Weekly: Profits at Tiffany’s

Another positive week for me. TIF gaps higher on earnings. I sell puts. I added longs in oil producers, only to see oil tumble on Friday.

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 day on easing trade tensions. Markets up but off their highs.
Sell AMZN Jul 1350 p 600

Sell SPY Jun29 255 p 74
Sell BA Jun 325 p 104

Sell SHAK 52.5 p 26 new long
Sell IWM Jul 148 p 64

Sell TSLA Jun1 250 p 88
Sell BA Jul 310 p 161

Tue Sell BA Jul 415 c 78
Sell TSLA Jun1 315 c 35

Wed Tiffany’s and Lowes up on earnings.
Sell TIF Jul 105 p 56
Sell LOW Jun 85 p 20

Sell SPY Jun22 282 c 19
Sell WYNN Jul 165 p 96

Sell JPM Jun 100 p 16
Sell BRKB Jul 170 p 43

Sell NFLX Jun 305 p 114
Sell NVDA Jun 205 p 29

Sell BABA Jul 165 p 61
Sell TIF Jun 115 p 65 add

Thu North Korea peace talks on hold. Market falls then rallies off the lows.
Sell WFC Jul 47.5 p 19
Sell ULTA Jun 200 p 55

Sell CAT Jul 135 p 78
Sell SPY Jun29 282 c 20

Sell TSLA Jun8 230 p 84
Sell CMG Jun 395 p 90

Sell TGT Jul 60 p 21
Sell NFLX Jun22 315 p 172

Sell INTC Jun 50 p 14
Sell VLO Jul 100 p 29

Sell HFC Jul 60 p 30
Sell XOP Jul 35 p 18

Fri Sell QQQ Jun29 157 p 55
Sell SPY Jul 286 c 18

Sell SPY Jun 280 c 14
Sell SPY Jul6 254 p 78

Monthly: best so far 104-7, Grade A-

This is my best month of the year so far. Up about 3.4% for the month. I count 104 winners 7 losers, self grade A-. The losers include some whipsaw action in AAPL and BA.

Here are some etfs that I track:
IWM +6.2% Russell 2000 U.S. small cap
SPY +2.0% S&P 500 U.S. large cap

GLD -1.0% gold
EEM -2.2% emerging markets equity

SLV -3.2% silver
TLT -7.6% U.S. 20 year treasuries

My portfolio +6.2% year to date, so quite respectable. It is interesting that the two U.S. stock etfs are up for the year, the other four are now down.

I took on more risk in April and May and it paid off. In particular I sold strangles on AMZN. The high dollar value, translates into tail risk, on a market shaking move.

My directional trades haven’t been very good. The minor adjustment to rebalance with layers further out in time seems to be working. Before I was selling short term premium and sometimes getting whipsawed.

For now it is still a bull market. However, one troubling shift in sentiment on Reddit, is more posts about trading for a living, and novices encouraging other novices to jump in with limited capital. This is the kind of sentiment shift that occurs at market tops. I’m not predicting, but between that and some recent Etrade commercials about yachts and a wealthy lifestyle, are what we see at tops. There remains healthy skepticism, so it is isn’t all red lights. The recent eight straight up days, shows there is still money to come in.

Weekly: Flat is good

A flat week is good news for me. After last week’s scalding hot rally market, the eighth rally day comes on Monday, but then the market sputters. I add more oil producer longs, but still a small position. Many of my AMZN positions expire for 100% gains. I still have the first position, a Jun 1350/1400/1450 put butterfly. That original trade is down a bit, is near delta neutral, defined risk.

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 Eight rally days in a row. I close out another leg for a big loss.
Cover QQQ May 170 c 128 for big loss

Sell WYNN Jun 170 p 70
Sell SPY Jun 258 p 68

Sell CAT Jun 135 p 40
Sell HFC Jun 60 p 30 new long in Holly Frontier Corp

Sell VLO Jun 105 p 56
Sell UNH Jun 210 p 32

Sell NVDA May25 235 p 54
Sell NFLX Jun 280 p 83

Sell SPY May 267 p 18
Sell TGT Jun 62.5 p 31

Tue First down day in a while.
Sell NVDA May25 277.5 c 17
Sell QQQ Jul 182 c 26

Sell SPY Jul 290 c 24
Sell SPY Jun1 280 c 17

Sell TSLA May25 327.5 c 34
Sell WYNN Jun 220 c 26

Wed Sell MU Jun 45 p 23
Sell SPG Jul 135 p 61

Sell SPY Jun8 259 p 48
Sell QQQ Jun22 155 p 58

Fri Sell BA Jul 290 p 108

Weekly: 7 up days in a row

Seven up days in the row are a bit too much heat. SPY up about 2% for the week. My account up about half that. I close out several sold calls for big losses. For this Goldilocks, the soup is a bit too hot. Profit is a profit, but more profit tends to be more better.

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 Market opens higher, then gives up most of the gains. I take a loss on some sold AAPL calls.

Cover AAPL May 185 c 361 for big loss
Cover BA May 360 c for profit

Sell QQQ Jun8 153 p 61
Sell SPY Jun8 250 p 70

Sell FB May 167.5 p 40
Sell QQQ May 158 p 30

Sell AAPL Jul 165 p 100
Sell SPY Jun29 243 p 103

Sell BA May 320 p 140
Sell HES 52.5 p 37 new long

Sell IWM Jun 145 p 47

Tue Cover BA May 355 c 82 for break even profit
Sell TSLA MayW4 245 p 88

Wed Stock market rallies runs too hot. I take a loss on one leg of sold Boeing calls, and take profits on some sold QQQ calls.

Sell AAPL Jun 170 p 63
Sell FB Jun 165 p 73
Sell FB May 172.5 p 32

Sell LMT Jun 290 p 110
Sell QQQ Jun8 156 p 52

Sell SPY Jun8 255 p 64
Sell to close SPY Jun 250 p 68 for big loss

Cover BA May 345 c 505 for big loss
Cover QQQ May 172 c 26 for profit

Thu Market rally rolls on for sixth day in a row. The temperature continues to be too hot for me. I take big losses on sold calls on AAPL, FB, SPY. Three legs closed for huge losses. The bright side is that I eek out a gain for the day, despite being burned by the too hot market.

Sell SPY Jun1 259 p 51
Sell NFLX Jun1 297.5 155

Sell BABA Jun 170 p 44 new long
Sell SPY May25 262 p 39

Sell QQQ Jun 157 p 63
Sell AAPL Jun 175 p 93

Sell COST Jun 170 p 42 new long
Sell IWM JunW1 152.5 p 30

Sell SPY Jul 248 p 119
Sell QQQ Jul 150 p 86

Roll AAPL for huge debit: Cover AAPL Jun 190 c for big loss
Sell AAPL Jun 205 c 63

Cover FB May 185 c 237 for big loss
Cover SPY May 272 c 190 for big loss

Fri Sell NVDA May 230 p 23 earnings
Sell SPY Jun22 254 p 81

Weekly: The Big Buy Button

For the week, I eek out a small gain despite feeling out of synch most of the week. On Thursday, it is as if someone hit a massive buy button. The DJIA moves up about 800 points in less than two days. Highlights of the week include taking a loss on some some ULTA calls, discomfort in AAPL as it rallies, a quick hit profit shorting GILD, a big loss on a long call leg in BA.

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 Market rally at the open fades. I get whipsawed on ULTA, covering for a loss only to see it reverse lower.

Sell BA May 360 c 83
Sell MCD May 150 p 18

Sell QQQ Jun 145 p 76
Sell SPY MayW2 275 p 40

Sell UNH Jun 210 p 74
Cover ULTA May 255 c 640 for big loss

Tue Sell in May? I lighten up a bit by selling calls.
Sell BA Jun 375 c 78
Sell BA May 355 c 86

