Sold $UVXY Apr 20th 26 calls for 1.45
Closed UVXY May 18th 20 call for 4.00. Sold for 2.50 on March 19th. This is my only position ITM. Closed one today and will close the other, and roll them to Sept higher strike.
Bought $VXX May 18th 30 puts for .05. I already had a couple of these; looking like a loss but why not add a handful more to make it a lottery ticket?
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX April 13th 2745/2770 call spreads for .50. Sold in a #CondorRoll for 6.30 on 3/26… the call side was sold for 2.95.
#shortputs CRUS
On March 16, on a Motley fool recommendation(to buy the stock, not the option), I sold an April 20 40/45 put spread, just threw the 40 dollar, 40 put in for margin purposes, the short put being 1.85. My timing was impeccable as CRUS illogically is now at 38.75. I rolled the short 45 to June for a credit of 1.08, sold the April 40 long put for 2.35, staying naked on the June 45 short put. Of course, if CRUS was a buy at 45….
Market Seasonality: April has closed green for the $SPX in 11 of the last 12 yrs w/ avg $SPX return coming in at 2.3%. Worth noting that Energy in April closed green in 7 of the last 10 yrs for an avg return of 3.71%.
— Stephanie Link (@Stephanie_Link) April 2, 2018
#VIXIndicator We exceeded 25% above Thursday’s close which is an additional signal. Secondary signals/warnings like this can sometimes signal a bottom, but it’s impossible to be sure. For those keeping track on this double-header correction:
1/16: First signal of trouble ahead/cancel Upside Warning
1/26: SPX high
1/29: Downside WARNING
1/30: 2nd warning
2/2: 3rd warning
2/5: six warnings in one day (a record)
2/9: SPX low
2/23: downside warning canceled
2/28: New downside WARNING
3/22: 2nd and 3rd warnings
Today: SPX lowest since 2/9
#ShortPuts
STO May18 16 puts @ 1.20
STO January 2019, 55 puts @4.70
Thanks to Fuzzball for the idea. I think I am going to stop selling puts or doing anything until I feel we have reached a bottom.
#pietrades and rolling with some good premiums.
ANDV rolled 11 DTE 95 put to 25 DTE 93 put for 0.25 credit. Cost basis 90.78 if assigned.
NSC rolled 11 DTE 131 put to 25 DTE 128 put for 0.32 credit. CB 126.63 if assigned.
I will probably #jadelizard these if we get a bounce in next few days and also UTX but want better prices on a rebound.
ERX 21/26 4 DTE under water. Still some time value in the short option so will wait and roll later in the week. I will likely #fuzzy it to the Jan 19 call 20 strike, then just sell weekly options against it. With 41.5 weeks left would only need 0.19 per week to scratch the trade to zero so will probably sell OTM to give it a little room. I can roll the long option out and down for 4.15 right now and gain 41 weeks. 2-3 strikes oTM usually brings in 0.6-1 each week so this could be a good longer term trade.
Actually as I am typing this ERX going to parity, will roll it now.
New trade is a #fuzzy Jan 19 call 20 strike, rolled for 4.25 debit and the short 26 call rolled to next week 25.5 for 0.45. Total CB now 8.22 for 10 contracts. Work it down each week from here.
Trade wars should spike the price of commodities including oil so this should rebound.
BTO May 18 2770/2790 1.55 & 1 for 1.50
A Jeff trade, looking for a big run up. When I can cash out I will close 1 and let 1 run if conditions warrant
#VXXGame Sold $UVXY Apr 20th 25 call for 1.47.
BTC $UVXY Apr 20th 14 puts for .11. Sold for 1.05 on Mar 20th.
BTC $VXX Apr 13th 38.5 puts for .04. Sold for 1.10 on Mar 20th.
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Apr 6th 2475/2450 put spreads for 2.20. This is the spread I took profits on this morning, closing for .55. Now I’m using same strikes again for a new trade.
