Added strangle to SWKS with the big drop last few days.
STO SWKS 25 and 32 DTE 107 calls at 0.7-0.74 (don’t know why they split the block) and 0.95.
Recent Updates Page 374
REGN
#CoveredCalls – Showing some signs of life. Pounded it all the way down so trying to get out of the way for the rise from the ashes. Easing this up for now…
Rolled REGN DEC 15 2017 380.0 Call to DEC 29 2017 385.0 Call @ .20 credit
DIS
#SyntheticStock – Rolling up and out for a small debit but picking up 3.70 more upside. DIS has lousy strikes for rolling…5 wide in the monthlies. This is another bigly profit blocked by front month calls. From now on I’m changing my attitude about these. Instead of going for aggressive max premium on the weekly sales I’m going to be much more conservative.
When I set these trades up it usually works out where only very small weekly sales are needed to cover any max potential loss since they are all hedged. Let’s say 15 cents is all that’s required each week. I’ll limit myself to 30 cents on the sales which would still be a double long term but would also leave plenty of upside room for these runaway trains…
Rolled DIS DEC 29 2017 100.0 Calls to JUN 15 2018 105.0 Calls @ 1.30 debit.
Tax bill consolidation
These seem to be some pretty significant differences. Not sure how smoothly the conference will go to reconcile the two. Full story: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/04/republican-house-and-senate-tax-plan-differences.html?__source=twitter%7Cmain
#shortputs T Sold a Dec….
Sold a Dec. 15 37.50 put for .65, maybe take assignment and pick up the dividend at the beginning of Jan. T currently is at 37.37
Sell the news
#Markets I agree with Paul’s sentiment and I am currently playing it this way. Seems once the bill is passed (assuming it will be), that the euphoria will abate and we’ll be stuck with negative headlines from the Mueller investigation. Right now I think we may be entering more of a consolidation phase, or slower trickle up, until the final bill is passed.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/04/jim-paulsen-buy-stocks-before-final-tax-cut-passage-but-sell-after.html?__source=twitter%7Cmain
$VTR #FallingKnife Raymond James downgrades…
$VTR #FallingKnife
Raymond James downgrades Ventas (NYSE:VTR) from Market Perform to Underperform. No position yet…
#ShortPuts Sold Dec 15th 90…
#ShortPuts Sold Dec 15th 90 Puts @ 0.80 when SVXY was at 112.44
STO
TLT Dec 8 127/128 .18
CELG Dec 8 101/100 Puts .19
EXPE Dec 8 121/120 .15
will add call side when and if price is right.
AZO is back
#Earnings One of our favorite earnings trades is back. After a pretty deep dip, premium is decent, although bid/ask spreads are wide and OI is low. So beware.
Sold $AZO Dec 8th 615/780 strangle for 4.50. It took awhile to get filled. Put in an order for a second one at 4.75.
AZO’s ONE-day moves over last 12 quarters: Biggest UP move: 5.8%, Biggest DOWN move: -11.8%, Average move: 2.8%.
It’s FIVE-day moves are actually less extreme… it seems to retrace any large one-day moves over the following days: Biggest UP move: 4.1%, Biggest DOWN move: -6.7%, Average move: 2.5%.
My strikes are +11.4% and -12.1% OTM.
NVDA
#ShortStrangles – Rolling call side down a little for additional premium…
Rolled NVDA DEC 15 2017 210.0 Call to DEC 15 2017 200.0 Call @ 1.50 credit.
Position is now Dec monthly 200 Straddle @ 7.75
SVXY
STO January 18, 65 put @ 1.15 adding to my small position
SPX trades
#SPXcampaign I’m resuming selling call spreads as the upside move is likely at least slowing if not consolidating. That said, I will later be rolling the OTM call spread I sold Friday.
Sold to Open Jan 5th 2740/2765 call spreads for 1.50.
Closed on GTC order:
SPX Dec 14th 2485/2460 put spreads for .20. Sold for 1.50 on Nov 14th.
Econ Calendar for week of 12/4/17
Be sure to periodically click “Home/REFRESH” above to keep Bistro features updated
JOBS report is this Friday, 8:30am ET
Notable Earnings AMC Fri (Last Week)/BMO Mon:
GWPH
Notable Earnings AMC Mon/BMO Tues:
ASNA, AZO, BMO, BNED, COUP, FRAN, GIII, HDS, JILL, TOL
Notable Earnings AMC Tues/BMO Wed:
AEO, AVAV, BF.B, FNKO, FRED, HOV, HQY, HRB, JWA, KLXI, PLAY, RH, VEEV, VRA
Notable Earnings AMC Wed/BMO Thurs:
AVGO, CIEN, CONN, DG, FGP, GMS, JKS, KEYS, KFY, LULU, MCC, MTN, NCS, OKTA, OLLI, TLRD, TTC, VRNT
Notable Earnings AMC Thurs/BMO Fri:
AOBC, CLDR, COO, FNSR, SAIC, UNFI
SVXY butterfly experiment
I’m not much of a regular old butterfly guy (other than iron butterflies for earnings) so maybe I did something wrong. The SVXY put butterfly that @vxxkelly and I were discussing as a #Hedge didn’t do much during the selloff Friday. I monitored it as SVXY dropped all the way down and then all the way back up and the thing was never profitable at all. Was it because it was out in Jan? Do these types of trades only work on much shorter time frames? Did I (quite possibly) screw something up?
Here was the trade:
SVXY JAN 19 2018 110.0/105.0/97.5 Put Butterfly @ .22 credit
Bought 5 110 puts
Sold 10 105 puts
Bought 5 97.5 puts
The 94 year old options trader
Here’s a short weekend story that you might find interesting at least, inspirational at best. About a month ago I was walking the dog during the Wall St. lunch hour when a neighbor a few blocks away came blowing out of house running up to me. “Sue, Sue, you’re an options trader right?” I’m surprised she knew this, I keep a low profile in real life, and since no one even knows what an option is, no one usually has a clue what I do. “My 94 year old dad just died suddenly, he has accounts with options in them and none of us know what to do!” I assured her that that was no one better in the neighborhood to help her family sort through everything. But I told her we needed to do a risk assessment very quickly, knowing how options can go awry so fast.
The next day she came to my house with piles of account statements. Listen to this, this 94 year old man had $3 million in naked puts, diagonals, and covered calls. He was a player! At 94! He knew exactly how to make risk work in his favor. He died doing the thing he loved most…selling premium. Luckily he was a TDA trader, so it was very easy to log in with the family and unwind all the risk for them. I think about this man a lot. I think about how much I would have loved to have met him before he died. But most of all I’m encouraged that what I love doing so much I’ll still be able to do when I’m 94. I hope to die with a mouse in my hand clicking “confirm and send.”
Expiration / SPX Campaign / VXX Game /Short Puts / Closed Early / Rolled
#optionsexpiration
$SPX 2455/2480 BUPS
$SPX 2560/2585 BUPS Thank you @jeffcp66
$ADBE 167.50/177/50 BUPS Thank you @thomberg1201
$NFLX 202.50 calls
#spxcampaign
$SPX STO 12/8 2555/2580 BUPS @ 1.50
$SPX STO 12/29 2475/2500 BUPS @ 1.40 Thank you @jeffcp66
#vxxgame
$SVXY STO 12/15 90put @ 1.75 Thank you @fuzzballl
#shortputs
$XOP 1/19/2018 34 put @ .75
Closed Early
$SPX BTC 12/29 2720/2695 BECS @ 3.00 STO 11/28 @ 1.55
$NVDA BTC 12/15 245/230 BECS @ .15 STO @ 2.05
Rolled Long Calls
$XHB STC 1/19/2018 37 calls @ 6.95 BTO $XHB 1/19/201841 calls @ 3.15
Have a great weekend. Thanks to all you terrific people.
Final SPX trades & Expiration
#SPXcampaign #OptionsExpiration
After the bell, sold $SPX Dec 29th 2710/2735 call spreads for 1.85.
After the bell, sold $SPX Dec 20th 2590/2615 call spreads for 20.50. This replaces one of three ITM call spreads I closed before this recent rally.
