With $BABA breaching the short call strike of my iron condor, rolled 9/18 255/245 bull put spread up to 270/260 for 1.63 credit. Adjusted iron condor is 260/270//280/290. Total premium now taken in on the position is 5.95.
Author Archives: Ramie
TSLA Sep
Been hesitant to do this since getting in front of speeding trains is not my idea of fun. At least not anymore.
Sold $TSLA 9/18 2300/2350 bear call spread @ 10.00.
Closing LABU
Bought to close 9/4 40 puts @ .40. Sold for 1.75 on 8/12.
BABA Iron Condor
Sold $BABA 9/18 225/235//280/290 iron condor @ 2.95. Earnings were reported this morning.
AMZN Iron Condor
IV increasing a bit here (current IV rank around 41). Sold $AMZN Sep 18 2980/3000//3600/3620 iron condor @ 6.79. About 1/3 the width of the strikes. Stock almost centered between the short strikes trading 3295-3300 which are +/- 300 points, puts and calls at 18 and 23 delta. Will look to close for 50% of the profit.
Closing TDOC
Bought to close 8/28 175 put @ .62. Sold for 3.30 on 8/5. Thanks @fuzzballl.
Sep TQQQ
Sold $TQQQ 9/18 80 puts @ 1.45
Closing LABU
Bought to close $LABU 8/21 45 puts @ .55. Sold for 1.80 on 7/28. Thanks @fuzzballl!
ATVI
$ATVI Bounced nicely near the 50 day moving average, at the bottom of its trading range. Sold 9/18 75 puts @ 1.42 (23 delta) with the stock at 81.53.
LABU
Sold 9/4 40 puts @ 1.75
#ShortPuts
Closing SHOP
Bought to close $SHOP 8/21 1120/1140 bear call spread @ 1.00. Sold for 5.00 on 7/29.
Hello BOIL our old friend…
Probably not the best trade in the world but the big move up in nat gas is screaming “fade me”. At least I thought I heard that.
So keeping with the promise I made to myself of not selling naked calls on these leveraged commodity ETFs, I decided to sell a call spread, the 12/18 60/70 bear call spread for 1.30. Kind of kills the appeal of these since you could sell the highest strike in December, 90 calls, for 3.75 or so. But those days are over. The other drawback is liquidity so if this thing rockets up again there might be some slippage in getting out. We’ll see what happens.
LULU call spread
$LULU Up today now seems to be slowing down. Fading the move by selling 8/21 365/375 bear call spread @ 1.34 credit. Not getting 1/3 the width of the strikes because I’m considering this to be more of a synthetic short call, with a long call to reduce buying power. Short call at 32 delta.
Another DOCU rollup
$DOCU Rolled the bull put spread side of my iron condor up again, from 8/21 205/195 to 220/210 @ 1.87 credit. Put spread side has been rolled up 3 times and now total premium is 8.20 against 10 point wide wings so I will let this position sit with a now max loss of 1.80. Will look to close out for a profit if the opportunity arises before options expiration.
DOCU roll up
With the stock breaching the call spread side of my iron condor (at 224.45), rolled $DOCU 185/175 bull put spread up to 205/195 for 1.35 credit. Part of an iron condor with 220/230 bear call spread. Originally sold for 3.69 on 7/15. This is the second roll up of the put spread side. With this credit, total premium taken in now 6.30.
AMZN Post-Earnings Condor
Sold $AMZN 8/21 2900/2950//3500/3550 iron condor @ 13.89, short strikes around 17 delta. IV still elevated (IVR 52).
SHOP fading the gap up
Stock has been fading from its morning post-earnings gap up, all day. Sold $SHOP 8/21 1120/1140 bear call spread @ 5.00. Short calls above today’s high. With IV low and the the short calls closer than I usually sell (34 delta), this trade has a higher than usual directional component (i.e., looking for further down movement rather than waiting for volatility to contract). Heads up, this is another underlying with less than ideal liquidity.
