Monday, February 26, 2018

Sucessful $NVDA Bull Put Spread Roll

Opened on Nov 27th, 10 Bull Put Spread $207.50/$202.50 set to expire on Dec 1st when $NVDA was trading at $214 per share.  $NVDA took a nose dive in the next few days and closed at $198 per share on Dec 1st.

First Trade BPS $207.50/$202.50:  +$260 premium collected
Assigned shares of NVDA on Dec 1st:  -$5000 capital loss

On Dec 1st, 10 Bull Put Spread $190/$175 wider spread set to expire Mar 16, 2018. 

Second Trade BPS $190/$175:  +$5600 premium collected

Today, I closed $NVDA for 5c debit as $NVDA closed at $247 per share.  I could have waited till Mar 16th for it to expire worthless but after what happened last time, I decided to close early to lessen the burden on my margin as this BPS took 15000 instead of the 5000 margin requirement.  From this trade series, I profited $860.



NEW TRADE FOR FEB 26, 2018

Feb 26, 2018
2- Bull put spread on $LMT $145/$135 strikes 23MAR18: premium collected $251 on $2000 margin risk

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Trade Summary

I didn't make a single trade in January 2018.  My short puts on $WMT finally expired worthless after a bull put spread gone bad back in June 2015.  

My $AAPL cover call @ 175 (+$770 premium collected) also expired worthless on Feb 16, 2018 on a roll @ 165 (-$629.00 premium lost) on Nov 10, 2017.  I made $141 from this trade.  Original premium collected was $97.

Still have 10-Bull PUT spread on $NVDA strike @ $190/$175, expiry Mar 16, 2018.  This was a roll from gone bad, but if NVDA stays above $190, I stand to make $650.  



NEW TRADES FOR FEBRUARY 2018

Feb 14, 2018
5- Bull put spread on $FB $165/$160 strikes 16MAR18: premium collected $275 on $2500 risk

Feb 20, 2018
1- Cover call on $AAPL $182.50 strike 16MAR18:  premium collected $112.00
5- Bull put spread on $V $115/$110 strikes 23MAR18:  premium collected $190 on $2500 risk
1- Short put on $TD.TO $66 strike 20APR18: premium collected $53 on $6600 risk
1- Short put on $TD.TO $68 strike 20APR18: premium collected $75 on $6800 risk

I paid $12.43 in commissions for USD options and $3 in commission for CAD options for the trades mentioned above.



Thursday, February 15, 2018

Volatility of the Stock Markets

I cringed at the market drop last couple weeks.  My portfolio was climbing steadily till about Jan 22, 2018.  Investors/Traders were taking profits all time highs especially in $AAPL just before their earnings call on Feb 1st.  Each day, my portfolio would drop a few thousand here and there.  I started to doubt myself and thought I should have sold this and that at all time highs to lock in my gains.  When said and done, all this is paper profits until I sell my stocks.  Greed tends to get the better of me 90% of the time!

Some traders/investors would hit the sell button to stop the impending losses for the forthcoming days, but for me, I completely ignored the market.  I am happy to see the recovery in the last three days.  However, I need to lessen my margin risk and lock in my profits before we have another market drop.  Who knows what is in store for the next few months?