STO January 2019, 70 puts @6.90 with stock at 131
#BearCallSpreads – Going up and out to Sep for this one…
Sold UVXY SEP 21 2018 30.0/40.0 Bear Call Spreads @ 1.20
#shortcallspreads TSLA
Sold April 20 290/300 for 1.18
#SPXcampaign
BTC $SPX Apr 19th 2820/2845 call spreads for .25. Sold for 1.95 on Mar 21st.
BTC $SPX Apr 19th 2825/2850 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.65 on Mar 19th.
#SPXcampaign $SPX It was nerve-wracking selling calls on Thursday, but this approach is what’s needed with a VIX that can’t get far away from 20.00 in either direction. I closed out my Apr 6th spreads (the calls much too early), and now looking to pick the intraday low to add another put spread.
BTC Apr 6th 2725/2750 call spreads for 1.35. Sold for 3.25 on Thursday.
BTC Apr 6th 2475/2450 put spreads for .55. Sold for 2.80 on March 23rd.
STO May 4th 2400/2375 put spreads for 1.70.
Be sure to periodically click Home/REFRESH to keep Bistro features updated.
Jobs Report is Friday at 8:30am ET.
Good Morning
Taking the ITM vertical debt spread idea a little farther, here is an example. Best returns appear to be on the leveraged products but higher risk, obvious with the higher premiums. Here is a TQQQ example. 10 point spread, 20 DTE, 10 lot $1350 profit, max loss 8650 if you don’t manage it, and it is 33 points ITM now. Could it hit the short strike, possibly but would require more than a Feb 6 event to get there.
The more I look at these, the more I like. Easy to roll to #fuzzy if needed. Set up a ladder and would be a good income stream. Thoughts, other comments, see anything I am missing? I have an ERX one on now, it was challenged last week but never hit the break even point. I will likely roll it 3 weeks out this Thurs. or Fri. to avoid the assignment fees as long as it will close at or a few pennies shy of 5. If not will let it expire.
If it works I think we should call it a #supercharger
Wife is already asleep, daughter has a friend over so looking at some possible trade ideas. Taking the ITM debit spread a step further here are some numbers to consider. Based on closing prices all 22 DTE so we are comparing apples to apples. TNA as example, this is leveraged but with excellent weekly premiums. 10 contracts on all to keep the numbers consistent. These are all about 6 points ITM on the call side or 6 points OTM for the puts.
50/60 vertical debit spread cost 8.95 for a 10 point spread at expiration. Max profit $1050. Max loss $8950 but this can be converted. 11.7% ROC for a 140.4% annualized return.
60 strike CC 58.22. Max profit $1780. Max loss 58,220 for 3% ROC or 36% annualized.
60 put requires full cash secured because leveraged. 54,471 at risk for $1020 max profit, 1.87% return or 22% annualized.
All could be rolled or hedged if needed.
I am going to experiment more with these, like the idea, the returns, limited risk and can be done in a smaller account. Also could set up a ladder for an income stream. Right now have ERX going, may add FAS and TNA in small contract size in a few weeks.
$SPX 2585/2610 What a year and it is only three months long.
Have a great Easter/Passover. Three days to enjoy on hopefully, a high note for all.
Thanks for all you help.
#Fuzzy – STO XBI Apr06’18 91 calls for 0.47.
Have a nice holiday everyone!
Back on Monday.
Enjoy the long weekend everyone! Resting up…16 underlyings with expirations next week. Gonna be fun!
Wednesday: BTC $BABA Apr 20 2.10 call for .35. Sold for 2.90 on Mar 15th.
Today:
BTC BABA Apr 13th 205 call for .20. Sold for 2.05 on Mar 6th.
STO BABA Apr 27th 200 call for 1.90
STO $FB Apr 27th 175 call for 1.60
STO $AAPL Apr 27th 180 call for 1.55
#Earnings #StrangleRoll
BTC $RH Mar 29th 91.5 calls for 4.30. Sold in 65/91.5 earnings strangle for 2.53 on Tuesday.
STO $RH Apr 20th 87.5/100 strangles for 4.535.
STO September 45 puts @ 1.08
STO October 40 puts @ .61
Idea from TastyTrade
Sold $XBI May 18 75/96 strangles @ 1.85
XBI currently at 88.96
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Apr 27th 2460/2435 puts for 1.75.