DOCU adjustment
Rolled $DOCU 160/150 bull put spread up to 185/175 for 1.26 credit. Part of an iron condor with 220/230 bear call spread. Originally sold the iron condor for 3.69 on 7/15. With this credit, total premium taken in now 4.95.
SPOT put spread
Sold $SPOT 8/21 240/230 bull put spread @ 2.25. Still high IV post-earnings (IVR 48). Short puts 25 delta. Caution: liquidity not great for most options on this underlying.
SLV strangle
Sold $SLV 8/21 20.50/27 strangle @ 1.00. Delta neutral with both sides at 22 delta. IV rank 55.
Taking profits on ULTA
Bought to close $ULTA 8/21 155 puts @ 1.10. Sold for 2.90 on 7/9. Thanks @fuzzballl!
TSLA post-earnings condor
Sold $TSLA 8/21 1330/1350//1800/1820 iron condor @ 9.40. Leaning short with short puts and calls at 20 and 36 delta. IV rank 34.
NFLX Iron Condor
Sold $NFLX 8/21 430/440//580/590 iron condor @ 3.30 with the stock at 495.74.
DOCU Iron Condor
Sold $DOCU 8/21 150/160//220/230 iron condor @ 3.69 with the stock at 192.60. Leaning short delta (short calls at 30, short puts at 16). IVR rank 45. Earnings not expected until Sep.
Closing IWM
Bought to close $IWM 150/155 bear call spread @ .25. Sold for 1.29 on 6/19.
AMZN call spread
Sold $AMZN 7/17 3110/3130 bear call spread @ 5.20 with the stock around 3021.
TSLA call spread
Sold $TSLA 7/17 1450/1470 bear call spread @ 5.00 with the stock around 1368.
NKLA Iron Fly
Over on OMM they’re getting filled on this trade. Took it in a a couple of accounts. Seems impossible:
Filled on $NKLA 8/21 45/55/65 iron butterfly for 10.40 credit. You read that right. Credit exceeding the wing width. Can’t figure out how that happened, I’ve never seen it before.
Rolling COST
With $COST breaking above the 50 day moving average I’m extending my stock acquisition position (short 7/17 295 puts) by rolling it to 8/21 295 puts for 3.80 credit. Total premium now 7.95 so breakeven if assigned has dropped to around 287. Option delta 33. Earnings not expected until after Aug opex.
Closing CODX
Closed diagonal call spread (sold to close 8/21 10 calls + bought to close 7/17 20 calls) @ 7.63. Would think about rolling the short leg out to August but with earnings before opex I decided to just close the position for a nice profit. With a previous roll overall profit 2.68. Adjusted basis after rollout was 4.95.
FB July Iron Condor
Sold $FB 7/17 200/210//240/250 iron condor @ 2.78. Short term. Slightly bullish (short puts 25∆ short calls 19∆).
Looking for volatility contraction over the next week. IV rank 48.
Expirations
These expired pretty close to the money. As of a few days ago seemed relatively safe but watched them through today’s close:
$UVXY 6/26 39/49 bear call spread
$UVXY 6/26 40/50 bear call spread
$UVXY 6/26 41/46 bear call spread
CAT Nov
Sold $CAT 11/20 80 puts @ 1.85 with the stock at 122.16. Strike price would be at a 4 year low.
#FallingKnife
UVXY August
Sold $UVXY 8/21 55/65 bear call spread @ 1.33
Closing QCOM
Bought to close $QCOM 7/17 80 puts @ .75. Sold for 2.15 on 6/15.
PINS short puts
Sold $PINS 8/21 20 puts @ 1.10. Delta 23, IV rank 43.
Moving AMZN to July
Taking the full loss on $AMZN 6/19 2580/2600/2620 iron fly (20.00 less 14.92 in premium taken in including rolls = 5.08 loss). Reinitiating in July with 7/19 2530/2550//2860/2880 IC @ 8.04. Short strikes both at 24 delta.
