BTC June 60 puts @ .05, sold at 1.28
Recent Updates Page 329
Closing Early No Braveheart Here
Closing Early
$SPX BTC 4/20 2570/2595 BUPS at .20 STO at 2.00 1.5X normal position size Thank you @jeffcp66
$BIDU BTC 4/20 230/240 BUPS at 5.00 STO at 2.13 This loss half off what it was last week
FB
What do you guys think of this hashtag? #LongLEAPSStraddles ….LOL Considering adding long puts to my FB 2019 long calls and trading them both directions. Whiz is still bearish FB until Zuck gets replaced. Nice premium in both directions. Obviously not a directional play…just premium gathering until all risk is covered and then a nice weekly income.
EWW
#SyntheticStock – STO EWW Apr27’18 55 calls for 0.31. This sale is pretty aggressive I think but I’ve been holding this one unhedged for awhile, and the stock is near a previous high (resistance?)
JPM
#SyntheticStock – BTC JPM Apr20’18 115 calls for 0.03, sold for 0.28. STO JPM Apr27’18 115 calls for 0.27.
#SPXcampaign Sold the long April…
#SPXcampaign Sold the long April 27th 2745 call of my spread at 3.80. This gets me out with a cheap dinner profit. I didn’t want to get greedy. Personally I feel lucky it worked.
SPX calls stopped
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX May 4th 2760/2785 call spreads for 4.25. Sold for 1.70 on Apr 3rd.
SPX Update
Update:
BTC May 11th 2600 short Puts at 10.70, sold yesterday for 15.40
gain at 30%
STO May 11th 2600 at 10.60
BTC May 25th 2550 short puts at 12.50, sold yesterday at 17.70
gain at 30%
STO May 25th 2550 short puts at 11.90
VRX
Closed Fuzzy +124.25 getting too close to hedge
Closing Early SPX BABA / SPX Campaign / Rolling MTN (hopefully not like Sisyphus)
Closed Early
$SPX BTC 4/27 2435/2460 BUPS at .20 STO at 1.75 Thank you @jeffcp66
$BABA BTC 4/20 165/175 BUPS at 1.00 STO at 1.50
$SPX BTC 4/20 2650/2750 BUPS at 50 STO at 19 Only one contract but what a hit this contract was 😉
#spxcampaign
$SPX STO 5/18 2515/2540 BUPS at 1.60 Thank you @jeffcp66
#rolling
$MTN BTC 4/20 240 call at .12 and STO 5/18 240 call at 1.72
#SPXcampaign BTC my April 23rd…
#SPXcampaign BTC my April 23rd 2725 call for 5.30. I will let the long 2745 run a while.
ROKU
#ShortPuts #ShortStrangles – Replacing the NVDA position with this. Short term and hopefully before earnings. Stock coming out of a nice base and beautiful squeeze. Might add calls if it stays strong….
Sold ROKU MAY 4 2018 34.0 Puts @ 1.00
NVDA
#ShortStrangles – Book ’em and get ready for earnings in a few weeks…
Bought to Close NVDA APR 27 2018 195.0/250.0 Strangles @ .81 (sold for 5.88)
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign
In pre-market, closed on GTC order: $SPX May 4th 2400/2375 put spread for .20. Sold for 1.60 on Apr 6th.
After open, sold SPX May 17th 2540/2515 put spreads for 1.60
Keeping up with the DROP
#VXXGame VXX products plummeting. Only a few positions in trouble, more than outweighed by my short calls that are deteriorating.
BTC $UVXY Apr 27 19 put for 3.95. Sold for 1.56 on Apr 3rd.
BTC $VXX Apr 27 44.5 put for 3.60. Sold for 1.25 on Apr 3rd.
BTC UVXY Jan 2019 70 call for 1.20. Sold for 6.50 (avg price) in February. Still have several remaining.
Sold UVXY Sept 25 call for 2.27
Sold VXX Sept 50 call for 5.65
Bought VXX June 15th 30 puts for .18, adding to my position.
NFLX closed
#Earnings Closed $NFLX Apr 20th 275 puts for .10. Sold yesterday for 3.433 (avg price).
