Pre-ER. Bot GPC Oct19 40 delta strangle 97c/94.5p @ 2.65 x1. GTC order to close @ 3.40 for 40% profit.
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A TRADE:
ESPR STO 10/19/18 45.0 CALL @3.00 Earnings 11/6/18
A TRADE:
ROKU BTO STOCK 61.5
Moving #fuzzy around. MU has…
Moving #fuzzy around.
MU has been a dog. Way below original strikes. 2021 LEAPs are out so first I attempted to roll out the Nov. 15 50 call out to Dec which brought in 0.55 credit.
Then rolled my long 55 LEAP 2020 out to 2021 and down from 55 to 40 for debit of 8.35. So I gained 15 points of down side for only 8.35 and another year to manage.
Then I did not like the 50 calls so I rolled them down and closer, 45 strike 32 DTE for 0.19 credit.
After all that My new cost basis is 16.28 and have 823 days to manage. So only need 0.13 per week to scratch it to zero.
#earnings #closing #shortstraddle YELP August…
#earnings #closing #shortstraddle YELP
August 8, I sold a Sept. 38 straddle for earnings for 5.80. YELP went up over 50. Sept. 19 I rolled the call to November. The put expired and I sold an Oct. 45 put. YELP has been coming down, closed the put for a small gain, the call is getting close but so are the next earnings.
Good morning!
The stock market looks like it is due for much more pain, even as it teases with comeback rallies https://t.co/YI4cKTPBsr
— CNBC (@CNBC) October 15, 2018
Alas to lophirs
Although it pains me, I must step back from calling lophirs a safe trade. The max risk against potential reward is simply too high when volatility is elevated. So back to MamaCash basics for me.
Don’t risk more than 1% of account value on any single trade.
Map trades to my market mindset of long, choppy, or short. This year has really been a chop fest. Volatility tells it all.
NEVER assume that the markets can’t or won’t spike or drop to blow out your account.
I will survive but not especially proud of taking a big hit on my accounts after securing great profits for the year. I hope the rest of you are not learning the same lessons I am.:-) I will post when I finally close the trades I put on a couple weeks ago but for now, active management continues.
Hopefully the VIX stays up…
Hopefully the VIX stays up while the market stabilizes. Good premiums, I see some good #pietrades (back to weeklies) if I can unwind a few positions or generate some cash on rolls.
Have a nice weekend to everyone.
No expirations
#longstrangle EWZ Just in case…
#longstrangle EWZ
Just in case bought Nov. 16, 45 call for .06, bought Nov. 16, 27.50 put for .05, closed other EWZ short calls and puts.
EWZ TNA
#ShortPuts #IRA – Booking 40 percent of an EWZ position to make room for an aggressive TNA position.
Bought to Close EWZ DEC 21 2018 30.0 Puts @ .34 (sold for 2.02)
Sold TNA DEC 21 2018 70.0 Put @ 8.40
T2108 now below 10
At 9.84.
It got to 8.60 on 2/9/18.
JPM post-earnings
I don’t know. It feels like a good idea to own a bank like JPM in a rising interest rate environment, after an over 10% pullback from its recent highs, at what would be 12 month lows and a 3+% dividend.
Sold a ladder:
$JPM Nov 16 100 puts @ 1.36
$JPM Dec 21 95 puts @ 1.25
UVXY STO UVXY Jan18’19 112…
UVXY
STO UVXY Jan18’19 112 CALL $7.20
#shortstock My only experience being…
#shortstock
My only experience being short shares of stock was being assigned a few times, and a couple of those worked out, a couple didn’t. I’ve been watching TastyTrades permabear (thanks fuzzball) Tim Knight and decided to start trying some trades on the short side. I’m no chartist and I’ve been interpreting his interpretations. Like all of the prognosticators, he isn’t always right but I’ve had some success. I haven’t posted because I haven’t known what I was doing. So far, no losers( a couple slightly underwater) and just about everything has been $50- $100 gains. Here is what I have done on the short side, and a few short call spreads and long puts have worked as well. Still have a steep learning curve.
I sold 100 shares of the named stock on the first date, and bought to close (cover) on the 2nd date, reading across.
