#Earnings #ShortStrangles – Well here we go. Let the rolling begin. I had many weekly hedges that were set to expire but with the strong market today nearly all of them will be rolls now. This one is a roll of the call side of a blown out to the upside earnings strangle.
Rolled ADSK MAR 9 2018 130.0 Calls to MAR 29 2018 142.0/138.0 Inverted Strangles @ 1.92 credit.
Position now is Mar 29th 142/138 inverted @ 4.25
BTC Mar 23 2600 short puts at 2.70, sold prev on 26-Feb for 7.80..
gain 62%
BTC Apr 02 2600 short puts at 5.00, sold prev on 6-mar for 13.00
gain 62%
SPY STC 274/274/272 Feb 12 was a big loser after recent drop. 188.50 Profit after Comm #Fuzzy
#SPXcampaign Stopped: $SPX Apr 6th 2840/2865 call spreads for 3.75. Sold for 1.75 on Monday.
Sold March 12th 2760/2735 put spreads for 4.85. Expire Monday.
Sold March 14th 2775/2750 put spreads for 10.90. Slightly ITM, expire Wednesday.
#fuzzy MCD
Yesterday as MCD recovered, rolled March 9, 155 call to April 20, 160 for 1.42. My fuzzy is in September.
#SPXcampaign Stopped $SPX March 15th 2750/2775 for 12.30. Sold for 3.50 on March 1st.
Sold to Open SPX April 6th 2870/2895 call spreads for 1.75.
I need to throw on a few rolls. I will be placing them neural to bearish on the market. If today’s trend stays intact, I’m going to be considering it a provisional upside warning.
#SyntheticStock – STO JPM Mar16’18 119 calls for 0.27
#VIXIndicator This is pretty tough to explain, but I’ll try anyway…
We are currently in a Downside Warning, but this particular pattern has only happened once before, at least since 1/1/2000, where my tracking begins. The warning was canceled on 2/23, and then, before an Upside Warning fired, it was reinstated on 2/28. When THAT has happened before, the SPX made a new low in all occurrences but 2. In those 2 times, only one time, in 2006, did the second downside correction have a lower 78.6% line.
This time, we did NOT make a new low, and the 78.6% line is down at 12.61. It was at 17.76 from the first warning, so quite a lot lower now. Provided we close decently today, it would be three closes at or below 17.76, which would be an Upside Warning from the FIRST downside warning. In the 2006 occurrence, this did turn out to be an effective Upside Warning, because SPX took off and did not wait for the official upside warning.
If you’re lost, no worries. Here’s all you need to know: There’s not enough precedent to call it one way or the other, but a close today below 17.76 COULD signal a rally back toward all-time highs.
Good Payroll Morning
#SPXcampaign Mostly watched the market bounce, but closed the condor with today’s expiration… thankfully, since the jobs number just drove the market into my call strikes.
Closed $SPX March 9th 2675/2650 put spreads for .20. Sold for 3.55 on Wednesday.
Closed $SPX March 9th 2750/2775 call spreads for 3.60. Sold for 3.80 on March 5th.
Stopped: March 29th 2810/2835 for 2.70. This got up to 3.50 i the morning, but I was able to close it at the lows of the day for ,such cheaper.
#jobs Added jobs blow away expectations, but wage growth weak.
+313,000 non-farm payroll jobs, vs 200K expected
Unemployment holds steady at 4.1%
U6 unemployment steady at 8.2%
Wages up only 0.1%, reflecting 2.6% annualized
Labor force participation up to 63%
#ShortPuts #IRA – Out all afternoon…just noticed this one.
Bought to Close XBI MAR 16 2018 83.00 PUT @ .05 (sold for 2.60)
FYI
JP Morgan co-president warns of ‘deep correction’ for stocks totaling as much as 40% over next few years.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/jp-morgan-co-president-warns-130800662.html
I guess we are going to have a bull market for a few years… 🙂
One more that I didn’t see come through near the end of the day.
Bought to close $CBOE Sep 21 70 puts @ .60. Sold for 1.80 on 2/9. Got lucky on a nice reversal in the stock right after I sold the puts. Took the trade off for 67%. No sense waiting more than 6 more months for the other 1/3.
#fallingknife #shortputs APA
Sold July, 30 put for 1.27 to go with a July 32.50 put that I was too greedy to close when it was profitable a couple months ago.
BTO May 18 MCD 155/155/150 3.60 #Fuzzy Un-Hedged at this time
Possible tariff signing
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-trump-expected-to-sign-tariffs-on-steel-aluminum?utm_source=Devices&utm_medium=Notification&utm_campaign=Push+Notification&utm_content=201838-watch-live:
#shortputs KR
Sold April 20, 22 put for .54, big down day after earnings, trying for Oct. fuzzy on the largest grocery store chain
#earnings #ironcondor COST
Closed yesterday’s March 16 earnings IC for about .50, sold for about 1.50,(for 2) the way it is supposed to, and always should work. Thanks Jeff
Bought to close:
$WHR Apr 20 120 puts @ .19. Sold for 1.50 on 10/24.