Bearish in small caps
Taking a bearish position in small caps. Sold $IWM 7/17 150/155 bear call spread @ 1.29 with IWM at 140.39. IVR rank 61.
WEX Short Puts
First time in this underlying. Sold $WEX 7/17 145 put @ 4.50 with the stock around 173. Bid/ask spreads a little wide in this one.
Closing LULU
Bought to close $LULU 7/17 250/340 strangle @ 3.90. Sold for 8.20 on 6/12. Taking the >50% available profit off the table as IV on this stock has come in quite a bit (rank was 60 on Friday, today it’s 23).
XOM short puts
Sold $XOM 7/17 45 puts @ 1.58. IVR rank 49.
QCOM short puts
Sold $QCOM 7/17 80 puts @ 2.15. 28 delta, IV rank 41.
LULU strangle
Sold $LULU 7/17 250/340 strangle (1 standard deviation–put and call deltas at 17 and 16) for 8.20 credit. Considered an iron condor but I decided to go with a smaller position for a trade that is much more easily adjustable if the stock has a big move in either direction. IV still high after earnings (IV rank 60).
WHR long term
Sold $WHR 12/18 60 puts @ 1.75 with the stock at 127.12.
#FallingKnife
UAL roll
From $UAL 6/19 40/60 short strangle, rolled the 60 calls down to 42 calls (21 delta) for .70 credit. Total premium now 3.23 so breakeven on the downside is 36.77. Stock currently trading around 35.
Rolling AMZN
With the stock completely shooting through the call spread side, I rolled up put spread side of my iron condor. Rolled $AMZN 6/19 2300/2280 up to 2600/2580 bull put spread for 6.82 credit to create an iron butterfly with the 2600/2620 bear call spread. After 2 rolls of the put spread total premium for the position is now 14.92 against 20 point wide wings. If the stock stays above 1620 (or goes below 2580) I will take the max loss of what is now 5.08. If it comes back near 1600 I’ll try to get out for even or possibly a profit.
Closing LULU
Bought to close $LULU 6/19 320/330 bear call spread @ 3.69. Sold for 3.05 on 6/1. Taking advantage of the down move to get out for a small loss (relative to where it was a couple of days ago). If earnings weren’t this week I’d probably hold it closer to expiration but I’ll look to possibly put on a separate earnings trade Thursday, or something after earnings if there’s a big move.
UAL strangle
Sold $UAL 6/19 40/60 strangle @ 2.53
COST short put
Sold $COST 7/17 295 put @ 4.15. Cost basis 290.85 if assigned.
Closing BA
Bought to close $BA 7/17 130/120 bull put spread @ .40. Sold for 2.06 on 5/28.
REGN rolling to strangle
-Bought to close profitable $REGN 6/19 470/520/650/700 iron condor @ 3.90 (sold for 8.05 on 5/20)
-Sold to open $REGN 7/17 520/680 strangle @ 11.80 with the stock at 598.76. Short puts/calls at 15 and 18 delta.
ZM iron condor
Sold $ZM 7/17 165/175/270/280 iron condor @ 3.35 with the stock at 218.82. Collecting about 1/3 the width of the strikes. Post-earnings. IV still relatively high with IV rank at 57. Short strikes at 18 (puts), 24 (calls).
Fading DKNG
Sold $DKNG 7/17 40/45 bear call spread @ 1.56. #tastytradefollow
Adjust CODX
Original trade was a diagonal call spread, long 8/21 10 calls and short 6/19 20 calls. With the stock at 17.95 and 19 days to expiration, I rolled the 6/19 20 calls out to 7/17 20 calls @ 1.05 credit. Debit on original trade was 6.00, so cost basis now reduced to 4.95.
Rolling TSLA
Rolled $TSLA 6/19 650/630 bull put spread up to 780/760 for 2.80 credit (short puts 17∆). Paired as an iron condor with 950/970 bear call spread. Stock at 884.00. Total premium for position now 7.50.