Aug. 27 DENN covered Aug. 21
Aug. 28 RDN covered Sept. 26
Aug. 31 PIR covered Sept. 11 (don’t short $1.80 stocks)
Sept. 5 DVN covered Sept. 6
Sept. 5 BNS covered covered Oct. 10
Sept. 6 DBC still in
Sept. 7 AXS covered Sept. 11
Sept. 10 MRO still in
Sept. 14 DVN covered Sept. 17
Sept. 20 DENN still in
Sept. 25 MU covered Oct. 4
Oct. 2 RSX covered Oct. 4
Oct. 4 CRUS covered Oct. 5
Oct. 4 FXI covered Oct. 8
Oct. 8 BOX covered Oct. 9
Oct. 9 BFR covered Oct. 10
Oct. 10 RSX still in
Short Call Spreads, all closed except GDX, sold close to the money.
BUD
HIG
NOC
BUD again
GDX not doing well
A TRADE:
TNDM STO 10/26/18 33.0 PUTS @2.10
Have a great and safe weekend everyone. ;>)
ANET adding
Dropping down 3 strikes/15 points from my previous sale in Jan.
Sold $ANET Jan 18 170 put @ 3.20.
TQQQ
BTO January 2021, 60 calls @ 18.00 and sold to open the October 26, 65 calls @ .45. I need less than .16 cents per week to pay for these.
Pre-Earnings losses
This has not been my finest hour with pre-earnings trades. 100% loss in both C and JPM. Cutting max position size in half for the rest of October.
T2108
Now at 10.19. It got down to 9.94 around 20 minutes ago. Let’s see what happens this afternoon.
A TRADE:
ESPR STO 10/19/18 45.0 ITM CALLS @3.80. Stock was at 45.5. Naked so far.
How high will we bounce before going negative?
Anyone got technicals on it?
Fat fingers
#LongCalls Meant to enter a trade to buy more at 1.35. But I entered “sell” instead, so was filled at the market price. Good thing SPY bid/ask is so tight..
STC $SPY Nov 16th 285 calls for 1.80. Bought for 2.71 yesterday.
To avoid day-trade issue on my smallest account, I moved down a strike.
BTO $SPY Nov 16th 284 calls for 2.15. Adding more if we flush down further today.
SMH
#LongCalls #LEAPS – Sold SMH OCT 26 2018 101.0 Calls @ .65
DUST
TRADES:
TNDM STO 10/19/18 38.0 CALLS @1.05
SFIX STO 10/19/18 23.0 PUTS @.30
ESPR BTO STOCK @46.25
LPX BTO STOCK @23.18
AMAT
#LongCalls #LEAPS – Boring but continuing to chip away at it…
Bought to Close AMAT NOV 2 2018 40.0 Calls @ .05 (sold for .53)
Sold AMAT NOV 2 2018 36.0 Calls @ .40
Sold AMAT NOV 16 2018 37.0 Calls @ .54
TQQQ
I rolled a small part of my 66.67, 2020 calls out to the 67 calls in January 2021for a debit of 5.70 this morning.
TNA TQQQ
#LongCalls #LEAPS – This is probably as good a time as any to take starter positions in these. I think I can recover a good chunk of the cost selling down here while the chart recovers. Hopefully a grind around below resistance for a few weeks. LEAPS out to 2021 so these should be good in the long run.
Bought TNA JAN 15 2021 70.0 Calls @ 18.25
Sold TNA OCT 19 2018 70.0 Calls @ 1.68
Bought TQQQ JAN 15 2021 60.0 Calls @ 19.00
Sold TQQQ OCT 26 2018 60.0 Calls @ 1.70
OLED
#ShortCalls – Bought to Close OLED OCT 19 2018 130.0 Call @ .05 (sold for 2.05)
WTW
#CoveredCalls – Did pretty good overall in containing my whipsaw risk. Only problem is the big recovery in WTW. I got a little too aggressive yesterday selling the next batch of covered calls to help with downside protection. I sure didn’t see this kind of bounce coming.
Covering the overwriting now strictly for risk protection in the event rally mode continues next week…
Bought to Close WTW OCT 12 2018 68.0 Calls @ .25 (sold for 1.89)
#shortputs #fallingknife (kind of) SQ…
#shortputs #fallingknife (kind of) SQ
I suppose most stocks have been falling knife candidates all week so I use the term loosely.
Sold Nov. 2, 60 put for .89, earnings should be Nov. 7.
Econ Calendar for week of 10/15/18
I’m going to start posting this on the Friday before, rather than Monday morning. Note that this calendar is always available immediately in the menu at the top of the Bistro page.
Link to calendar website: http://mam.econoday.com/byweek.asp?cust=mam
AMZN and UVXY
#PreEarnings Bought $AMZN 1890/1900 long call spreads for 3.20. AMZN dropped 300 points in 8 trading days. I think it can raise 110 from here in 14 days.
#VXXGame Sold $UVXY Jan 2019 95 call for 6.90.
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Closed on GTC order: $SPX Oct 19th 2935/2960 call spreads for .15. Sold for 2.90 on Monday.
#shortputspread #closing AMZN bought put…
#shortputspread #closing AMZN
bought put spreads for .23, sold yesterday for .63.
Added to VIX trade
Bought $VIX Oct 30th 16 puts for 1.25, adding to my position.
Tools of the trade
#PreEarnings Added final batch to $SWK Oct 26th 140 calls for 1.65. I was early, much cheaper now.
#earnings #ironbutterfly #closing JPM sold…
#earnings #ironbutterfly #closing JPM
sold yesterday for 4.16, bought this morning for 3.15.
Historical largest VIX spikes…
AMAT DG DUST OLED PYPL SMH TLT UVXY
#LongCalls #LongPuts #LEAPS #VXXGame – In and out all day but manged to squeeze in a few trades….
AMAT: Added last of the long LEAPS reducing basis.
Bought to Close AMAT OCT 26 2018 41.0 Calls @ .02 (sold for .43)
Bought AMAT JAN 17 2020 50.0 Calls @ 1.15
DG:
Bought to Close DG OCT 19 2018 112.0 Calls @ .05 (sold for .65)
Sold DG NOV 2 2018 108.0 Calls @ .85
DUST: Nice drop today. Luckily ratio’d at 2×7. Rolling the short puts down and out. Long puts working nicely.
Rolled DUST OCT 12 2018 37.0 Put to DUST NOV 16 2018 35.0 Put @ even
OLED:
Sold OLED OCT 26 2018 120.0 Call @ 1.20
PYPL:
Sold PYPL OCT 26 2018 82.0 Calls @ .94
SMH:
Bought to Close SMH OCT 26 2018 108.0 Calls @ .06 (sold for .95)
TLT: Getting out of the way a little with my triple size position. One winner one loser with a net winner.
Bought to Close TLT NOV 2 2018 118.0 Calls @ .15 (sold for .44) .29 gain
Bought to Close TLT NOV 9 2018 116.5 Calls @ .64(sold for .47) .17 loss
UVXY: Haven’t sold these naked very often since Aug 2015 🙂 Sometimes it’s too good to pass up.
Sold UVXY DEC 21 2018 95.0 Call @ 8.25
Long a strangle
I ended up legging into a long SPY strangle, playing for opening gap or big move in either direction tomorrow.
Previously, BTO $SPY Oct 12th 270 puts for 1.55
Just now, BTO 276 calls for 1.04
#earnings #ironbutterly JPM sold Oct….
#earnings #ironbutterly JPM
sold Oct. 19 100/108/108/115 for 4.16
Lightening up on DUST
Had a lot of short call exposure so with a 20%+ down day I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage and lighten things up a bit.
Bought to close:
$DUST Nov 16 49 calls @ .35. Sold for 1.60 and 2.00 on 8/15.
$DUST Dec 21 60 calls @ .39. Sold for 2.30 on 8/16.
#longcalldiagonals First step Bought SPXL…
#longcalldiagonals First step Bought SPXL Jan 2021 46 Call @ 12.00. 1 comtract (Only contract today). I will cover as thing recover. Also Trying for TQQQ but no bites.
Taking off FXB finally
Bought to close $FXB Oct 19 129 puts @ 1.15. Sold for 4.02 as a rollout on 9/5.