Effective Upside warning possible
#VIXIndicator As I discussed last month, we are in a “double-header” downside warning which is rare. Rarer still is when the second warning does not print a higher VIX high or a lower SPX low. This makes it less clear when we get an Upside Warning. If we measure from the first warning’s spike, we will get the Upside with a close below 17.76 today (which is likely). If we go with the second warning, we have to wait for three closes below 12.61.
I suspect by the time we drop to 12.61, a sustained rally will already be underway. Because of last month’s head-fake, with three closes below 17.76 leading us right into more volatility, I remain cautiously optimistic for new market highs.
Closed Early FB SPX CAT / NFLX Earnings / SPX Campaign
Closed early
$FB BTC 4/20 140/150 BUPS at .05 STO at 1.90 on 3/27
$SPX BTC 4/20 2480 Put at .40 STO at 12.50 Thanks again @hcgdavis Last contract
$CAT BTC 4/20 125/135 BUPS at .05 STO at 1.45
#earnings
$NFLX STO 4/20 275/280/340/335 IC at 2.00
$NFLX STO 4/20 260/270 BUPS at 1.12 Thank you @thomberg1201
#spxcampaign
$SPX STO 5/18 2835/2810 BECS at 1.55 Thank you @jeffcp66
#shortputs STO BMY Jan18’19 45…
STO BMY Jan18’19 45 PUT 1.96
SPX
STO May 16, Bear call spread: 2900/3000 @.45 cents.
QQQ #Calendar Sold April 20…
QQQ #Calendar Sold April 20 164 Call @ 0.80 with QQQ @ 162.79 against my 2020 long 161 Call. Missed the days top with a too aggressive order.
Covered calls
#CoveredCallCampaign #CoveredCalls.
On Friday, closed $SQ Apr 27th 50 call for 1.77. Strike was breached, so I closed, and then stock dropped a lot more. Today, I sold Apr 27th 46 put for 1.20. Getting this roll in before earnings on May 2nd.
Today, closed $FB Apr 27th 175 call for 1.55. Sold for 1.60 on 3/29… I believe I sold this when earnings were expected to be around May 1. Now they are confirmed for Apr 25th, and I don’t want to be in its way.
#pietrade STO 4 DTE FAS…
STO 4 DTE FAS 62 put at 0.73. Will take assignment if below or roll if not.
#SPXcampaign Sold April 23rd 2725/2745…
#SPXcampaign Sold April 23rd 2725/2745 BeCS for 1.80 when SPX was at 2674.08 Impeccable bad timing. 😦
#earnings #shortputspread NFLX Sold April…
#earnings #shortputspread NFLX
Sold April 20, 260/270 for 1.01
VXX dump
#VXXGame Hard to keep ahead of short puts once the drop commences…
BTC $UVXY Apr 27 19 put for 3.45. Sold for 1.56 on Apr 3rd.
BTC $VXX Apr 27 44 put for 2.48. Sold for 1.15 on Apr 3rd.
Closed partial positions. Will close the remainder later, probably roll into short calls, which is the side that always works.
Also, earlier, closed UVXY March 18th 25 call for .54. Sold for 3.175 in March.
SPX calls sold
#SPXcampaign Sold $SPX May 17th 2810/2835 call spreads for 1.50.
SPX Update
BTC May 25th 2550 short puts, at 18.10, prev sold on 4-13 at 25.00
Gain at 28%
STO May 25th 2550 at 17.70
NFLX puts sold
#Earnings. Sold to open $NFLX April 20th 275 puts for 3.65. May add more, and possibly calls if I can find some premium high up.
NFLX kicks it off
#Earnings season begins! Here are the 5-day moves on NFLX. Strong bullish bias. Pulling back now gives good entry opportunity.
Mon 01/22/2018 AC 20.66%
Mon 10/16/2017 AC -4.20%
Mon 07/17/2017 AC 16.59%
Mon 04/17/2017 AC -2.97%
Wed 01/18/2017 AC 3.09%
Mon 10/17/2016 AC 27.75%
Mon 07/18/2016 AC -13.07%
Mon 04/18/2016 AC -11.53%
Tue 01/19/2016 AC -6.64%
Wed 10/14/2015 AC -7.74%
Wed 07/15/2015 AC 12.65%
Wed 04/15/2015 AC 19.33%
SPX calls closed
Good morning!
