Weekly: chop chop

For those that celebrate, Happy Easter and Happy Passover.

The market continues its choppiness. I get chopped up a bit more in UNH. UNH gapped higher on news, then gave that all up, and I traded against the moves and it cost me a bit. I opened up some May strangles on AMBA, IWM, and XOM. I add to longs in ASH. That's it for a quiet week for me. Futures gapped lower on the Good Friday employment news, so next week may be interesting.

Here are the trades (p = put, c = call, sell means sell to open, all are third week of expiration):

Thu Sell AMBA strangles: May 60 p / May 95 c @74.9

I sell May strangles on Ambarella. AMBA has been a strong stock. It is a bit extended on the upside. The strangle skews towards the bullish side.

Sell XOM strangles: May 77.5 p / May 90 c @84.4 

I sell May strangles on Exxon Mobil. XOM seems to be finding a bottom, but upside seems limited. This strangle also skews bullish.

Sell ASH May 110 p @127.3 35 I add to longs by opening a May position in Ashland.

Wed Sell IWM strangles: May 111 p / May 132 c @124.0

I sell strangles on the Russell 2000 etf. This is a bet on a trading range. The put is near the 90% probability of profit line, the call at 93% probability.

Mon Sell UNH Apr 115 p @122.2. Rebalance short strangles on United Healthcare. When is good news, bad news? When you are short calls and the stock gaps higher. Cheese. I am short 124 and 125 strike puts. Will close each on a close above each price level.