This does not fit into my approach of selling at extremes, but it is the last hour of the week and I had not sold my standard second put spread. Since VIX has not dropped too much I am not assuming the big down days are over. I will sell some additional calls if we close higher. Or puts if we sell off into the close.
BTO 2020,63,63,61
Sold 6April 13, 65 calls @2.53
BTC the ANDV 108 call 15 DTE for 0.25. Sold for .95. Part of a strangle. Leaving the 95 put on still has .70 left.
When I roll the put will convert to #jadelizard. I violated my own rule of selling naked calls on individual names as a recovery for the dip(s). Strangles on ETF’s and indexes are ok because the entire ETF will not be bought out by another company. I had to pay up when Berkshire bought heinz a few years ago so learned my lesson on uncovered calls on a single company. Will unwind UTX and NSC calls as soon as they decay a little, hopefully over the long weekend.
Sold Early
#spxcampaign
$SPX BTC 3/29 2600/2625 at 2.00 STO at 1.60. At one time this trade down A LOT. Glad to close it at a small loss even though market looks strong. I am not strong! 😉
#spxcampaign
$SPX STO 4/13 2745/2720 BECS at 3.50 Thank you @jeffcp66
BTO January 2020, 88,88,86
STO April 91 calls, total cost of 12.35
#SyntheticStock – Forgot to do this til now: BTO EWW Jan17’20 52/52/50 synthetic for 5.00. Max loss would be 7.00, trade runs for 94 weeks so need 0.075 cents a week to break even. STO EWW Apr06’18 52 calls for 0.30. Been needing something long term and stress-free (I hope!). Thanks to @fuzzballl!!!
#BullPutSpreads – Closing the short side of BuPS sales that I sold to finance Jan 2019 BePS. I’ll leave the long side and maybe get lucky next week.
Bought to Close VXX APR 6 2018 40.5 Puts @ .05 (sold spread for .47)
#pietrades A bunch today since this is effectively expiration day. But it is nice out, first day can wear shorts here so going outside as soon as all the trades execute, still working 1 order.
GM Rolled 38.5 CC 22 DTE to 29 DTE for 0.17 credit. CB now 38.33. Taking forever to work this one back, will just be happy to scratch it so I can use the money somewhere else. For those following, I am taking this off the #pietrade list for a while, weekly premiums are not good enough for as much as it is moving around and to prone to steel tariff tweets.
FAS today 65 CC to next week 64 CC for 1.58 credit. CB 62.07
FAS today 64 CC to next week for 1.59 credit. CB 61.11
LNG Apr. 6 to Apr. 13 55 CC down to 54 CC for 0.52 credit. CB 53.27
ANDV 95/108 15 DTE strangle looking good, probably roll Monday to new week but #jadelizard the call side.
ERX 21/26 long debit 8 DTE should expire for full profit next week. If for some reason stays below 26 will convert to #fuzzy. I can add another 9 months to the long call for $3 and can sell $2 in premium each week, kind of a no brainer. However, this is also part of a deep ITM #syntheticcoveredcall experiment so my plan is to actually roll it next week and re-establish the position. On a percentage basis looks like a 13.7% return every month with moderate risk but very little work. Potentially a 160% annualized return so this is worth trying. I think this is what Chuck Hughes does to get some of his high returns. Buy deep ITM call with almost no time value, then sell ITM call that has a decent amount of time value left. Gives 10-20% downside protection and can still make max profit. I will keep one of these running for a while and report the results as it unfolds. Cheaper way to play a CC or #fuzzy maybe.
NSC 131/143 strangle 15 DTE. It moved around so much still at break even. Hope some theta decay will make some profits this weekend. Earnings late April so will only roll the put side.
UTX 122/132 strangle 36 DTE. Had to adjust. Same problem as NSC. Will let some of the premium suck out of it then only roll the put side. Earnings late April or I may #jadelizard both so there is no risk to the upside.
Hoppy Easter as the kids say! Hope everyone has a good long weekend.
