Here are a few of my closed options transactions for the year. I have not been posting these as it takes too much time to go over the details of each transaction.
I started the year with long term Call purchases on CAT, WMT, and CSCO (CSCO still open and upside down but getting better recently), but have moved to shorter term contracts.
I also continue to sell covered Calls on XOM, BP, and Shell. Some of these are weekly Calls and some are longer term. I have been pretty lucky as I have not lost any shares yet. I do have an XOM $79 call expiring at the end of February that could be in jeopardy. No biggie. I'll just buy back the shares later or invest in something else.
The one put I purchased as you can see below was a $50 VZ that I closed out of pretty quick.
That fucking ESV continues to get me even in option trading....LOL.
Also I have noticed buying $29 BP calls and selling $32 BP covered calls has been working pretty well so far.
Anyway, I will be happy to answer any questions in the comments section.
DEFY MEDIOCRITY
Not familiar with KSS. How did you find that one?
ReplyDeleteKss is Kohls. They had a rough quarter and I thought it might have a decent bounce. It was a quick trade for me with very little profit.
DeleteMDP
Other than selling covered calls, I have never made much in Options buying. The time value erodes too quickly, the spread is a amount you have to cover, and the commissions are steep for a trade too.
ReplyDeleteIf I was going to trade options again, I would put a sell price 20% over what I paid, and let the market touch and sell. Most options expire worthless, you want to make sure it's the ones you sell, not own.
NNL,
DeleteDefinitely a good strategy. I have sold many covered calls as well. It has really help lower my cost basis on several energy companies. I really like buying the calls better than selling the puts. If a stock sinks 50% you can end up being stuck with a lot of shares that are underwater. Conversely, buying the calls allows you the option of walking away from the trade altogether. I should have used this strategy more when buying oil names a couple of years back. I would have lost some option premiums, but I could have avoided share ownership.
MDP
Which broker do you use for your options trades?
ReplyDeleteIH,
DeleteCapital One Investing (formerly known as Sharebuilder).
MDP