#SPXcampaign. Closed on GTC order: $SPX Apr 27th 2800/2825 call spreads for .20. Sold for 1.50 on March 28th.
Volatility drop continues. I’m cautiously shifting to a bullish stance, but still need to break through SPX resistance.
Have a great day!
Out all day today but looks like a nice volatility drop to start the week. Wouldn’t have much to do anyway so going to the real job. Back in tomorrow.
Great trading everyone!
Econ Calendar for week of 4/16/18
Be sure to periodically click “Home/REFRESH” to keep Bistro features updated.
Noise
Don Miller’s video over the weekend has grabbed a lot of attention on twitter. Here’s the link:
http://donmillereducation.com/journal/2018/04/13/the-weekend-trader-eliminating-market-noise/
#optionsexpiration Did not have time…
Did not have time to post yesterday (it was windy and warm and I had the day off so kiteboard season officially started Thurs).
XBI BTC 81 puts for 0.3 sold for 1.02 last week.
UTX BTc the 21 DTE 122/131 strangle for 2.49. Sold for many rolls for 2.5 so basically a scratch, wanted to free up the capital to use somewhere else. This was just wasting time and had already rolled 3 times and earnings coming up so just wanted out.
NSC btc 14 DTE 127/141 strangle for 2.8. Sold for 3.63 so same situation as UTX, just wanted the money to use somewhere else.
ERX #fuzzy ran away to the upside so closed for a slight profit. I lost track of the math since I had rolled it but bottom line is I gained back a little more than I put in. Closed for 6.6 and I think I had 6.22 in the trade.
FAS this week 64 cc rolled to next week for 1.25 cb 60.63
FAS this week 65 cc rolled next week for 1.2 credit. cb 58.17
FAS this week 67 cc rolled to next week 65 cc for 1.02 cb 64.11
LNG cc assigned at 54 cost basis 53.27.
Opened TNA ATM cc for next week at 69 for 67.55.
A few observations with all the whipsawing in the market. The leveraged products are easier to roll because of the higher premiums. Even though most of the FAS trades were underwater in 2 weeks that are all back to break even or profitable.
The deep ITM vertical debit spreads #supercharger work very well and easy to convert to #fuzzy if they need adjusting.
#pietrades are still my bread and butter but as @fuzzballl pointed out below, I am also moving towards more ETFs than single names. But they have to be on higher volatility names or the premiums are not there. XBI, FAS, ERX, TNA, TQQQ, UPRO, SMH, UDOW, QQQ, SPY, DIA are all trading well at the moment and I will be focusing on the names that work more consistently and actually require less work. My GM trade has taken 8-9 weeks to break even. ERX was down way more and only took 2 weeks of rolls to break even.
Going with the KISS principle going forward. Finally made back 6k of the SVXY losses in those accounts but still a long long way to go 😦
Spring here as well, 60 mile bike with friends this morning now going out to mow the lawn. Hope everyone gets to enjoy the weekend. Have a few trades lined up for Monday but depends on how we ope with Syria news.
Option Expirations
Mu April 13th 49 Put
OIH April 13 25 Put
XOP April 13th 36.5 Put
Spring has spring in the Carolinas
Have a great weekend all
Options Expirations
#optionsexpiration
$SPX 2625/2650 BUPS Thank you @jeffcp66
$SPX 2575/2600 BUPS Thank you @jeffcp66
$SPX 2720/2710 BECS Thank you @jdietz1954
Everyone have a great weekend. Playing golf first time this year out on Long Island.
A beautiful day to go with a wonderful Bistro. Thanks to all.
Options Expiration for Apr 13
$NFLX Apr 13 282.50/295/315/325 iron condor
$UVXY Apr 13 20/30 BeCS
Have a great weekend everyone.