I am still showing paper losses from the SVXY implosion. My net liq. keeps going down because of all the adjusting, only 1 positive week since Feb 6 but it was a good one. However, once these all close will have a nice bump finally and the theta decay is huge now, close to 800 per day, just need a few days of not whipsawing so it makes a difference. Once everything closes in 1-3 weeks will at least be positive for March.
Cheers, Chris
#SyntheticStock – Been selling against this all the way down. It’s in a squeeze and attempting to get off the ground but seems to get rejected right around this level each time. Rolling up and out a little for now…
Rolled REGN APR 6 2018 340.0 Calls to APR 20 2018 350.0 Calls @ .40 credit
#BullCallSpreads – Letting this week’s expire so selling next week…cost basis reduction in the Jan Bull Call Spread…
Sold AZO APR 6 2018 660.0/690.0 Bear Call Spread @ 2.50
#SyntheticStock #IRA – Thanks @1strangealien for getting this one back on my radar. I’ll take a shot out in Jan.
Bought to Open XBI JAN 18 2019 88/88/86 Synthetic Stock @ 7.69 (filled better than mid)
Max loss of 9.69 with 42 weeks to run requiring 23 cents per week to cover.
So:
Sold XBI APR 6 2018 89.0 Calls @ .83
Rolled Mar 29 76/74 BuPS to May 4 76/73 .30 Db need to add call to try to come back with this one. #Fuzzy did not work so far
BTO May 4 76 1.08
#SyntheticStock – Getting the next sale going. Going out two weeks to give it a little room with much better premium with bank earnings cranking up. JPM on the 13th and MS GS and BAC the following week so premiums should be pretty sweet that week too.
Bought to Close FAS MAR 29 2018 65.5 Calls @ .03 (sold for .85 as a bonus week 🙂 )
Sold FAS APR 13 2018 65.0 Calls @ 2.15
#SyntheticStock – Looks safe this week so selling next week on this tiny pop…
Sold LUV APR 6 2018 57.5 Calls @ .54
#SyntheticStock – Next week’s sale…still a weak looking chart but starting to form a nice squeeze. Gonna see if I can “squeeze” in one more aggressive weekly before this thing rebounds and runs to glory (or not 🙂 ). Jumped the gun on it…could do a little better now.
Sold XOM APR 6 2018 74.0 Calls @ .60
#optionsexpiration
$SPX 2500/2525 BUPS Thank you @jeffcp66
#shortcalls
$LABU BTC 3/29 90 calls STO 4/13 87 calls for 2.14 credit
#ironcondor
$AMZN STO 1180/1190/1610/1600 IC for 1.95 Thank you @thomberg1201
#shortputs
$FB STO 4/20 135/145 BUPS at 1.85
Closed Early
$BIDU 4/20 290/280 BECS at .15 STO at 2.05
STO May4th 2425/2525 BUPS at 15.10 credit….
#Fuzzy – Right before close BTO XBI Jun’18 88/88/86 synthetic stock position for 3.70. Unhedged for now. XBI printed a dragonfly doji today and Tech is due a bounce, right? Crossing fingers and toes.
#SyntheticStock – Right at the bell…no time to sell next week.
Bought to Close XOM MAR 29 2018 74.5 Calls @ .03 (sold for .48)
#SyntheticStock – Core position is all the way out to 2020 requiring .10 per week to cover max loss. Weak market so I will continue aggressive selling. Pretty good weekly income while it grinds around. Gonna throw this out as an example of how I’m trying to keep the big picture on how these will hopefully turn out some day.
10 lot Jan 2020 48/48/46 synthetic with max loss now reduced to about 8900. That’s actually a little high too since I rolled a small loss on a strangle into the synthetic cost.
30 cents per week in sales for the next 94 weeks brings in 28200. Assuming max loss then total gains are 19300. Over two years against 3800 in margin is about 150 percent annualized on margin. These are rough numbers but still something to keep in mind looking on down the road. Do that in 10 different underlyings and you’ve got a pretty good annual income that’s (hopefully) low risk. Running the numbers for 40 cents per week and 50 cents per week really starts getting interesting especially when factoring in the possibility of not taking max loss!