Sell FB May 185 c 36
Sell LMT May 345 c 15

Sell QQQ May 170 c 15
Sell SPY May 272 c 36

Wed Apple earnings good. Gilead not good. I short GILD add AAPL longs

GILD vertical for 110 debit: Buy GILD Jun 65 p 152
Sell GILD Jun 60 p 42

Sell AAPL May 160 p 27
Sell AAPL Jun 155 p 58

Sell FB Jun 155 p 77
Sell DVN Jun 32 p 20 new long

Sell COST Jun 170 p 70
Sell AAPL May 165 p 39

Sell VLO Jun 97.5 p 43

Sell TSLA strangles: Sell TSLA May 195 p 50 50
Sell TSLA May 380 c 21

Sell-to-close BA Jun 350 c 298 for big loss

Cover SPY May 252 p 65 for profit
Cover SPY MayW2 252 p 32 for profit

Thu Whipsaw action as the market moves sharply lower then rebounds a bit.
Sell AAPL JunW1 160 p 48

Sell AAPL Jun 190 c 52

Sell BA Jun 290 p 233
Sell BA May 345 c 90 this leg doubles by the end of the day

Sell SPY MayW4 274 c 22
Sell TSLA May 340 c 20

Close GILD vertical 162 for profit Jun 65/60 put vertical
I take the money and run, 40% one day profit on this long premium trade

Cover BA Jun 375 c 74 for profit

Fri Apple up on news of Warren Buffett adding more shares. It gets uncomfortable.
Sell AAPL May 167.5 p 40
Sell AAPL Jun 165 p 94

Sell NFLX strangles 163: Sell NFLX Jun 370 c
Sell NFLX Jun 250 p

Sell QQQ Jun 148 p 68
Sell SPY MayW4 251 p 57

Sell BA MayW4 297.5 p 107

Add more legs as NFLX rallies: Sell NFLX May 275 p 33

Sell NFLX Jun1 280 p 121

Sell SPY Jun1 251 p 63

Sell QQQ Jun1 153 p 52

Sell TSLA May 240 p 93
Cover AAPL May 190 c 73 for break even loss

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 :(

Weekly: The rabbit hole called AMZN

I feel like Alice in Wonderland as I venture down the rabbit hole of Amazon. I came into the week with a butterfly, a near delta neutral position with limited risk. On Monday, I sold some AMZN puts naked. I spent the rest of the week doing damage control, suffering terrible draw downs. The selling of puts, even though high probability, weren’t a wise move. Not with the markets so crazy.

By the end of the week, I am up 3%, I’d say it was mostly luck. I closed some legs on various stocks, for losers as the market gyrated up, down and all around.

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 as trade tensions ease. I scramble to stay long.
Sell BRKB May 175 p 129
Sell TSLA Apr 350 c 125

Sell INTC Apr 46 p 24
Sell AMZN Apr 1200 p 270

Sell CAT Apr 120 p 32
Sell BRKB Apr 180 p 62

Sell AAPL Apr 150 p 38
Sell SPY May 230 p 107

Sell QQQ May 140 p 85
Sell IWM May 130 p 54

Sell AMZN May 1250 p 1160

Tue A demoralizing day for me. The Monday rally turned out to be a massive head fake, especially for some tech stocks. I lose virtually all of Monday’s gains. The big losers include: Tesla, Amazon, Nvidia, QQQ. I add delta on Apple, Boeing, cover some calls on Berkshire, then the market turns sour.

Cover BRKB Apr 200 c for gain, but it was part of a complex position
Sell AAPL Apr 160 p 88

Sell BA May 270 p 235
Sell AMZN Apr 1750 c 190

Sell AMZN Apr 1700 c 380
Sell NVDA Apr 260 c 108

Sell NFLX AprW1 340 c 51
Sell QQQ May 175 c 54

Sell INTC Apr 57 c 16
Sell IWM May 164 c 40

Sell BA Apr 360 c 120
Cover TLSA MarW5 285 p 1069 for loss

Wed Down the rabbit hole I go. Declines in AMZN, NFLX and others leads to another bad day. I finish down 1.9%. Yikes.

Sell AMZN Apr 1600 c
Sell AMZN May 1750 c 1085

Cover QQQ Apr 158 p 481 for loss

Thu A relief rally before the market holiday on Good Friday. I am up 4.7% for the day. I end the week up about 3% for the week. Still down about 4% for 2018.

