Weekly: AMZN BA save the day

Good earnings from Amazon and Boeing highlight a positive week for me. Market is fairly flat this week. I am up over 1%. Market looks to be stuck in a trading range, which might be good news for option premium sellers.

Here are the trades (p=puts, c=calls, number near end is price per contract, sell means sell-to-open, cover means buy-to-close):

Tue A wild day, with the market opening higher, then plummeting, then recovering just a bit. I was down about 1.2%, QQQ led the way down -2.1%, SPY -1.3%. I reduce risk by taking some profits.

Cover QQQ AprW4 153 p 31
Cover SPY MayW1 247.5 p 30

Cover SPY MayW2 245 p 52
Cover QQQ MayW1 147 p 35

I initiate two short positions:
Sell CAT May 162.5 c 38
Sell LMT May 370 c 60

Wed Boeing earnings are good. I do a bunch of BA trades, ending the day slightly long.
Sell UNH May 250 c 31

Sell BA May 375 c 59
Sell BA Jun 390 c 99

Sell SPY May 275 c 32
Sell QQQ Jun 173 c 33

Sell WYNN May 210 c 35
Sell CAT May 120 p 30

Sell BA May 295 p 157
Sell LMT May 290 p 55
Sell BA Jun 290 p 219

BA backratio 465 debit: Buy BA Jun 350 c 1065
Sell 2x BA Jun 375 c 303 each

Thu Facebook up on earnings.
Sell FB May 150 p 26
Sell FB Jun 205 c 21

Sell TXN May 90 p 27
Sell FB May 155 p 42

Sell QQQ Jun 138 p 57
Sell SPY May29th 245 p 64

Sell BA May 305 p 125
Sell VLO May 95 p 19 new long

Sell ULTA May 220 p 90
Sell SPG Jun 125 p 50

Sell NFLX strangles: Sell NFLX May 260 p 69
Sell NFLX May 380 c 29

Fri Amazon has great earnings, opens way higher than fades. Intel does similar, gapping higher on earnings, then fading. I post modest gains.

Sell AMZN May 1850 c 54
Sell AMZN May 1350 p 200

Sell INTC May 60 c 14
Sell INTC May 49 p 19

Sell MCD May 140 p 22 ahead of earnings
Cover BA Jun 290 p 195 for profit

Monthly: 115 – 10 Grade B, chasing the AMZN butterfly

I count 115 winners 10 losers for the April option cycle. Self grade is B. I am up about 2% for the month. I took on more risk to get that gain, and took some big losses.

My Amazon adventure started innocently, a low risk butterfly out to June. AMZN moved up the next day, and the next. I sold some puts to get back the cost of the butterfly. A few Trump tweets later, I was down like 500% on those legs. I spent the rest of the month rebalancing, doing a few day trades. It all worked out, though I took on a lot of tail risk. AMZN is an expensive underlying. So selling multiple layers of options naked means a large tail risk, if there is a market melt down or melt up. It worked out for me this time. I also profited on FB and in a small way on NFLX.

Some etfs that I track, year to date, best to worst:

GLD +2.4%
IWM +2.1%

SLV +0.9%
EEM +0.3%

SPY +0.2%
TLT -6.6%

My account is up 2.6%, so things are looking up. Hard to say which way the market wants to go. Just when I think the bull is back, the bears come back in. If I knew, I wouldn’t have to hedge, I could trade directionally.

Weekly: up then down

I am up for the week. The declines on Thursday and Friday, made it feel like a sour week. I takes some more losses. I profit in a small way from NFLX earnings.

Here are the trades (p=puts, c=calls, number near end is price per contract, sell means sell-to-open, cover means buy-to-close):

Mon Rally back on track after Syria attacks. It gets a little too hot and I close two legs for losses. Despite the losses, I am up a decent amount for the day. Astrology fans, Mercury is back to direct (was retrograde). For believers, the retrograde period brings higher chances of miscommunication, mechanical and electrical problems.

Cover COST Apr 195 c 188 for loss
Cover ULTA Apr 230 c 265 for loss

Sell IWM May 144 p 56

Sell JPM May 95 p 20
Sell QQQ Jun 140 p 86

Sell SPY MayW1 253 p 57
Sell AAPL May 155 p 68

Sell COST May 175 p 57
Sell SPY MayW2 252 p 70

Sell COST May 210 c 30
Sell ULTA May 255 c 80

Sell NFLX strangle: Sell NFLX Apr 250 p 45
Sell NFLX Apr 370 c 48

Tue Rally continues. I am up 0.63% today. Nice gain for one day, but lags SPY which is up +1.07%, and QQQ +2.16%. I do tend to lag during trending up moves.
Sell SPY MayW1 256 p
Sell QQQ MayW2 152 p 52

Sell SPY May 252 p 74
Sell UNH May 210 p 43 earnings

Sell SPY Apr 263 p 16
Sell ULTA May 205 p 75

I take some risk off by closing some sold calls for a profit.
Cover SPY May 280 c 70 for tiny profit
Cover NFLX Apr 370 c 17 for profit

Cover AMZN May 1700 c 570 for profit
Cover QQQ Apr 169 c 18 for profit

Wed A quiet day. I roll some positions, close some others.
All these are closed for profit:
Cover SPY Apr 252 p 04

Cover QQQ May 145 p 30
Cover AAPL May 150 p 29

Cover AMZN Apr 1600 c 66
Cover IWM May 141 p 23

Sell SPY May 254 p 74
Sell QQQ May 152 p 61

Sell AAPL AprW4 170 p 29
Sell IWM May 148 p 47

Thu Amazon up after publishing Prime subscriber numbers. Apple down on news.