LULU call spread
Sold to open $LULU 6/19 320/330 bear call spread @ 3.05.
Boeing put spread
Sold $BA 7/17 130/120 bull put spread @ 2.06, with the stock between 152 and 153. Short puts at 21 delta.
Rolling MMM again
Rolled short $MMM 9/18 115 puts up to 130 puts @ 1.50 credit with the stock at 159.17, new delta 16. This is the second rollup (from 100 to 115 to 130). Total premium collected now 5.12.
Extending WHR
Rolled profitable short puts out to July:
6/19 100 puts to 7/17 100 puts @ 1.08 credit
6/19 101 puts to 7/17 105 puts @ 1.73 credit
Stock at 125.55
EWY strangle
Sold to open $EWY 7/17 45/56 strangle @ 1.27 with the ETF at 51.23. Just about delta neutral (puts 18 and calls 19).
TSLA iron condor
Sold $TSLA 6/19 630/650/950/970 iron condor @ 4.70 with the stock around 819. Leaning short with the short calls at 24 delta, short puts at 11 delta. Will look to roll the put spread side up it starts to run again.
BBY short puts
Post-earnings, sold to open $BBY 7/17 65 puts @ 1.82. Delta 18. IV rank 42.
GILD put spread
Sold to open $GILD 6/19 70/65 bull put spread @ 1.31 with the stock at 73.63.
Rolling AMZN put spread up
From my iron condor, rolled $AMZN 6/19 2150/2130 bull put spread up to 2300/2280 for 2.10 credit. New short puts at 16 delta. Paired with 6/19 2600/2620 bear call spread. Total premium taken in now 8.10 against 20 point wide wings.
REGN synthetic strangle
Putting on a short synthetic strangle in $REGN (short options with 50 point wide wings to reduce buying power requirement). Sold $REGN 6/19 470/520/650/700 iron condor @ 8.05 with the stock around 479. Short puts and calls at 18 and 15 delta. IV rank 43.
CORRECTION: Stock is at 579 not 479.
Closing TQQQ
Bought to close:
$TQQQ 6/12 55 put @ .78 (sold for 2.20 on 5/13)
$TQQQ 6/19 55 put @ 1.12 (sold for 2.85 on 5/13)
Thanks @jsd501 for the trade idea
GLD iron condor
Sold $GLD 6/19 153/158/170/175 iron condor @ 1.49, leaning a bit short with short puts at 22 delta, short calls at 29 delta. IV rank 44.
EWW June short puts
Sold $EWW 6/19 28 puts @ .81. Delta 30. IV rank 47.
QQQ Iron Condor
Sold $QQQ 6/19 205/210/240/245 iron condor @ 1.60 with QQQ at 227.43. Almost 1/3 of the width of the strikes. Just about delta neutral with put and call short strikes at 21 and 20. IV rank 31.
Closing CINF
I didn’t expect to have an opportunity to close this so soon but I’ll take it. Bought to close $CINF 6/19 40 puts @ .51. Sold for 1.45 on 5/13. Captured 65% of the potential profit in 5 days.
WHR short puts
Sold to open:
$WHR 6/19 101 puts @ 1.99 (17 delta)
$WHR 6/19 100 puts @ 1.89 (16 delta)
IV rank 42
Bullish UAL
Stock is trading like the bottom may be in. Sold to open $UAL 6/19 20 puts @ 1.59. Delta 26. IV rank 64.
Rolling MMM
Just put this initial trade on Friday and with the big move up I’m rolling $MMM 9/18 100 puts up to 115 puts for 1.42 credit. New strike at 14 delta. Total premium now 3.62.
Nibbling at MMM
Ready to take a long term shot here. Sold $MMM 9/18 100 puts @ 2.20 with the stock at 136.46. Delta 11. Strike is well below the March low. Stock hasn’t been at 100 since early 2013.
#FallingKnife
BYND iron condor
Idea from TastyTrade.
Sold $BYND 6/19 100/110/175/185 iron condor @ 2.91