It’s tough watching the drawdowns when the core is getting hit but looking out further helps a lot. If the stock tanks right after you set the trade the drawdown will be pretty tough to watch but realizing it is capped with plenty of time to continue selling helps a lot. Adding up the max loss on all the positions is a nice way to figure out what your absolute bottom could look like overall also. Knowing this will help control position size. Each weekly sale over and over again reduces that ultimate max drawdown number.
Bought to Close EWW MAR 29 2018 51.5 Calls @ .03 (sold for .40)
Sold EWW APR 6 2018 51.0 Calls @ .50
If the stock finishes up on the day with the volume, we may have a tradable bottom.
Sold $SWKS Aug 17 70 puts @ 1.25
#FallingKnife
#ShortPuts #IRA – Thanks again @jsd501 …..
Sold TQQQ MAY 18 2018 80.0 Put @ 2.00
Sold TQQQ SEP 21 2018 80.0 Put @ 6.50
This one has been hanging around way too long, mainly because of the lack of liquidity in the options. Finally got the opportunity to take it off for 75%+ profit. I’m probably going to avoid trading the options on this stock going forward.
Bought to close $BKNG Apr 6 2220/2240 BeCS @ .58. Sold for 2.55 on 2/28.
#ironcondor AMZN
100% IV rank, down another 70 today sold April 20, 1180/1190/1600/1610 for 2.00
From Seeking Alpha:
The S&P 500 has moved more than 1% in 20 sessions over the last two months vs. a total of 10 such moves in the prior 12 months before that (via Michael Batnick).
With rising volatility, exotic ETFs are seeing increased volumes, most notably inverse leveraged technology products. Volumes for funds like the 3x short Nasdaq 100 is touching multi-year highs, with investors betting on both sides of the trade.
“One theory for SPY and VXX’s lack of heightened volume might be that the very big fish aren’t worried or are already hedged, and that the sort of mid-sized institutional crowd is playing this,” says Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas. “It’s the quick buck trading group.”
ETFs: VXX, UVXY, XIV, TVIX, SVXY, VIXY, ZIV, VXZ, VIXM, VMAX, VMIN, VIIX, CVOL, XVZ, TVIZ, XXV, IVOP, VIIZ
#shortputs WBA
sold May 18, 60 put for .74
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX Apr 27th 2800/s825 call spreads for 1.50. Looks like it filled at the high tick of the day.
What a day for trading volatility. I’m buying and selling UVXY and calls the next couple of weeks out. Range is $19.50 to $21.50 seemingly heading higher. Nice short-term trades. I’ve closed March 29 $20 puts for nice gain. It sold for $1 as late as $20.15 this morning.
#ShortStrangles – Rolling the call side down to near all time highs for additional credit…
Rolled NVDA APR 27 2018 265.0 Calls to APR 27 2018 250.0 Calls @ 1.73 credit
STO January 2019, 80 puts @ 9.10, but staying small and scaling in. This ETF will be a long term trade for me if I am assigned.
#Earnings Closed $RH Mar 29th 65 puts for .05. Is it possible to trade this one for earnings without getting shredded on the call side? Seems not. My 91.5 calls slightly ITM. Will roll or wait for tomorrow.
Sold the strangles yesterday for 2.53.
#ShortStrangles – Even though it’s only a one lot strangle, I’m going to play it cautiously. Closing the short put and will continue to sell calls or call spreads to get back to even as long is the stock is below about 300. Could be setting myself up for a whip saw but there’s no telling how low it can go. Once a little bit of good news comes out I may start selling the put side again.
Bought to Close TSLA APR 27 2018 312.5 Put @ 54.90
Sold against next week’s 300 call. Total premium received so far of 22.65.
#SPXcampaign I was trying to stick to my rule of only selling at extremes. My suspicion was that the peak above positive for the morning was the extreme high for the day. For once, I was correct (so far).
Sold $SPX Apr 13th 2720/2745 call spreads for 3.15. Part of a #CondorRoll from puts stopped yesterday. Will try to sell put side on or near an “extreme” low.
I am not doing much these days.
