiration.
Sold $GILD May 20 82.50 puts @ 1.36
Sold $NUGT Apr 15 38 puts @ 1.20. Offsetting short calls.
Closing my last position in ZSL and now I am ZSL free. It was good for a while but the relationship lost its excitement so I gotta move on. NUGT has been where the action is. Maybe you’ll be back one day, ZSL, and we can talk about spending some more time together, even with your high carrying cost and all.
So….NUGT…will you accept this rose?
Bought to close $ZSL May 20 80 call @ .10. Sold for 3.00 on 12/30/15.
I have an oversize position in January that I built up during the volatility from Sep-Feb. Peeling a few positions off at 80+% of max profit, to reduce exposure into market strength.
Bought to close $UVXY Jan 20 2017 170 calls @ 3.35. Sold for 18.00 on 2/8 and 17.00 on 1/19.
Most of my KOLD short call exposure has rolled off in the last couple of months. I still have some high maintenance in the money positions that I’ll have to deal with for May but I decided to throw one out there in April at the highest strike, with today’s big spike up.
Sold $KOLD Apr 15 300 call @ 3.50.
Closing AAPL Bought to close $AAPL Jul 15 75 puts @ .26. Sold for 1.40 on 1/6. Taking 80% max profit off the table almost 4 months early. I’ll continue to look for opportunities to take short AAPL puts off into the continued strength.
#OptionsExpiration for March 18
Expiring
$AMZN 03/18/2016 600 calls (covered)
$BOIL 03/18/2016 25 calls (covered)
$DUST 03/18/2016 30 calls
$EA 03/18/2016 60 puts
$KOLD 03/18/2016 300 calls
$NFLX 03/18/2016 105 calls
$NFLX 03/18/2016 110 calls
$NFLX 03/18/2016 118 calls
$NUGT 03/18/2016 75 calls
$NUGT 03/18/2016 80 calls
$NUGT 03/18/2016 35 puts
$SVXY 03/18/2016 70 calls (covered)
$SVXY 03/18/2016 35 puts
$TLT 03/18/2016 132 calls
$UNP 03/18/2016 65 puts
$WHR 03/18/2016 110 puts
$WYNN 03/18/2016 80 puts
Assignments–going long stock
$TWTR 03/18/2016 27 puts
Assignments–stock getting called away
$TWX 03/18/2016 67.50 calls
$WFM 03/18/2016 31 calls
$WMT 66.50 calls
Not a huge expiration but a lot of stock getting called away, bringing a nice amount of cash back in. The timing is pretty good with the market nearing resistance.
Have a great weekend everyone.
From all the adjustments after the January earnings trade in $NOW, I went into today with Apr 15 short 55 calls and a Mar 18 60 straddle (expiring today) which I was letting bleed as much time value as I could. I just did the following:
Rolled today’s 60 puts down and out to Apr 22 55 for 1.60 credit
Bought to close Mar 18 60 calls for .64 (sold for 1.10 on 2/10)
Closing the puts books a profit of 10.03 and the calls .46, so 10.49 goes against the losses; I now have a remaining 2.25 in loss to recover.
Positions are now:
Apr 15 55 calls
Apr 22 55 puts
The loss can now be wiped out with the above expirations if things don’t go crazy with this stock between now and then. Earnings are estimated to be Apr 27.
Bought to close $WHR Jun 17 85 put @ .06. Sold for 1.65 on 1/15.
Not waiting for the last .06. Taking my 96% max profit off the table 3 months early.
Sold $SVXY Sep 16 60 calls @ 3.20 and 3.21
Rolled down Apr 15 650 call to 600 for 2.30 additional credit:
Bought to close Apr 15 650 call for .30 (sold for 2.55 on 3/1)
Sold to open Apr 15 600 call for 2.60
Rolled this week’s 475 put down and out to Apr 8 465 put for 4.60 credit:
Bought to close $CMG Mar 18 475 put @ 6.89 (sold for 6.10 on 2/8)
Sold to open $CMG Apr 8 465 put @ 11.49
Sold $SVXY Sep 16 60 call @ 2.95.
Just dipped down to 23.76, below the the 23.83 low on 12/2/15
Sold $NUGT Sep 16 105 call @ 17.30. Adding to position at the highest strike.
On the post-FOMC spike in gold, added these short calls at the highest strikes
Sold $NUGT Apr 22 (weekly) 105 call @ 1.75
Sold $NUGT Sep 16 105 call @ 11.50
Offsetting short calls with some puts in Apr 1.
Sold $UVXY Apr 1 (weekly) 22 puts @ .60.
#OptionsExpiration for 3/11
Expiring:
$NFLX 03/11/2016 102 calls
$NUGT 03/11/2016 75 calls
$NUGT 03/11/2016 76 calls
$NUGT 03/11/2016 80 calls
$NUGT 03/11/2016 89 calls
$UVXY 03/11/2016 80 calls
$UVXY 03/11/2016 90 calls
$UVXY 03/11/2016 105 calls
No assignments this week.
Taking these off at high max profit levels, continuing to reduce exposure into market strength.