#Exercised SPX Dec 1st 2615 long calls, for 26.80. Coupled with the earlier cover of the shorts at 9.30, that’s 17.50 for a 15-wide spread. Bought for 2.25 last Friday. Half sold for 9.00 on Tuesday, so average profit of 11.00 for the whole position.
Expiration
PCLN IC 1715/1712.50 1790/1792.50 .50
SPX 2565/2555 .35
TLT 127/128 .17
OptionsExpiration
Fairly light week
$ATVI $65.5o #covercalls
$FB $170 puts
$SVXY $50 puts
$SVXY $80 puts
$UVXY $22 calls
Have a great weekend everyone.
My Best YM Day thus Far
Take a look at the YM for today Fuzzy..a terrific day…:)
Afternoon all. Crazy day. I…
Afternoon all. Crazy day. I was able to fire off a few SVXY Puts before I had to charge out the door.
Sold to open
Dec 29th 80 Puts @ 1.60, 1.65 and 1.80 with SVXY between 103.40 an 102.54
And
Dec 29th 75 Puts @ 1.55
Missed a fill on 70 Puts.
Nothing for OpEx for me this week.
Have a great weekend all. Monday will be interesting.
Expirations
Only 2 today but it was a good day. Finally some nice volatility.
SVXY 55 puts
SVXY 60 puts
I am signing off so have a good weekend everyone.
WYNN
#ShortStrangles – Another roll against DITM calls. Nice consistent premium every week.
Rolled WYNN DEC 1 2017 160.0 Puts to DEC 8 2017 160.0 Puts @ 1.81 credit
@jeffcp66, this is getting close….
@jeffcp66, this is getting close. My last patient did not show up so have a few minutes to try the code.
Thinkscript below for the BBMACD. Change bb length to 5 and num dev to 0.5. other settings stay 12,26,5
plot Data = close;
declare lower;
input price = close;
input BBlength = 10;
input BBNum_Dev = 1.0;
input MACDfastLength = 12;
input MACDslowLength = 26;
input MACDLength = 5;
def MACD_Data = MACD(fastLength = MACDfastLength, slowLength = MACDslowLength, MACDLength = MACDLength);
plot MACD_Dots = MACD_Data;
plot MACD_Line = MACD_Data;
plot BB_Upper = reference BollingerBands(price = MACD_Line, length = BBlength, Num_Dev_Dn = -BBNum_Dev, Num_Dev_Up = BBNum_Dev).UpperBand;
plot BB_Lower = reference BollingerBands(price = MACD_Line, length = BBlength, Num_Dev_Dn = -BBNum_Dev, Num_Dev_Up = BBNum_Dev).Lowerband;
plot BB_Midline = reference BollingerBands(price = MACD_Line, length = BBlength, Num_Dev_Dn = -BBNum_Dev, Num_Dev_Up = BBNum_Dev).MidLine;
BB_Upper.SetDefaultColor(Color.GRAY);
BB_Lower.SetDefaultColor(Color.GRAY);
BB_Midline.SetDefaultColor(Color.GRAY);
BB_Midline.SetStyle(Curve.SHORT_DASH);
MACD_Line.SetDefaultColor(Color.WHITE);
MACD_Dots.SetStyle(Curve.POINTS);
MACD_Dots.SetLineWeight(2);
MACD_Dots.AssignValueColor(if MACD_Line > MACD_Line[1] then Color.GREEN else Color.RED);
plot zero = 0;
zero.AssignValueColor(if MACD_Line < 0 then Color.RED else Color.GREEN);
zero.SetLineWeight(2);
The way I would trade it is to ignore the colors, take the direction when the avg line moves outside the bb wave. These settings are almost identical to the paid product.
I looked at the code for the indicator, it is all encrypted.
Some trades from earlier
Similar to @vxxkelly I was away from my desk during the crucial hour when the market was at its lows of the day. Of course that’s the only period of time I missed all day. Still was able to get a few trades off.