#Fuzzy Land–Alligators and Atomics :)…
#Fuzzy Land–Alligators and Atomics 🙂 (and Atomic Alligators)
Hi Everyone! Pretty soon this craziness will begin feeling like normal. I’ve got a nice mix of #Alligator traps and Alligator snaps and Atomics that are keeping my account balance relatively stable. After the conversation w/ @fuzzballl on my last post about Alligator Fuzzies, I put the suggestions side and by side and landed back on my original configuration for them. They work really well for long side and short side configs. My SPY beta-weighted deltas are 700, that’s pretty low for me, but it’s giving me stability.
GLD–I’ve got a long #Atomic Fuzzy on this, so no short term hedges. June 128c/128p/125p x 10, 130/134 call credit spread x 14.
FB–I’ve got an Atomic Alligator on this one, a combo. It’s kind of a franken trade w/ mixed expirations, but it’s a short trade around a May 25 165/165/167.5 Fuzzy bear.
IWM–Lots of Alligator traps (bullish) on this, May 153c/153p/150p/ 156c/159c / 156c.
JPM–Today on the dip I put on an Atomic Alligator: May 110/110/105 x 5 @2.08, 115/120 call credit spread @ .99 x 10 (this gives a core trade debit of .10), Apr 20 113 call @ .61 cr x 5.
Q’s and SPY: This is where I have layered in a lot of mixed Alligator traps (bullish) and Alligator Snaps (bearish). It’s a lot to keep an eye on, but having both sure helps with stability on account balances.
SPX: I’ve got a 1-lot Alligator Snap (bearish) on this: May 2665c/2665p/2670c/ 2615p/2595p 2615p
I can imagine someone new reading this post will be scratching their head. I think you can pull the #AlligatorFuzzy for an explanation of the Alligator setup. It’s a mix of a regular fuzzy and Atomic fuzzy. But hit me up if you have any questions.
Have a nice weekend everyone!
Sue
Expirations
#OptionsExpiration – Actually had a couple today….
AZO 640/670 BeCS (sold for 2.65)
OLED 103 Calls (sold for 1.95)
No SPX for you
Flying at 30,000 feet and I can’t load SPX options into the IB platform. Need to sell a call spread, dammit. Guess I could do 60 SPY spreads instead.
JPM puts
On the big move down after earnings, sold some puts in the 6/1 weekly, well below the 200 dma.
Sold $JPM Jun 1 100 puts @ 1.04-1.05.
Market
I wonder if we will get a strike on Syria this weekend? It could be a reason for the weakness tody along with the other political stuff.
AAOI
#ShortStrangles #SyntheticStock – Adjusting to protect myself against some sort of a crazy buyout. Short next week’s 27/31 Bear Call Spreads. Stock has rallied so booking the gains on the long 31’s and buying more calls out and up. Pocketing the difference and maybe using that to finance the 27 roll.
Sold to Close AAOI APR 20 2018 31.0 Calls @ .70
Bought AAOI JUN 15 2018 50.0 Calls @ .35
SQ….Getting back into this one…BTO…
SQ….Getting back into this one…BTO Jan 20 47 calls….need 0.15 per week to cover…STO next weeks 51 call for 0.35….#longcalls #leaps #syntheticstock
UVXY
#BearCallSpreads – Taking weekend risk off and freeing up buying power for the next spike.
Bought to Close UVXY APR 20 2018 24.0/34.0 Bear Call Spreads @ .08 (sold for .79)
Bought to Close UVXY APR 20 2018 25.0/35.0 Bear Call Spreads @ .06 (sold for .65)
>SPX trade
STO May 11, 2300/2400 bull put spread @1.75 which will offset my May 11, 2850/2950 Bear call spread.
#spxcampaign a few trades today…
a few trades today
Apr 13 buy 2665/2645 BePS buy $7 sell $7.50, small profit missed a quick loss
Apr 13 sell 2665/2645 BePS sell $4 buy $3.45, better profit
Apr 13 buy 2655/2645 BeCS sold $11, buy $8.85 best of day
need to cut lawn, have a good weekend
Goodbye CRUS hello SMH
#SyntheticStock #LongCalls #LEAPS – Here’s what I finally decided. The more I trade these types of things the more I like the ETFs vs individual stocks and the straight LEAPS vs synthetic stock if the premium is worth it.
Closed my half size position in CRUS at a loss of 1.50. Taking a full size SMH position (twice the CRUS size) out in 2020 so I’ll roll the .75 loss into the new SMH trade.
Bought to Open SMH JAN 17 2020 105.0 Calls @ 14.80 (15.55 with CRUS loss added)
That is my max risk in the trade with 92 weeks to run requires 17 cents per week to cover.
So:
Sold SMH APR 20 2018 106.5 Calls @ .72
I feel much better about this now vs the CRUS trade. Thought about holding CRUS since it was getting closer to even but figured I’d s**t can it and just concentrate on the SMH position.
SPY
STO SPY Apr 27 256/253 Puts .31 #Bitty
FAS
#LongCalls #LEAPS – This was a fun one. Market doesn’t exactly seem thrilled with the banks so far so I’m staying aggressive into next week too. Already collected 4.70 of the original 10.50 cost of the LEAPS. 3 weeks into the trade with 39 to go.
Bought to Close FAS APR 13 2018 65.0 Calls @ .07 (sold for 2.15)
Sold FAS APR 20 2018 63.5 Calls @ 1.80
SPX Trades
STO May 11th 2500/2600 BUPS at 12.50
STO May 25th 2450/2550 BUPS at 12.50
Both sold while ES was at -11 this morning…
CELG
BTC April 20, 75 puts at .01, Sold At 1.80 on 2 contracts.
SLB
#SyntheticStock – STO SLB Apr20’18 70 calls for 0.40.
QQQ #Shortcall BTC my April…
QQQ #Shortcall BTC my April 13th 162 call for 0.30. Sold 4/11 for 1.02. Going to be away the afternoon so took the risk off. I will cover up the 2020 161 long call next week.
XBI
#Fuzzy – STO XBI Apr20’18 92 calls for 0.38, selling against my XBI Jun’18 88/88/86 fuzzy that has been unhedged during the recent market gyrations.
FB
I rolled my April 20, 180 calls to April 27, 180 calls for a credit of .86 cents. This is a 165C,165P, 160P Fuzzy in 2020. I only need .32 cents per week to break even.
Closing NFLX inverted strangle
This one has been a fight almost immediately after I put it on. It started out as a simple short call (260 in the 1/26 expiration) but I had to keep rolling it up and out and at some point I needed the short puts to keep the rolls for a credit. I then kept rolling the strangles up and out, and finally I had to go inverted to keep bringing in credit. The final position for today’s expiration (because earnings are Monday) was 307.50/312.50 inverted. With the stock between 313 and 313.50 I was able to close this monster for 7.10, for an overall profit of .77 after all the adjusting. Hard to imagine I would get here with how this thing moved. Aggressive rolling was the call here but I have to think I got lucky getting this close enough on expiration day to take off for a profit. I’ll definitely take it.
SMH
#SyntheticStock #LongCalls #LEAPS – Really like the looks of this one for a long term position. Haven’t decided yet since I’m already in CRUS but definitely one to keep an eye on if it pulls back again. I missed it on that last drop to near the 200ma. Almost feel like I have to take a shot. 2019 105s would only need 23 cents per week to cover.
SLB
#SyntheticStock – Earnings next week so I’m trying to give it a little room. If it tanks I’ll roll back in and down.
Rolled SLB APR 13 2018 65.5 Calls to MAY 4 2018 67.5 Calls @ .16 debit (originally sold for .61)
JPM
#SyntheticStock – STO JPM Apr20’18 115 calls for 0.28. Been sitting unhedged on my JPM Jan’19 115/115/110 synthetic position. Seems like a good day to sell, but wished I’d sold these at the open today!
PYPL TLT
Lots of fills coming in….
PYPL #SyntheticStock : Rolling out and up one week into the week prior to earnings.
Rolled PYPL APR 13 2018 76.0 Calls to APR 20 2018 76.5 Calls @ .30 credit
==============
TLT #PerpetualRollingStrangles :
Rolled TLT APR 13 2018 120.5 Calls to APR 27 2018 121.5 Calls @ .05 credit
OLED
#SyntheticStock – An old earnings gone bad repair trade…needs 99 cents per week. Replacing this week’s expiration. Earnings May 3rd so staying aggressive until then.