Sell AMZN Apr 1600 c 765
Sell COST May 170 p 114

Sell FB Apr 135 p 49
Sell NVDA Apr 180 p 37

Cover AMZN Apr 1600 c 550 for profit
Cover AMZN Apr 1600 c 690 for profit

Weekly: FFFF Facebook, Fed, fade and F

Down 7% for me this week. Whack, whack, whack. Hermosa Beach, CA residents may remember a bar that went by the acronym FFFF (Fat Face Fenners Falloon). This stock market week started with Facebook, then the Fed, then the huge fade on Thursday and Friday. Use your imagination for additional F’s.

Gamma did me in, as delta expanded on the sharp decline. Friday’s decline caught me by surprise. I thought we might get a balancing day, but down we went. After poking my head above break even for the year, down 7% for a week is horrible. I didn’t do anything incredibly stupid. However, being long and wrong, with volatility expanding, and it ended up as a very bad week.

Astrology fans can take note that Mercury went retrograde on 3/22/18 Thursday, and goes back to direct on 4/15/18.

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 Facebook gaps lower on news
Sell QQQ May 184 c 33
Sell QQQ Apr 180 c 18

Sell SPY May 290 c 39
Sell FB Apr 195 c 40

Sell TSLA MarW5 350 c 60
Sell IWM May 168 c 34

Sell BRKB Apr 220 c 36

Wed FedEx up after earnings
Sell FDX Apr 230 p 89
Sell FDX Apr 280 c 40

Sell FB Apr 125 p 19
Sell FB Apr 195 c 20

Sell ULTA Apr 190 p 65
Sell CMG Apr 290 p 70

Sell SPG May 130 p 62

AMZN butterfly June 1450/1400/1350 puts for debit
Buy AMZN Jun 1350 p 2309
Sell 2x AMZN Jun 1400 p 3218 each
Buy AMZN Jun 1450 p 4430

Thu Crunch. Market gap down, then close near their lows. SPY down about 2.5% for the day. Gamma bites me and I am down 4.2% for the day. Yikes. Nothing got stopped out, but a whole lot of pain. The new positions from Wed, especially FDX are deep in the red. I sell some calls but the small premiums are almost nothing compared to the decline.

Sell SPY Apr 281 c 37
Sell QQQ Apr 176 c 23

Sell FDX Apr 265 c 69
Sell BRKB Apr 215 c 57

Sell FB Apr 190 c 42
Sell AAPL Apr 185 c 43

Sell QQQ May 180 c 42
Sell BA May 385 c 193

Sell BA Apr 365 c 105
Sell SPY May 285 c 49

Sell CAT Apr 165 c 52

Fri Market opens flat then tumbles into the close. Another day at the whipping post for me, down another 3%. Astrology fans might take note that Mercury went retrograde yesterday. SPY down 5% since then. My account down 7%. Mercury goes direct 4-15-2018. Not sure if I can stand another couple of weeks of this. I cover three legs for losses, sticking to my stop loss levels. These are ball buster losses 600% to 1000%. Especially FDX which I just sold to open two days ago.

Sell ULTA Apr 230 c 62
Sell IWM Apr 161 c 32

Sell BRKB May 210 c 191
Sell BRKB shares for 193.64 per for gain

Sell AAPL 182.5 c 57
Sell SPY Apr 275 c 52

Sell QQQ Apr 172 c 37
Sell BRKB Apr 175 p 100

SPY backratio for small credit: Buy SPY Jun 250 p 644
Sell 2x SPY Jun 235 p 361 each
Sell SPY Jun 282 c 85

Sell CAT Apr 110 p 24
Sell COST Apr 195 c 51

Sell FB Apr 185 c 43

Monthly: back to black, 63 – 8 grade C+

I count 63 winners, 8 losers for the March option cycle. I am back to positive for the year. So happy St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate my poke into green territory for 2018. SPY is up more than I am, but gains are better than losses.

One slight adjustment I decided upon was to go further out in time for rebalancing adjustments. This helps during see-saw markets. Shorter term adjustments can be better during trending markets, because I would make more of them. Grade is C+, because I have a lot of room for improvement.

Here are a few etfs I track (best to worst):
EEM +4.4% Emerging markets equity
IWM +3.5% US small cap Russell 2000

SPY +3.1% US large cap SP500
GLD +0.8% gold

SLV -3.8% silver
TLT -5.6% US 20 year Treasury bonds

My trading account up a few dollars, 0.0% percent when using the formula. So I am lagging buy and hold for 2018, but it is a lot better than behind the 8-ball and being down 5% or 10% for the year. The year is full of woulda coulda shoulda moments. Trading is so easy in hindsight, but few do so well in real time. Yes, there are a handful of unicorns with remarkable talent and/or luck. For average folks, average returns, average losses are what most of us experience.

One story to share is that the wild market swings of February led to insomnia. During one sleepless night, someone on the radio was extolling the benefits of meditation. Since that time, I have been meditating maybe five minutes a day. It seems to be helping. I use a fitness watch to track my sleep. Since I started meditating I’ve had more deep sleep, higher quality sleep. As always YMMV, but so far my experience with meditation has been a positive one. Like so many people, I had difficulty doing it, but like so many things in life, a little effort goes a long way.

Weekly: Whipsaw

I close out three legs during the week for a loss. In all three cases it was near the worse levels and the underlying reversed. The markets settled a bit. I made money, but obviously would have made more had I waited until end of day before honoring the stop stop levels.

The good news, is that I now ever so slightly in the green for the year. I am still lagging buy and hold of SPY, but green is a whole lot better than the draw down levels I saw earlier in the year.

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 Sell SPY AprW1 262 p 75
Sell IWM May 141 p 87
Sell QQQ Apr 158 p 71

Tue Whipsaw. Market opens higher than moves lower. I cover two call legs near the day’s highs, only to see the market reverse lower. After the bull has left the barn, I sell some calls to rebalance my deltas.

Cover QQQ Mar 175 c 129 for a 500% loss
Cover SPY Mar 280 c 140 for a 400% loss

Also near the highs I roll BRKB covered calls:
Cover BRKB Mar 200 c 1230 for profit
Sell BRKB Apr 200 c 1400

After the bull has left the barn I sell some calls. Whack-a-mole, and I am the mole today.
Sell SPY May 295 c 51

Sell QQQ May 190 c 23
Sell BA Apr 390 c 77

Sell NFLX AprW1 375 c 63
Sell VIX Apr 50 c 15

Wed It is Ground Hog day for me in Boeing. Stops are run, I cover one leg for a huge loss, stock rebounds. It reminds me of Charlie Brown, Lucy Van Pelt from the Peanuts. Lucy puts out the football for Charlie to kick and always pulls it away as he runs up.

Cover BA Mar 325 p 565 for 1000% loss
Sell BA Apr 265 p 99

Sell BA AprW1 375 c 61
Sell BA Apr 380 c 113

Fri Sell TSLA MarW5 285 p 143

Weekly: Goldilocks plus 5

A good week for the bulls. SPY up 3.5% for the week. My account up about 4.1%. I am still down a tiny bit for the year, so I have more work to do. Overall, the week was a huge disappointment for stock market bears. The resignation of a top Trump advisor had the bears licking their chops, but the decline was shallow and short. A booming melt up rally on Friday, fried many bears. I took a loss on one leg of sold calls, and many others are deep in the red. I kept adding long delta, by selling way out of the money puts.

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 Market opens lower, then rallies.
Sell BA Apr 400 c 100
Sell NFLR Mar 260 p 59

Sell COST Mar 172.5 p 52 ahead of earnings
Sell QQQ Apr 149 p 77

Sell SPY Apr 247 p 128
Sell BA Apr 300 p 196

Sell TSLA MarW4 275 p 71
Sell SPY Mar 257 p 43

Tue Sell NFLX Mar 280 p 93
Sell COST MarW1 177.5 p 41 add

Sell NFLX AprW1 275 p 244
Sell QQQ May 145 p 103

Sell SPY May 238 p 144
Sell IWM May 135 p 90

Wed Trump economic advisor resigns. U.S. markets gap down at the open. SPY closes unchanged for the day, a huge disappointment for the bears.

Sell ADSK Mar 120 p 31 Autodesk higher on earnings.

Thu Costco slightly lower after earnings. WYNN up after an analyst meeting.

Sell COST Mar 195 c 15
Sell IBB Apr 100 p 50

Sell WMT Apr 97.5 c 27
Sell WYNN Apr 140 p 64

Sell WYNN Mar 160 p 22
Sell MCD Apr 175 c 16

Fri A jobs report, detente with North Korea, spark a massive stock market rally. I cover one sold call leg for a loss, and add long delta through out the day.

Cover QQQ Mar 172 c 145 for loss
Sell NVDA Apr 200 p 124

Sell AAPL Apr 155 p 43
Sell NFLX Mar 300 p 100

Sell BRKB Apr 195 p 101
Sell IWM Apr 145 p 62

Sell QQQ May 250 p 144
Sell IBB Apr 103 p 51

Sell BRKB Jun 185 p 143
Sell NFLX MarW4 295 p 104

Sell COST Apr 170 p 67
Sell SPY Apr 257 p 93

Sell WYNN Apr 160 p 143
Sell SPY Apr 252 p 96

Sell SPY May 250 p 144
Sell QQQ Apr 155 p 77

Weekly: Down again

I lose about 2.5% for the week. Now down about 5% for the year. I bite on Monday’s rally. Really a rough week.

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 rolls on. I continue to add long positions.
Sell QQQ Mar 158 p 41
Sell SPY MarW2 264 p 44

Sell QQQ MarW4 155 p 44
Sell BRKB Apr 190 p 101

Sell BA MarW5 310 p 95

Sell SPY MarW1 269 p 16
Sell SPY MarW2 266 p 42

Sell BRKB Mar 195 p 30
Sell SPY Mar 262 p 55

Sell QQQ AprW1 155 p 68
Sell NFLX MarW4 250 p 128

Sell DIS Mar 100 p 15
Sell CAT MarW5 145 p 54

Sell UNH Apr 190 p 51
Sell WMT Apr 80 p 23

Sell AAPL MarW5 160 p 38
Sell IBB Apr 93 p 31

Sell SPY AprW1 250 p 67
Sell QQQ MarW2 160 p 23

Sell SPY MarW4 268 p 52
Sell IWM MarW5 142 p 39

Tue Revenge of the bears, as markets close near the lows.
Sell DIS Mar 113 c 13
Sell AAPL MarW5 200 c 19

Sell SPY MarW2 285 c 15
Sell QQQ MarW2 175 c 18

Sell TGT Apr 90 c 24

Wed See-saw market goes back to the bears. I get suckered into the morning rally, making for a frustrating day.

Sell CAT MarW5 180 c 15

Sell BA AprW1 300 p 70
Sell BA Mar 325 p 56

Sell BRKB Mar 200 p 52
Sell SPY Mar 285 c 17

Sell IWM Apr 165 c 181

Thu Yikes! Markets move lower after new tariffs are announced. I close out two legs for big losses. Stop level is the strike price. Not a time to fool around. SPY down about 1.5% today, my account more like 2.5%. Ouch.

Cover SPY MarW1 269 p 205 for loss
Cover SPY MarW2 268 p 354 for loss

Sell WMT Apr 100 c 28
Sell SPY Apr 290 c 33

Sell SPY MarW2 280 c 15
Sell IBB Apr 118 c 45

Sell SPY Apr 285 c 68
Sell CAT Mar 165 c 50

Sell BRKB Apr 220 c 122
Sell QQQ Mar 175 c 20

Sell SPY Mar 280 c 26
Sell DIS Mar 109 c 18

Fri TGIF at least at the close. At the open it was more red ink. I finish down about 2.5% for the week. Ouch.

I cover more legs for losses, mechanically following my mental stops. Again, not a time to be fooling around, playing hunches. Rules are in place to protect the overall account. Rule #1 is to live to trade another day.

Cover BRKB Mar 200 p 395 for loss
Cover SPY MarW2 266 p 388 for loss

Sell BA Mar 385 c 54
Sell CAT MarW4 170 c 30
Sell MCD Apr 120 p 26