Sold:
$SVXY Mar 16 45 put @ 1.15
$SVXY Jan 19 65 put @ 1.19
$UVXY Jun 15 60 call @ 2.10 (highest strike)
$UVXY Mar 16 70 calls @ 1.00
So I’ll either be able to sell some more if the market fades again, or the market keeps moving up we’ll be seeing Iceman’s billboard. 🙂
SPX long leg-out
#SPXcampaign Wish I’d done this near the lows but it was too nerve-wracking… closed the short leg of the long $SPX Dec 1st 2615/2630 call spread for 9.30. Waiting for higher prices to close the long leg, hopefully netting more than the 15.00 I would have made had I let the whole spread expire ITM. Better not crash on me now!
#earnings #shortputs #rolling HCA In…
#earnings #shortputs #rolling HCA
In July I sold an #ironcondor for earnings, HCA tanked. I originally had a short 82 put, rolled it up to 82.50, the first of 4 rolls, waiting for a week like this week, closed at a gain of 148 today. Thanks to all who have shown how rolling can work.
$SVXY $UVXY
$SVXY $UVXY
Since I’m way late I didn’t get aggressive, but did add a few positions.
$UVXY STO Dec 8 $23.5 calls @ $0.33
$UVXY STO Dec 15 $31 calls @ $0.35
$SVXY STO Mar’18 $45 put @ $1.40 (added to position)
$SVXY STO Dec 29 $65 puts @ $0.75
$SVXY STO Dec 8 $80 puts @ $0.55
$SVXY STO Dec 8 $85 puts @ $0.77
Twitter and RSS feeds
I’ve added my @OptionsBistro twitter feed and also some CNBC RSS feeds to the right hand column. I’ll be altering or changing these as I monitor content. Any suggestions for RSS feeds, let me know, and if you see a good tweet you can forward it to my Twitter handle @OptionsBistro, and I’ll consider retweeting so it shows up below.
Wow, I went to a…
Wow, I went to a couple of meetings and missed quite a move in the market.
UVXY
SVXY
#ShortPuts #VXXGame #IRA – Out most of the morning but luckily caught some of the dip. Was able to re-sell a few that were closed earlier this week. 🙂
Sold SVXY DEC 15 2017 90.0 Put @ 2.46
Sold SVXY JAN 19 2018 75.0 Put @ 2.80
Sold SVXY MAR 16 2018 60.0 Put @ 3.40
Selling calls
#SPXcampaign I’m looking to sell an ITM call spread (Dec 20th 2590/2615). Waiting to see how much bounce we can get. Also plan to sell a Dec 29 call spread with short about 2710.
ADSK
#ShortStrangles – Replacing today’s expiration…
Sold ADSK DEC 8 2017 111.0 Calls @ .85
RH closed
#Earnings #ShortStrangles
Closed these positions to avoid volatility later today:
$RH Dec 1st 95 puts for .20. Sold for 1.77 avg price
$RH Dec 1st 100 put for 1.00. Sold for 3.07 avg price
Mitch McConnell: ‘We have the votes’ to pass tax bill
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/01/senate-republicans-appear-confident-they-have-the-votes-to-pass-tax-bill.html
$SVXY #ShortPuts STO January 19…
$SVXY #ShortPuts STO January 19 50 puts @ 1.05 on the dip…
>SPX
STO SPX, 2380/2480 bull put spread @ 1.30
So I was away from…
So I was away from the computer with TOS and just came back for lunch, that is a good move. I think the new indicator may work, especially for VXX. Screen shot below from this morning, here is the follow through.
Now just need to figure out at what level the trigger will change from close positions to actually reversing.
Upside Warning canceled
#VIXIndicator Based on the indicator, the upside warning just got canceled by the Flynn spike. However, two things to note: the VIX low from last Friday seemed to be an odd tick, but that low is the reason the Indicator cancels the warning. Second, this volatility could be only violent spiking due to the sudden breaking news. A better determination can be made in a couple hours.
Flynn news
I think this is probably a dip to be bought, given that tax news is more a market driver. If Flynn is damaging to Trump, it will be a long time before the extent of any damage is fully known. Other thoughts?