Bought to close UVXY Mar 18 60 call @ .03 (sold for 8.36 on 8/20/15)
Bought to close UVXY Apr 15 90 call @ .20 (sold for 2.20 on 2/23/16)
Bought to close UVXY Jun 17 80 call @ 2.15 (sold for 10.40 on 1/7/16)
Bought to close UVXY Jun 17 85 call @ 1.95 (sold for 15.00 on 1/19/16)
Sold $SVXY Sep 16 60 call @ 2.20
Bought to close $FB Apr 15 87.50 puts @ .20. Sold for 1.26 on 2/5.
I’m taking around 85% max profit now instead of waiting over a month for the last .20.
Adding to my May 30 puts and creating a ladder
Sold $BIB Aug19 25 puts @ 1.60
BIB hasn’t seen 25 since July 2013. I’m willing to take the chance that it doesn’t have another 35% down move between now and August. Delta of the puts is 13.
Taking some #VXXGame trades off at over 95% max profit.
BTC $UVXY 3/18 110 call @ .02 Sold for 2.60 on 2/3
BTC $UVXY 3/24 80 call @ .14 Sold for 5.15 on 2/5
BTC $UVXY 3/24 95 call @ .08 Sold for 5.30 on 2/9
BTC $UVXY 3/24 105 call @ .06 Sold for 5.00 on 2/11
I am short the March 60 puts as a rollout from an earnings trade gone bad. I sold the March 55 and 60 calls to bring in premium. Both of those are in the money now, but the 55 call had very little time premium so I rolled it to April for 1.30 credit.
Still a lot of time value left in the remaining March positions (basically an at the money straddle right now) so I will wait to see which way the stock breaks to determine my next roll.
Or more accurately, down after earnings.
Sold $SHAK Apr 15 32.50 puts @ 1.00.
Sold $APA Apr 15 57.50 calls @ 1.20
#OptionsExpiration for March 4
Expiring:
$NUGT 03/04/2016 75.00 calls
$TZA 03/04/2016 85.00 calls
$UVXY 03/04/2016 95.00 calls
No assignments this week.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Rolled today’s 70 calls up and out to next week (Mar 11) 76 calls for 1.98 credit
Adding slowly. I have a big long position that I will cover incrementally if we continue up.
Sold $SVXY Jun 17 65 call @ 1.40.
Executed the following:
Rolled $NUGT Mar 18 45 calls out to Apr 15 45 calls for 2.00 credit
Rolled $NUGT Mar 18 48 calls out to Apr 15 48 calls for 3.20 credit
Rolled $NUGT Mar 18 52 call out to Apr 15 52 call for 3.10 credit
Rolled $NUGT Mar 18 60 call up and out to Apr 8 (weekly) 63 call for 2.13 credit
Sold $AMZN Apr 15 650 call @ 2.55
It’s about time we can sell some calls on this.
Sold $SVXY Jun 17 53.00 call @ 1.30
Call spread in SPX for the April monthly series
Sold $SPX 4/15 2095/2120 call spreads for 1.40 with SPX at 1973. Short strike is around 1 standard deviation (=2090). Another 120 points in the S&P would bring us right back up to the early Dec highs.
Selling puts to offset all the short call exposure.
Sold $NUGT Mar 18 35 puts @ 1.00.
I’ve been out of this name for a couple of months. Today’s move down is an opportunity to sell more puts. The strike price is below the recent low on 1/20.
Sold $EOG Apr 15 55.00 puts @ 1.30 with the stock near 65.
Sold $NUGT 3/24 80 call @ 3.40. Highest strike in a week where I had no NUGT positions.
Up to 300 for March and April.
Sold $KOLD Mar 18 300 call @ 7.00
#OptionsExpiration for 2/26
Expiring:
$NUGT 02/26/2016 70.00 calls
$NUGT 02/26/2016 76.00 calls
$NUGT 02/26/2016 30.50 puts
$UVXY 02/26/2016 85.00 calls
$UVXY 02/26/2016 110.00 calls
No assignments this week.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Bought to close $ARMH Mar 18 36 puts @ .20. Sold for 1.10 on 2/10. Taking my 80% max profit 3 weeks early. Who knows what this market will bring.
Sold $TSLA Apr 15 240 call @ 2.25. Pairing this with the 120 put I sold yesterday to create a wide (120 point) strangle.
Sold $SPX Apr 1 2065/2090 BeCS @ 1.35.
Short strike is right in the middle of all that resistance from December.
Delta is 07, 1 standard deviation is 2058.
I’ll be pretty happy if I have to close this for a loss or roll it.
Sold $NUGT Jun 17 94 call @ 10.00. Newest highest strike.
Bought to close $SPX Mar 11 1665/1640 put spread for .10. Sold for 1.30 on 2/5.
Sold $TSLA Apr 15 120 put @ 1.30
#VXXGame trades at the close
I put on the following trades at the highest strikes in expirations where I didn’t yet have any positions.
Sold $UVXY Apr 15 90 call @ 2.20
Sold $UVXY Apr 1 (weekly) 115 calls @ .70
We’re here again. SVXY is back higher than UVXY.
And the futures are in contango for the first time in quite a while: vixcentral.com
Sold Mar 18 66.50 calls @ .70
Options Bistro 