This was rolled twice. Recovered losses from July and September–total profit .45. Tough trade but glad to be out for a profit. It was also quite the margin hog so it frees up a nice amount of buying power. So I got that going for me. Which is nice.
SPX put spread closed
STC $SPX Oct 12th 2725/2700 bear put spread for 4.35. Bought this morning for 1.90. Missed the lows, waited for the bounce to fade, then it didn’t fade, so I bailed. Still have some SPY puts down at 270 which will work if we can get another flush.
Day trade shot
Bought $SPY Oct 12th 270 puts for 1.55. Will sell it if we get another flush down, or hold overnight if we don’t.
#UVXY Jeff, wow, this is…
#UVXY
Jeff, wow, this is the time of UVXY today went nearly +10 then back a bit
#shortputspread AMZN Tradewise recommendation, sold…
#shortputspread AMZN
Tradewise recommendation, sold October 19, 1637.50/1640 put spreads for .63.
T2108 update
Now at 13.34. Not yet single digits @jsd501 but an impressive pullback (near 8% at the lows) nonetheless.
For those unfamiliar with TC2000, this indicator is the % of stocks above their 40 day moving average.
A few trades
#ContangoETFs
BTC $GUSH Dec 57 call for .75. Sold in May and July for 5.35 (avg price)
BTC $DUST Nov 16th 60 call for .15. Sold for 1.95 on Sep 5th.
#VXXGame
STO $UVXY March 95 call for 10.15
#CoveredCalls
BTC $PVTL Oct 19th 20 covered calls for .05. Sold for .45 last week.
Went for bike ride, everything…
Went for bike ride, everything had turned green. Came home thought there may be a double/triple bottom forming then it looks UGLY now!
Really wish I had kept the hedge insurance on, but way too expensive now.
ERX STO ERX Oct26’18 29…
ERX
STO ERX Oct26’18 29 PUT $0.55
STO ERX Jan18’19 25 PUT $1.25
STO ERX Nov16’18 27 PUT $0.80
STO ERX Dec21’18 26 PUT $1.15
You can do better now.
SWK pre-earnings
#Pre-Earnings Bought $SWK Oct 26th 140 calls for 2.00. Earnings are Oct 25th. This looks like the top performer on Mama’s chart. Starter position, will add more.
Updates rolls and adjustments, just…
Updates rolls and adjustments, just trying to pull some cash out of the market until it stabilizes. Paper losses are high but everything hedged so as we approach expiration the paper losses will improve.
#shortstrangles
/CL added 34 DTE 60/84.5 strangles for 0.22 credit. On oil I have finally figured out the best way to trade it is take profits early, re-enter later if you want back in. Adjust early if it is going against you. The theta decay is wicked fast. 5 contract strangles is roughly $100 a day in decay so as long as it stays in your range you can take some profits early. Closed previous strangles last night for $900 profits in 9 days even with oil moving. Just reset the strangle this morning.
#fuzzy
WDC 60/58 LEAP cost basis 15.41. Sitting on this until closer to expiration.
MU 55/50 LEAP cost basis 8.67 so not expensive but MU has SUCKED. I will adjust it once the short options are under 0.2, soon I suspect.
EOG 115/120 put leap at 14.88. May adjust back 115 depending on where it is at expiration.
EXPE 125/125/126 LEAP cost basis 14.88. Just waiting for theta decay to kick in.
LNG 50/66.5 LEAP cost basis 17.24
XBI 95/97 LEAP adjusted to 95/95 for 0.25 credit. CB 3.37 and 99 days left to manage but this is red on paper.
87/95 LEAP cost basis 4.33 and same as above
95/95 LEAP cost basis 0.85
#pietrades
TQQQ lot 1 65 cc rolled down to 63 CC and out to 22 DTE for 1.4 credit. CB 60.65
TQQQ lot 2 65 CC rolled down to 63 same as above. CB 61
LNG lot 1 66 CC rolled out 8 DTE for 0.53 credit. CB 63.07
LNG lot 2 66 CC rolled out 8 DTE for 0.63 credit. CB 63.63.
Biggest paper losses are the 401k as it is half bonds and half stocks but I can’t trade my way around the dip in those. My 6 trading accounts are not doing too badly 🙂
Just a few observations, my accounts that are much more concentrated are doing better. Not saying put all your eggs in 1 basket, but 1 basket is certainly easier to watch and adjust.
Aggressively collecting income and rolling options helps keep cost basis down and brings in cash even when the market dumps. Also helps offset bad timing.
Picking the right horse makes a difference. I am going to pay a lot more attention to sector rotation. My oil and gas trades are saving my bacon at the moment.
Hope everyone is doing ok with this and has some cash for when a floor is put in 🙂
SPX call spread closed
Bought to close $SPX Oct 12th 2800/2825 call spreads for 5.40. Sold this morning for 9.00. Holding on to the long puts for another drop.
Did a hedge fund or…
Did a hedge fund or something blow up? The last few days are obviously not retail selling. I did not see any news about a fund crashing but that’s what these candles look like.
TOS question
For small accounts, where can I see my day-trade counter?
T2108
Does anyone know where the T2108 is trading this morning?
New UVXY strikes, hedging
#VXXGame UVXY added strikes up to 95 in all expiries. $VXX up to 58 or 60.
Bought $VXX Nov 2nd 58 calls for .62
Bought $UVXY Nov 2nd 95 calls for 2.09
These are a minor hedges against UVXY short calls. I don’t have many yet but will add more if it gets higher.
#longputs MCD STC Oct 19…
#longputs
MCD STC Oct 19 167.50 for 3.20 bot yesterday for 1.00 maybe too early but concerned with theta decay and no further movement.
#longputspread STC DIA Oct 19…
#longputspread
STC DIA Oct 19 $1.80 bot yesterday 1.70 price stalling out so took small profit.
#longcallspread STC SPY Oct 19…
#longcallspread
STC SPY Oct 12 280/285 for 0.70, bot yesterday 1.70, bounce didn’t materialize so cut loss.
SPY long
#LongCalls Bought to open $SPY Nov 16th 285 calls for 2.71. This is grounded in the belief we’ll be reaching for new highs by the end of October. Pretty cheap play that will be a double if we get back to 2900 on SPX.
#shortstock #closing BOX Oct. 8…
#shortstock #closing BOX
Oct. 8 sold short 100 shares of BOX at 19.93, covered this morning at 19.04.
SPX short
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Oct 12th 2800/2825 bear call spreads for 9.00. Short-leash idea that we’ll go lower today.
/CL
Closed out the 30 DTE 64/88 strangle for 0.41. $900 profit in under 10 days. Left the 65 DTE open.
Futures down big after hours so just freeing up some cash for hopefully a bottom soon.
SPX chart….
My SPX Chart for this current sell off…as is usually the case, on oct 4th, teh indicators I use called for a reversal at the top..see the white Line, as it intersected teh ADO and DPO moves to the downside..after a double top retested the 2940, the dam broke down…and as usual, I took advantage of the sell off based on my chart indications….
I think every financial pundit…
I think every financial pundit has said that “the market doesn’t know you or care about you, etc.” so it’s not about you. Hmm, occasionally I ponder that thought because…the last crash – SVXY dump in Feb – was on my birthday, today’s dump is our 37th wedding anniversary…no coincidence, right?! Carol’s birthday comes on Dec 5th, so I’m advising you now to put your stops in for Dec. just in case the market has a TGT on my back?
I’m very thankful that we’re not hunkered down, fighting to survive Cat 5 Hurricane Michael, and if you are in it’s path take cover and stay safe.
Fear and Greed
Yeah I would think so.
TNA
#ShortPuts – Same strike for better premium….
Sold TNA JAN 18 2019 60.0 Put @ 4.00
Fugly
#VIXindicator An additional triple warning at the close, following through on Friday’s first warning.
SOXL STO SOXL Nov16’18 65…
SOXL
STO SOXL Nov16’18 65 PUT $0.85
STO SOXL May17’19 70 PUT $7.80
STO SOXL Feb15’19 70 PUT $4.80
STO SOXL Dec21’18 70 PUT $2.80
SPY
BTO Oct 24 Calls 281/283 $1.05
Options Bistro 