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/01/us-stock-futures-data-opec-tax-on-the-agenda.html
SVXY
STO January 12, 65 put @ .87
STO January 19, 65 put @ 1.19
STO February 16, 65 put @ 2.05
STO January 12, 60 put @ .85
STO 2019, January 40 puts @5.20
WDC, STO April 60 put @ 1.23
SVXY
STO February 65 put @ 1.90
$C $SVXY
STO $C Dec 15 $72 puts @ $0.40
followed @optioniceman on a couple of $SVXY trades, just nibbling
STO Mar $45 put @ $1.17
STO Jan 19 $65 puts @ $1.12
IBB 3:1 split now trading…
IBB 3:1 split now trading at 105ish
Fidelity Offers Reparations to Customers After Website Outage
The firm is waiving commissions and giving free trades to some clients
https://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2017/12/01/fidelity-offers-reparations-to-customers-after-website-outage/?reflink=e2twmkts
MTN
STO April 210 put @5.80
VXX Game / SPX Campaign
Following @optioniceman
$SVXY STO 12/15 82.50 puts @.54
$SVXY STO 12/22 75 puts @ .62
#spxcampaign
$SPX STO 12/6 2615/2640 BUPS @ 5.85
$SPX STO 12/29 2515/2540 BUPS @ 1.50. Thank you @jeffcp66
NTNX
Closed nice trade. 15 contracts sold at $3.30 (ave) bought back at .75, $3825. I had to be away from the desk this morning so I had to guess on a close order. Until NTNX gets weeklies, it is a marvelous stock for swing trading.
Sue
SWKS #FallingKnife Sold $SWKS May…
SWKS #FallingKnife
Sold $SWKS May 18 75 puts @ 1.50
good morning all
good morning all
Good Morning all
Good Morning all
VXX fresh buy signal this…
VXX fresh buy signal this morning but I would not go long until into the cloud. However might be a good time to take profits. 
my attempt at some directional…
my attempt at some directional trading. Mostly use this for the xiv/vxx trigger. Not as clean as @fibwizard but some adaptability to different tickers
Good morning
It looks like it is going to be a good day for premium sellers.
VXX/XIV possible trigger
@jeffcp66, think I have the tool for the upside/downside warning and the trigger we have been discussing for going long/short VXX/XIV or the leveraged versions. Not doing any sales here but alphashark has a new tool that uses a hybrid indicator and the triggers are almost instantaneous for VIX because it was designed for futures. It is in beta test mode and because I have some other tools from them I am getting it at a discount. I reviewed some recent triggers with the developer tonight on VIX and it looks like it will give us a real time warning (or within 1 bar). I will buy it (only $299), install it this weekend and get it up and running. It may even give a signal faster than @fibwizard charts because it is adaptive. Based on BB, MACD, ATR and some other voodoo math but adapts as the volatility and ATR changes so it constantly updates itself and even sets targets based on ATR.
Not saying I am going directional here, but it should help with selling options in the right direction. Once I load it will show you guys and will set alerts for /VX and after we see how accurate it is that might be our new upside/downside trigger (if you want).
As a former ski racer, love the snow and let it keep snowing all the way through March!
Snow! Go $MTN Plus Today’s Trades
#shortputs
$AMZN STO 1/19/20181070/1080 BUPS @ 1.56
Closed Early
$GME BTC 12/1 18 call @.88 BTO 11/24 @ .29
$SPX STC Remaining 12/1 2615/2630 BUCS @ 82% profit Thank you @jeffcp66 aka the snow maker.
Trade Recap
Here’s trades not already mentioned today:
CVX: Closed #JadeLizard for $230 profit before it “slid down the slope” on the right-side P/L graph
QQQ: Opened #SharkfinHedge (as coined by Bruce Marshall) before market direction became solidified today. Dec 8 153/148/146 put fly for .53 (called sharkfin because of the P/L picture). Wanted just a bit of tech protection in case sell off continued.
NDX: Managed BeCS hedge, took 1/2 off, rolled other half to new strikes.
RH: Opened long calls (Dec 8 106) for earnings run up trade, will be closed day before earnings, high historical win rate
BA: Bitty hit profit target for $276, rolled to new expiration (Dec 15 270/267 for .50)
SPX: Rolled BeCS to new strikes for extra range
IWM: Closed JadeLizard early for $25.00 scratch (it was kind of a hedgie jade lizard, no longer needed)
NTNX: Added last tranche of short puts before earnings, trade is up very nicely after hours
PLAY: Closed long calls on Earnings run up trade for $165 (40%) profit, trade based on historical win rate.
Net Liq repair project still underway, but nice progress today
Sue
More puts
#SPXcampaign After the bell, this filled: $SPX Dec 29th 2540/2515 put spreads for 1.50. Standard weekly spread, the highest I’ve ever sold.
SVXY put butterfly
Taking a long position in $SQ
Via short puts.
Sold $SQ Jan 19 35 puts @ 1.10.
Delta 25. IVR is high at 78. Earnings not expected until Feb.
Would consider taking assignment at the breakeven, 33.90.
The No Gravity Day
$NUGT #ShortCalls – Bought to…
$NUGT #ShortCalls – Bought to close NUGT 25/100 Jan 19 2018 17.0 Calls @ 0.01.
Sold on 09/05/2017 at 0.62 and again at 0.74
RH closed
#Earnings #ShortStrangles Closing a few of these ahead of tomorrow’s expiration as $RH has had many strong swings lately.
Closed RH Dec 1st 100 put for .70. Sold for 3.08 avg price
Closed RH Dec 1st 105 call for .20. Sold for 2.12 avg price
More WDC
Came back from bike ride and WDC down another point on the day. Went @fuzzballl style and bought 10 Jan 20 90 put leaps for 22.75. I already have 15.66 credit from the straddle so don’t have to sell much over the next 111 weeks to break even. 50 DTE left on the straddle then can sell so first 8 weeks will just be watching if I can sit on my hands that long.
$BIIB #ShortPuts – Bought to…
$BIIB #ShortPuts – Bought to close 1 BIIB Jan 19 2018 165.0 Put @ 0.05.
Originally sold in May at 1.45 as a #FallingKnife trade
$HP #ShortPuts – Bought to…
$HP #ShortPuts – Bought to close HP Jan 19 2018 40.0 Puts @ 0.05.
Originally sold in May at 1.20, in July at 1.35 and in August at 1.60 as #FallingKnife trades.
$WDC #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – Sold…
$WDC #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – Sold 1 WDC Jul 20 2018 55.0 Put @ 1.40 with the stock at 79.50
SPX
#RocketManHedge – This has been kind of a fun/interesting trade/experiment. Originally put on synthetic short stock with a disaster call for 45.0 debit with max loss of 50.0 out in Jan 2018 monthly. Had enough time to sell about 4 points a week to cover max loss and still constantly carry about a 40 point downside hedge.
With the rally I’ve been selling much more aggressively and have already recovered all but about 12 points of the max loss and still have 6 weeks to run. Looks like the hedge will still be nicely profitable even though the market has gone completely against it. I’ll still sell aggressively with the plan to roll the short put out and down if we implode.
I’m happy enough with this type of hedge I may do it in slightly bigger size next time…
Bought to Close SPX DEC 1 2017 2600.0 Put @ .25 (sold for 10.50)
Sold SPX DEC 8 2017 2625.0 Put @ 7.10
$WDC #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – Sold…
$WDC #ShortPuts #FallingKnife – Sold 1 WDC Apr 20 2018 65.0 Put @ 1.75 with the stock at 80.09
#LongVega I was looking at…
#LongVega
I was looking at my net vega today, it was over -1140. That seemed a little high to me as far as volatility exposure. So I took the opportunity today to add an SPX #Calendar for over 400 long vega to balance things out a little.
Jan: Short Jan 2560 put
Feb: Long Feb 2560 put net debit 11.60
On Calendars I always open at 1/2 size, then when price movement heads me a little more than half-way down the slope of the P/L graph, then I’ll add on the 2nd Calendar for a double, that then leaves me with a very wide profit range for the trade.
VRX
#SyntheticStock #IRA – Rolling for a small debit. Picking up another .45 of upside and keeping the expiry prior to next earnings…
Rolled VRX DEC 1 2017 15.0 Calls to JAN 12 2018 15.5 Calls @ .05 debit
For as strong as /NQ…
For as strong as /NQ is today, many stocks having pretty weak bounce. $FB, $SQ, $NFLX, $TSLA, $GOOGL etc… $AAPL and $MSFT seem to be doing the heavy lifting today.
