Saturday, November 22, 2014

Weekly: Same crap, different week

There is saying in Spanish, same crap, different day. This week was more of the same for those with hedged positions. The bull marches forward, bears get crushed. My trades include: a new long position in BBY, roll some covered calls on ASH, buy VRX stock to cover short calls. 

Lest, I sound whiny, it was a profitable week and month for me, so overall there are positives. However, during these straight up moves, I lag an all-in long strategy.
 
Fri Cover short FDX Nov 175 calls @174.5. I cover mid-day, rather than waiting until the last minute and a potential dance with the devil. FDX closed below 175, so I would have been better off holding. However, Federal Express traded all over the place, with a high over 176.

Roll ASH short calls: Cover short ASH Nov 110 calls, sell ASH Dec 115 calls @113.25. I bought shares of Ashland to cover short calls because of the wide spreads on the options. I was happy to let the stock get called, but I could buy back the call for a decent price and sold December calls at a higher strike. This adds risk and capital.
VRX and AMGN are going to get called away tomorrow. I bought shares of both to cover short call positions. Again, I bought shares because the spreads on the options were so wide. In the case of Amgen, I tried limit orders several times only to watch it climb ever higher. Ouch.




Thu Sell BBY Dec 34 puts @37.8. New long position in retailer Best Buy, which is up on earnings news today.

Sell IWM Dec 105 puts @116.1. Add a bit to longs in the Russell 2000 etf.

Tue Buy VRX shares to cover short Nov 140 calls @141.58. I add a lot capital and take on a lot more risk by buying shares of Valeant Pharma.

Position Summary:
long AMGN APC BBY BRKB DIS FDX GLD HON
long JWN MMM NKE UNH UNP VRX WHR YHOO
net long ASH IWM
net neutral SPY
short TLT
expired ILMN

No comments: