Winner winner Chipotle dinner

I stumble into a huge winner on CMG. I was assigned last Friday at 545 and sold Monday for 567. Other than that the week was quiet. Here are the trades: (c = calls, p = puts, sell means sell-to-open, last number is price per contract, all are third week expiration unless noted with a W).

Mon My lucky day as I sell CMG shares for a big winner.

Sell CMG shares @567.79

Sell BA Dec 135 p 31 reestablish long

Sell XOM Dec 70p 22 new long

Sell JBLU Dec 23 p 20 reestablish long

Sell AMZN Jan 555 p 277 rebalance

Tue Sell AMZN Jan 800 c 151

Sell FB DecW1 111 c 19

Sell IWM Jan 98 p 23

Sell MCD Dec 100 p 18

Wed Sell NKE Jan 110 p 48

Sell TSO Dec 103 p 38

Sell V Jan 70 p 28

Sell DIS Jan 97.5 p 28

Sell AMZN Dec 580 p 113

Fri Sell DIS Jan 130 c 37

Sell DIS Jan 92.5 p 33

Monthly: Big losers ruin the month, 52-7 Grade C-

I count 52 winners, 7 losers for the November option cycle. Unfortunately, some of the losers were big whoppers (CMG was the biggest loser) and my account was down a bit for the month. So the grade is C- which is below average. Overall, a disappointing month of trading. I have less time for the stock market during the fall. The time crunch will tend to get worse until Christmas.

The good news? I stayed relatively disciplined, following my trading rules and for the most part avoiding the temptation of revenge trading. Typical revenge trading is trying to make up for a loss by being more aggressive.

Weekly: Bush-whacked again

Two stop losses triggered near the worst levels, ruining my trading week. CMG and EXPE dipped then rallied. The dip taking some positions at near the worst levels. As I often write, this will happen to any trader that uses stop losses, or mental stops. The alternatives are not to use stops, or perhaps use time related stops. A few will even double down on losers. My schedule hasn't left all that much time for stock or option trading or blog updates. I'll do what I can but I few posts may be a day or two late.

Here are the trades from my sour week of trading (c = calls, p = puts, sell means sell-to-open, cover means buy-to-close, weeklies denoted by w suffix, NovW4 would be November week 4, all others are third week expiration)

Mon 11/16/15 Sell FB Nov 108 c 19

Sell EXPE Nov 130 c 28

Sell MCD Dec 95 p 32

Sell AMZN Dec 740 c 94

Tue Sell FB Dec 95 p 58

Sell V Dec 70 p 22

Two options cross their strike price and that is my mental stop. I get out for huge percentage losses:

Cover EXPE Nov 120 p 104 about a 300% loss

Cover CMG Nov 580 p 603 about a 600% loss. Ouch!

Sure I could hold and hope, but my trading plan is to cover if the sold option crosses over strike price. The most pain cases are when the stock immediately reverses. That ugly and painful scenario has happened more times than I want to think about.

Wed Sell FB DecW1 100 p 39

Thu Sell AMZN Dec 570 p 233

Sell NKE Dec 110 p 60

Fri Sell AAPL Dec 100 p 23

Weekly: Thoughts and prayers for Paris France

First, our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Paris France. Events on that scale, that keep investment losses or gains in perspective. 

The U.S. stock market tumbled. Some stocks such as Nordstroms JWN got hit incredibly hard. Part of me wants to say I saw it coming, but that might be revisionist hindsight thinking. Just a week ago, I wrote about missing the boat for the most recent rally. 

 

In any case, it was a decent time to be a chicken, and that may have been the best description for my market stance. I was down for the week, but the damage was modest. I some some strangles on AAPL, AMZN and FB, and went far out of the money. I believe every new position for the week is in the red, but that will tend to happen when the market moves down sharply.

Here are the trades: (c = calls, p = puts, sell means sell-to-open, all are third week expiration unless noted).

Mon 11/9/15 Sell BRKB Dec 125 p 53

Wed Sell CMG Nov 580 p 75

Sell AAPL Dec 90 p 25 (strangle)

Sell AAPL Dec 130 c 53

Sell AMZN Dec 550 p 136 (strangle)

Sell AMZN Dec 800 c 58

Thu Sell IWM Dec 100 p 21 (strangle)

Sell IWM Dec 124 c 17

Sell FB Dec 92.5 p 25 (strangle)

Sell FB Dec 125 c 20

Weekly: Missing the boat

For the most part I have been too cautious, too delta neutral during the recent big rally. I expected another leg down into late November. Instead, it has been rally mode for SPY and many stocks. AMZN has had a huge move after the earnings pop and I feel like I missed that boat and many others. Interest rates ticked higher this week after the employment report.

Highlights of a relatively quiet and tepid week of trading for me include small new long positions in FB and TSLA on earnings. I didn't have the guts to add to CMG on news and a downgrade. 

Here are the trades (c = calls, p = puts, sell means sell-to-open, weekly options have the W suffix, NovW2 means week two, all others are third week expration. The last number is price per contract.

Mon 11/2/15 Sell CMG Nov 690 c 35 rebalance as Chipotle moves down on news

Sell IBB Nov 280 p 55 rebalance

Sell DIS Dec 100 p 71 rebalance

Tue Sell DIS Nov 104 p 38 rebalance

Wed Sell TSLA NovW2 200 p 40 earnings

Sell SPY Nov 199 p 31 rebalance

Thu Sell FB Nov 100 p 28 earnings

Sell IWM Dec 104 p 43 add to longs

Sell DIS Dec 130 c 34 rebalance

Sell TSO Dec 95 p 57 rebalance