Sold OLED APR 20 2018 103.0 Calls @ 1.58
AZO
#BullCallSpreads – Letting this week’s expire so selling next week…cost basis reduction in the Jan Bull Call Spread…long spread is out in Jan with basis already reduced from 26.30 to 9.23.
Sold AZO APR 13 2018 625.0/650.0 Bear Call Spread @ 2.25
Closed Early / Rolled LABU SPLK
FB
#LongCalls #LEAPS – Roll out and up a week. Still a week before earnings…
Rolled FB APR 13 2018 162.5 Calls to APR 20 2018 165.0 Calls @ .50 credit
XBI
#SyntheticStock – A little tougher to roll being 4 dollars in the money. Taking it out to May monthlies. Already collected decent premium against it so don’t mind letting it sit on the back burner for awhile. If XBI tanks I’ll roll it back in and down.
Rolled XBI APR 13 2018 86.0 Calls to XBI MAY 18 2018 88.0 Calls @ even (originally sold for 1.05)
XLY
#SyntheticStock – No time premium left in these so a small debit roll out one week picking up 90 cents of upside.
Rolled XLY APR 13 2018 100.5 Calls to APR 20 2018 101.5 Calls @ .10 debit (originally sold for .93)
SPX condor sold
#SPXcampaign What do you do when you’re bored? A 3-week, 20-delta condor will work. Last one of these I did worked great, so we’ll try again. VIX finally got down to my 17.76 level, but SPX does not yet look like it wants to rally.
Sold $SPX May 4th 2550/2575/2750/2775 #CondorRoll for 7.15.
Also, just filled,
Sold May 11th 2500/2475 put spreads for 1.85.
VXX
#BearPutSpreads – I’ve been selling against my Jan 2019 50/30 Bear Put Spreads….trying to gradually cover the debit. Volatility trying to come down a little so I’m getting out of the way for awhile. Small loss here but the original debit has already been reduced from 12.15 to 11.65. Only need VXX below about 38.35 by next Jan.
Bought to Close VXX APR 13 2018 46.0 Puts @ .76 (sold the 46/41 spreads @ .63)
Of course I’m early…VXX heading back up now… 😦
CELG
#SyntheticStock – In an #IRA so have to cover this week before selling next week.
Bought to Close CELG APR 13 2018 92.0 Calls @ .05 (sold for .50)
Sold CELG APR 20 2018 92.0 Calls @ .70
This more than covers the cost of the core position so working to cover max loss now. Wish I had more time but this was an experimental shorter term out to July.
Also in a different account early assigned on a 100 strike short put. Stock basis 97.80. Will be looking to sell against eventually. Earnings on May 4th before the open.
FFIV
BTC April 20, 130 puts @.05, sold as a falling knife @ 1.05 on 2 contracts. I am covering positions early because I don’t trust this market.
#spccampaign STC my April 13th…
#spccampaign STC my April 13th 2710/2720 @ 0.25. I was filled after market hours. Originally sold Monday for 1.40.
Have a great evening all.
Closed Early / Rolled
Closed Early
$SPX 4/13 BTC Half position 2575/2600 at .50 STO at 1.70 One half to go (hope it does not go the wrong way).
$AAPL BTC 4/20 150/160 BUPS at .10 STO at 1.15
$AMZN BTC 4/20 1180/1190 BUPS at .05 STO at .81 Thank you @thomberg1201
$SPX BTC 4/20 2480 put at 1.90 STO at 12.50 One contract left. Thanks again @hcgdavis
$FB BTC 4/20 140/150 BUPS at .20 STO at .85
Rolled
$FB BTC 4/13 165 call and STO 4/20 165 call for added 2.60 credit against 1/2019 175 call. I think this is a fuzzy but I am still a bit hazy. Is that a double bewilderment? Thank you @fuzzballl
SPX calls closed
#SPXcampaign Closed $SPX Apr 20th 2700/2725 call spreads for 7.05. Sold on Tuesday for 7.50.
For the first time in awhile the VIX is showing actual weakness in the last hour. Need to see what tomorrow brings.
Options Bistro 