$WDAY Jun 15 70 put @ .20. Sold for 1.65 on 11/29
$WBA Jun 15 55 puts @ .35. Sold for 1.32 on 10/13.
$UHS Apr 20 80 puts @ .05. Sold for 1.40 and 1.90 on 10/13 and 11/10.
$TAP Apr 20 70 puts @ .20. Sold for 1.65 on 9/29.
$HSIC Apr 20 60 puts @ .49. Sold for 1.70, 1.95 and 2.35 from 11/10-11/20.
Edit:
Bought to close $CELG Apr 20 75 puts @ .25. Sold for 1.55 on 10/26.
Bought to close:
$WDC Apr 20 60 put @ .04. Sold for 1.35 on 12/4.
$WDC Apr 20 65 put @ .07. Sold for 1.75 on 11/30.
$WDC Jul 20 55 puts @ .26. Sold for 1.30-1.60 from 11/30-12/4.
#SyntheticStock – Earlier BTO JPM Jan’19 +115calls/-115puts/+110puts for 6.70. Leaving unhedged for now.
Selling an additional contract at a higher premium to add to my Sep position.
Sold $WMT 9/21 75 put @ 1.60.
Big move down today. Sold $FFIV Apr 20 130 puts @ 1.20 with the stock at 144.82. Delta is 14. Earnings not expected until after April expiration.
CI #FallingKnife
Sold $CI Oct 19 140 put @ 3.00
#SyntheticStock – Core is out in Jan 2020…
Bought to Close XOM MAR 9 2018 76.0 Calls @ .03 (sold for .54)
Sold XOM MAR 16 2018 75.5 Calls @ .36
#SyntheticStock – As usual I pick a stock that goes to the moon but is hedged with a short weekly. 😦 😦
Trading this similar to the strategy I’ve used with my AMZN position…rolling everything up including the core to set up easier rolling of the front month calls in the future. In this case, I’m rolling the core up to the breakout level which might provide some support on a pullback.
Rolled Jan 2019 115/115/110 synthetic up to 120/120/115 @ 3.50 credit
Rolled MAR 9 2018 115.0 Calls to APR 20 2018 120.0 Calls @ 3.30 debit
Basically moving everything up 5 points for a .20 credit. Hopefully a little pullback of some sort in the next month to allow a decent roll of the weekly next time.
#spxcampaign
Closed Early
BTC 3/16 2375/2400 BUPS at .05 STO at 1.40. Thank you @jeffcp66
#shortputs
$FB STO 4/20 170/175 BUPS at 1.10
#shortcalls
$DVN STO 3/9 31.50 calls at .55 (Covered)
#BearPutSpreads – Selling against my Jan 2019 50/30 Bear Put Spreads….trying to gradually cover the debit.
Sold VXX MAR 23 2018 38.0/33.0 Bull Put Spreads @ .53
#SyntheticShort – The weekly hedge against a small synthetic short I’ve been playing with…
Bought to Close TLT MAR 9 2018 117.0 Puts @ .02 (sold for .38)
Sold TLT MAR 23 2018 117.5 Puts @ .49
First positive week since the SVXY melt down Feb 5-6, 2018, so that is a good thing. I think the bleeding finally stopped, only 1 more contract I can be assigned on at any time.
If I can keep making the same amount each week (unlikely) only 33.3 weeks to get back to all time highs but about half that to get to even (cost basis). What I lost was mostly house money but it was enough to buy a real house 😦 ouch!!
LNG rolled this week 54 CC to 2 week 55 for 0.45 credit. Cost basis now 54.2 after being assigned the 55.5 put last week. Next roll down should result in a profit anywhere around 54.
Unless a major move tomorrow I expect to be called out on (hopefully there are no stupid tweets!)
FAS 66, 67, 68 CC
MAR at 138
NSC at 140
GM 42.5 put. Taking stock, can’t roll it anymore for a credit so will take it and sell CC. Missed the dividend, I think it is today.
Have finally finished taxes and full year review. Based on what won and what lost going forward my trading plan is contracting dramatically to only 4-5 trading tactics.
1. #pietrades
2. #spycraft and credit spreads with the new adjustment technique
3. #fuzzy and maybe try a few #atomicfuzzy
4. put ladders with fuzzy adjustments if they go the wrong way
5. VXX put debit spreads after volatility spikes
Everything else worked until it didn’t and either was flat but required lots of trades or worked really well until it blew up. Goal is to recover what I lost, then keep weekly income coming in, and most importantly do not lose any money again!