Sell AAPL AprW4 182.5 c 16
Sell AMZN May 1250 p 335

Cover QQQ May 150 p 59 for profit
Cover SPY May 247 p 64 for profit

Fri Apple continues to decline. I close one leg for a big loss.
Cover AAPL AprW4 170 p 262 for loss
Cover SPY MayW1 253 p 51 for profit

Cover SPY May 250 p 84 for profit
Sell AAPL May 185 c 68

Weekly: very very good to me

I enjoy a very good week, up around 5% in round numbers. I am now up about 1% for the year. That may sound like crap, but after being down over 10% a couple of times, getting back to break even is something to be thankful for. The major indexes are up this week with QQQ leading the way with a 2.8% gain.

My winners for 2018 include AMZN NFLX NVDA AAPL.
Losers include SPY BRKB UNH MMM.

Again, I am mostly selling strangles.

Here are the trades (p=puts, c=calls, number near end is price per contract, sell means sell-to-open, cover means buy-to-close):

Mon Markets rally then fades. A 400 point Dow gain shrinks to about 40 by the close. I sold some puts near the highs :( Almost all these are red by the close.

Sell MU Apr 43 p 23
Sell SPY AprW2 252 p 38

Sell AMZN Apr 1250 p 240
Sell QQQ AprW4 145 p 49

Sell SPY AprW4 245 p 57
Sell AAPL May 150 p 94

Tue Those 400 Dow points lost late Monday, are made back, as China’s leader drops hints about a possible trade deal (vs. tariffs and a possible trade war) and Mark Zuckerburg Facebook CEO, testifies for Congress. I rebalance by selling more layers of puts.

Sell SPY May 240 p 105
Sell BA Apr 307.5 p 112

Sell FB Apr 145 p 39
Sell TSLA Apr 245 p 63

Sell ULTA May 190 p 90
Sell QQQ Apr 151 p 45

Sell MU May 40 p 40
Sell SPY MayW1 247.5 p 97

Sell FB Apr 150 p 49
Sell WYNN May 150 p 101

Wed Sell FB AprW4 148 p 90

Thu Sell IWM MayW1 145 42
Sell QQQ MayW2 147 p 66
Sell QQQ MayW1 147 p 53

Sell SPY May 247 p 112
Sell SPY MayW2 245 p 80

Sell BA Jun 280 p 279
Sell MU Apr 47 p 15

Fri Stock market rallies in the morning then fades into the red. I add some delta in the morning, and these new positions are in the red by the close.

Sell SPY AprW4 254 p 53
Sell QQQ AprW4 153 p 44

Weekly: A wild tariff ride

It is a wild ride, fueled by tariff news and interpretations. The major indices close down for the week:

DIA -0.7%, SPY -1.4%, QQQ -2.1%

My account is up a tiny amount +0.1%. It is a great week for hindsight traders, braggarts and liars. If a genie gave an options trader this weeks tick chart ahead of time, he/she could have made huge money. Unfortunately my life doesn’t currently include a magic genie. I muddled through. 

Mon Another down day
I lose about 4.5% today. I close out several legs for a loss as my mental stop levels are breached.

These are the four legs covered today for losses in the 350% to 600% range
Cover IBB Apr 103 p 285 for loss
Cover SPY Apr 257 p 526 for loss
Cover QQQ AprW1 155 p 311 for loss
Cover QQQ Apr 155 p 463 for loss

Sell AMZN Apr 1600 c 380
Sell QQQ Apr 169 c 34

Sell SPY Apr 273 c 40
Sell AMZN May 1800 c 295

Sell TSLA Apr 150 p 90
Sell QQQ May 172 c 57

Sell SPY May 277 c 67
Sell CMG Apr 360 c 52

Sell AAPL May 190 c
Sell AMZN Apr 1550 c 505

Tue On Monday, SPY touched the 200 day moving average. We bounce today. I mangle some Amazon trades. The results are okay, but could have been so much better. After all the dust, I about break even on Amazon trades for 2018. Considering how volatile the stock has been, and how badly I have traded it, it feels like a minor miracle. By the close, my account is up 3.8% for the day (after -4.5% on Monday).

Sell AMZN Apr 1575 c 370
Sell AMZN May 1700 c 685

Sell AMZN May 1000 p 490

Cover AMZN Apr 1600 c 325 for gain
Cover AMZN Apr 1575 c 305 for day trade gain

Wed Another crazy day, as the market gaps down at the open then rallies most of the day. Will we get a follow through up day? Or more crazy making?

Sell AMZN Apr 1600 c 120
Sell BA Apr 350 c 99

Sell BA May 250 p 113
Sell AMZN Apr 1000 p 60

Sell AAPL May 145 p 83
Sell SPY May 235 p 100

Sell QQQ May 135 p 54
Sell TSLA Apr 200 p 60

Cover AMZN Apr 1550 c 405 for gain
Cover AMZN May 1750 c 380 for gain

Thu Rally has legs. Third up day in a row for the first time in a month. I adjust several positions, selling new layers of puts, covering some calls, all for profit.

Sell SPY May 242 p 140
Sell QQQ May 142 p 101

Sell BA May 285 p 278
Sell BRKB May 180 p 115

Sell AMZN Apr 1200 p 199

Cover AAPL Apr 182.5 c 54 for profit
Cover BA Apr 360 c 99 for profit
Cover SPY May 285 c 39 for profit

Fri Another hard down day. The open is modestly lower then the selling picks up steam. The market does come off the worst levels. I cover two legs for a profit, to reduce long delta, reduce risk.

Cover QQQ Apr 143 p 43 for profit
Cover SPY Apr 245 p 103 for profit near worst levels of the day :(