FYI tt joint accounts announced in an email today:
“Joining Finances has Never Been More Exciting…
The wait is over and you can finally do just that with a tastyworks joint brokerage account. And the good news is, it only takes a few short minutes to open an account!”
“P.S. We are now currently offering SEP IRAs in addition to, Individual Margin accounts, Traditional IRA accounts, Roth IRA accounts,Trust accounts, Corporate accounts and Joint Accounts. Custodial accounts will be added shortly.”
#SPXcampaign I have never been so whipsawed in my trading career. I have been stopped out at extremes too many times to count. I am forced now to take a new approach:
1. Tone down the aggression.
2. Only sell at extremes. How do I define extremes? That’s not always easy, but I would say yesterday’s close and today’s close would qualify.
3. Try some cheap long spreads, purchase at extremes. The amount I’m getting eaten alive with short spreads makes me always wish I’d been long rather than short. Need to try it.
That will have to do until VIX gets back below 17.76 (at least), and not comfortable going back to aggressive strategies until it’s below 12.61.
Today:
Stopped $SPX Apr 27th 2770/2795 call spreads for 3.75. Sold yesterday for 1.60. This was well over 4.00 at the highs, which is my stop point, so at least I waited for some pullback.
#ReverseRoll – plan was to sell a condor as a roll, I was filled on put side, then never filled on call side. And then, I had to stop out. Great illustration of how difficult this strategy is in this market.
Sold Apr 4th 2560/2535 put spreads for 1.95. Stopped later for 5.35.
Stopped Apr 13th 2550/2525 put spreads for 5.95. Sold yesterday in a #CondorRoll for 6.30, when a CALL spread was stopped.
Stopped Apr 27th 2550/2525 put spreads for 2.50. Sold yesterday for 1.75. At least I got out on this one at a bounce.
BTC Oct 19 #CoveredCalls @ 1.45 sold at 2.45 on March 16.
At the bell,sold April 20, 75 straddle for 14.25
#VXXGame Sold a couple against my far-OTM long hedges:
Sold $UVXY May 18th 25 call for 2.60
Sold $UVXY Jun 15th 30 call for 2.50
This product is much less crazy since they reduced the leverage.
STO January 2019, 60 puts @4.50 with stock trading at 140.
This is most whipsawing I can remember seeing in years.
#SyntheticStock – Getting a jump start on next week’s sale. Haven’t close this week’s yet and since it’s in an IRA I’ll need to sell a spread instead. Trade is a shorter one only out to July. Sitting well below the core and needing 36 cents per week to cover max loss.
Sold CELG APR 6 2018 90.0/95.0 Bear Call Spreads @ .53
#ShortStrangle – Rolled the put side out and down yesterday. Selling calls against it….with 5 or 6 dollars a week available on the call side the put shouldn’t get hurt too badly.
Bought to Close TSLA MAR 29 2018 305.0 Call @ .80
Sold TSLA APR 6 2018 300.0 Call @ 6.05
Position is Apr 6 300 call and Apr 27 312.5 put @ 22.65 credit
Stock gets in between the strikes again then that’s good. Stock keeps dropping then my basis on the short put is 289.85 with 3 more weeks to sell before deciding on the put.
#ShortStrangles – Been looking to get back in this thing. Self driving technology put on hold temporarily is the rumor. Selling strangles 30 days out and before earnings. Puts below the 200ma and calls well above all time highs.
Sold NVDA APR 27 2018 195.0/265.0 Strangles @ 4.15
#Earnings Selling $RH March 29th 65/91.5 strangles for about 2.40. Selling legs separately (1.40/1.35 for puts, 1.20 or lower for calls).
This has long been a big mover, so proceed cautiously. Over last 12 quarters, Biggest UP move: 44.8%, Biggest DOWN move: -25.7%, Average move: 12.6%. My strikes are +19.6% and -15.0% OTM.
UTX widening out the strangle. Rolled the 24 DTE 125/130 strangle out to 38 DTE at 122/132 for 0.36 credit. 5 points wider and more time to manage if needed. I had pulled it in with the drop but now need to give it more room.
Options Bistro 