Hope everyone has a good close to the week, too busy tomorrow to check in.
Sell VXX March 16 $45 for $3.85, bought for $2.02 week ago.
#Fuzzy – Decided to close this short dated Fuzzy down with some green. Not much time left to do damage control with the threat of what could happen with tariff talk, the jobs number, and an upcoming Fed meeting. STC UPS Mar29’18 108/108/106 fuzzy and BTC UPS Mar09’18 109 calls. Figure in the commissions and the trade made 0.82 per contract. Light green is better than red! Thanks to @mortlightman for the idea!
On the big move down after earnings, sold $KR Jul 20 20 puts @ .65 with the stock at 23.50
#spxcampaign I’m taking another round of Dan Sheridan’s IC class. Opened a Mar 16th Monthly (Should have picked the weeklies) 28o0/2810/2635/2625 for 1.30 credit. Targeting 0.85 credit.
#rollup
$EXAS BTC 3/9 48 call and STO 3/29 50 call for 1.20 additional credit
$DVN BTC 3/9 41 put and STO 3/23 33 call for an overall debit of $2
#spxcampaign
Closed Early
$SPX BTC 3/9 2775/2750 BECS at 2.00 STO yesterday at 4.55 Thank you @jeffcp66
#RocketManHedge – Hedge is out to May but still gradually paying for it…
Bought to Close SPX MAR 7 2018 2700.0 Put @ .05 (sold for 7.75)
Sold SPX MAR 12 2018 2700.0 Put @ 9.00
SPXL Sold Mar 16th 46 Call at 1.15 with SPXL at 45.81
#Fuzzy – XBI tried to blast off earlier today and it pushed my Fuzzy+hedge into negative delta so I closed it down. BTC XBI Mar09’18 93 calls and STC XBI Jun15’18 91/91/88 fuzzy. Netted 1.96 per contract, trade has been on for 1 month. Looking to reload on a pullback!
#IRA – Missed one yesterday…
Bought to Close XBI MAR 16 2018 80.00 PUT @ .05 (sold for 1.68)
Sold $TSLA Apr 20 290/280 BuPS for 1.70. Short strike at 21 delta to offset my Apr 370/380 BeCS. Strikes are below the early Nov low.
BTO 2020, 64 call @ 8.049
STO 2020, 64 put @ 6.744
BTO 2020, 61 put @ 5.603
STO March 16, 68 calls @ .04
The stock is breaking out and made a new high today. Higher rates should help this one.
#VXXGame BTC $UVXY March 16th 15 call for 2.90, to avoid early assignment. Sold for 1.15 on Jan 16th.
#Rolling STO UVXY Sept 30 call for 3.55.
BTC UVXY March 16th 22 calls for .37. Sold for 3.20 and 4.40 in early Feb.
BTO UVXY APRIL 20th 59 calls for .14, as long hedges against short calls. I have 10 long 91 calls rolling off on next week’s expiration, so I need to replace them.
#BearCallSpreads – Selling a few more….
Sold UVXY MAY 18 2018 25.0/35.0 Bear Call Spreads @ .96
Selling some more hedged UVXY calls to continue to offset/work down basis on SVXY assignments.
Sold $UVXY Apr 13 (weekly) 20/30 BeCS @ 1.22.
#earnings #fallingknife KR
No trade yet but Kroger is down about 4% to 26.31 with earnings tomorrow. This was a falling knife Iceman trade last summer after it tanked down to 20 after earnings in June, was over 30 in January.
#spxcampaign
$SPX STO 3/9 2750/2775 BECS at 2.00
$SPX STO 3/9 2650/2675 BUPS at2.70 Thank you @jeffcp66
#shortcalls
$CBOE STO 3/16 122 call at .85 (Covered)
#Earnings – Big up move so still holding call side of the 100/130 strangles….probably rolling those into new strangles.
Bought to Close ADSK MAR 9 2018 110.0 Puts @ .01
#BearPutSpreads – Closing the the short side of 38/33 Bull Put Spreads. Originally sold for .62 as basis reduction on Jan 2019 50/30 Bear Put Spreads. Basis is now 11.53 with a goal of reducing it to zero by expiration.
Bought to Close VXX MAR 9 2018 38.0 Puts @ .01 letting 33 strike long side expire.
#Earnings Sold $COST March 9th 180/197.5 strangles for 1.50. Biggest UP move: 3.6%, Biggest DOWN move: -6.0%, Average move: 2.9%. My strikes are about +/-4.6% OTM.
SPXL Picked up some this morning at 45.32 for a pseudo PIE trade. I plant to cover if this hold up.
Borrowed an idea from TastyTrade but tweaked the strikes a bit (their trade was 40/49 when the stock was lower).
Sold $X Apr 20 40/50 strangle @ 2.85. Stock at 47.12 so this has a bit of a bearish bias resistance just above the current level.
#spxcampaign SPY version #shortputspread #spycraft
Sold 2 March 16 265/267 put spreads for .40 each
XOM #FallingKnife
Sold $XOM Sep 21 65 puts @ 1.50
#SPXcampaign Selling puts on the morning weakness, as the Gary Cohn news is one of those things that panics investors for about an hour. However, I’m on guard… more news or data could bring us lower… or higher. As I said Monday, this feels like a chop market for the short-term.
Sold $SPX March 9th 2675/2650 put spreads for 3.55.
Sold $SPX March 16th 2650/2625 put spreads for 3.10.
Sold $SPX April 6th 2550/2525 put spreads for 1.95.
BTC March 16, 90 put @ .05, sold @ 2.15
SPXL Bought to close my 16 Mar 43 Puts @ 0.65 with SPXL 45.50. Took them off at 50% .
#SPXcampaign Didn’t place any $SPX trades, but this one closed on GTC order:
SPX March 15th 2500/2475 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.50 on Feb 15th.
#spxcampaign
$SPX STO 3/9/2018 2775/2750 BECS at 4.55
#shortcalls
$EXAS STO 3/9 48.50 calls at .50 (covered)
Closed Early
$NTNX BTC 3/16 35 put at .05 STO at 4.40 Thank you @honkhonk81
$SQ STC 3/16 40 call at 9.15 BTO at 2.80
Bought to close $CMG Sep 21 200 put @ 2.00. Sold for 5.60 on 2/8.
Just chop. I made no #SPXcampaign trades. I love the smell of theta decay in the afternoon.
BTC April 20, 65 put @.10, sold @ 1.70
#vxxgame #shortcalls UVXY
Closed March 16, 19 call for .62, after rolling from 18, made 1.80, learning from the past, had about $1800 n margin waiting for the last .62 with short and in the money 13 and 15 calls still out there.
Taking one of the May positions off.
Bought to close $SWKS May 18 75 puts @ .20. Sold for 1.50 on 12/1.
Getting out for over 70% of the profit, 3 1/2 months early.
Bought to close:
$ANET Jun 15 165 put @ .60. Sold for 2.35 on 2/16.
$ANET Jun 15 200 put @ 2.30. Sold for 8.30 on 2/16 (thanks @jsd501).
#CoveredCalls #CoveredCallCampaign
BTC $AAPL Mar 9th 170 put for .17. Sold for 1.72 on 2/20, in response to a call being stopped.
STO $BABA Apr 13th 205 call for 2.05.
#Earnings – I’m already in a synthetic that’s working halfway decent. Wouldn’t mind adding to it so if this earnings trade doesn’t work out I’ll roll into the synthetic.
Selling at the expected move on both sides…
Sold ADSK MAR 9 2018 110.0/130.0 Strangles @ 2.35
Sold $NVDA Apr 20 275/285 BeCS for 1.25. Short strike at 18 delta, about 14% higher than where the stock is trading (currently 241.58). Looking at resistance at 250 (highs from a couple of weeks ago).
#shortputs TRTN
I had been doing well with TRTN puts, until recently. Rolled March 16, 40 put to October, cost basis is 618. No weeklys and 5 point strikes.
#LongCalls – Not going synthetic on this one. Requires less margin in an #IRA to just buy the calls. Max loss is quite a bit less but it is slightly more cash up front.
Bought MGM JAN 18 2019 35.0 Calls @ 3.90
45 weeks to run so need 8.5 cents per week to cover. Stock is entering a daily squeeze and looking potentially bullish…(wild guess there…LOL)
Haven’t sold the hedge yet…order in for next week’s 35.5 strike.
KMB #FallingKnife
Sold $KMB Oct 19 90 puts @ 1.25.
Extending my ladder from Jul 100 puts.
#SyntheticStock – Only have a tiny bit of buying power in my Tastyworks account. Currently synthetically short UNG and adding a synthetic long on VRX now. Mainly just to get used to the platform…
Bought VRX 01/18/19 15.00/15.00/12.50 Synthetic Stock / Disaster Puts @ 2.06
Max loss 4.56 with 45 weeks to run so need a dime a week to cover.
So:
Sold VRX 03/16/18 16.00 Calls @ 0.21
BTC Apr 02 2600 short put at 13.30 this morning…sold previously on Mar 02 for 29.30..
STO Apr 02 2600 short put at 13.00, against the existing long side….
BTC March 16, 140 put @ .05, sold @ 1.65
I am slowly covering my puts as they get close to expiration. I don’t want to be too bearish but, if interest rates continue higher, this market is vulnerable.
Options Bistro 