Well Puts

I sold some October 15 strike calls on my DSX position. There is a lot of resistance around $15 and I want to grab some premium while I can. I have a tendency of missing out on opportunities to sell calls so I got a little more aggressive on this one. Either way I will get the premium and I don’t mind if this is called away at $15. I’m still long DRYS and TBSI so I have plenty of exposure to shippers.

If DSX pulls back to the 50 day SMA I would consider selling more puts.

I bought to close the September JASO puts I was short. A couple days ago I was nearly ready to close out with a loss, but JASO (JA Solar) managed a stellar comeback. JASO has a pretty good chance of making it up to the $4.80 area but I didn’t feel like holding with only 2 more days until expiration. I wanted to grab a profit while I still had it.

I sold these back on July 23rd at .85 and bought them back at .55. That is a net return of 6.00% for about 7 weeks. *

* This is based on the premium I received from the sale of the options (less commissions) and the capital set aside to pay for their possible assignment.

I sold to open WFR October 17.50 puts. The 50 day SMA has flattened out and started to rise. A breakout this morning on higher volume prompted the trade. $17.50 is a good support level too. Plenty of room on the daily chart with $20.75 being the next major resistance.

Long NRF (NorthStar Realty Finance Corp) at $3.58. Pullback to 38.2% Fibonacci retracement and rising 50 day SMA. Support at $3.30.

A week to go before September expiration and I have a lot of puts expiring. I need to plan out what I’m holding through expiration and what I need to make adjustments on. The market has been up for every day for a week now and a pullback seems imminent. However, the market doesn’t care what I think and this could continue. I need a plan either way.

Oil & Gas Equipment & Services

BAS was a lottery pick no doubt about it. I’m short the Sep 7.50 puts and there is a good chance I could be put this stock but after the melt-up this morning I’m not so sure. I’m holding for now.

SII is also moving according to plan. I’m short the Sep 25 strike puts. I see no reason to adjust this position at this point.

Semiconductors

ENER
There is a chance I will be put ENER at 12.50 but I’m fine with that. ENER had a really big move on very high volume back on the 8th. It is currently battling the declining 50 day SMA so I need to be concerned with that. If put the stock I will likely look to immediately sell 13 or 14 strike calls on it.

JASO
The JASO and ENER charts look pretty similar. JASO was more of a gamble as I sold these puts well in the money to begin with (Sep 5 puts). Selling short ITM puts can be a very profitable strategy but you have to be very careful. I did this successfully with JASO back on June 24th and bought them back on August 11th.

There was a lot of volume on that recent push to 4 and I’m hoping this is some consolidation. If it can’t get back above 4.10 before expiration I’m getting out or rolling them to October.

Metals and Minerals

RTI I’m short the Sep 17.50 puts. This is moving nicely. Higher highs and higher lows, no adjustments necessary.

Medical Instruments and Supplies

BEAT was a ridiculous trade and I am little embarrassed to even have it on here. I’m embarrassed because the reasons I entered the trade completely go against my rules. However, it is moving in my favor and it looks to have absorbed the 50 day SMA. High volume on recent rallies might suggest accumulation.

ETF

UNG
I am short some UNG 14 strike calls that should expire well OTM. UNG continues to rip, but I’m still staying away until that 50 day SMA flattens out. I will look to sell Oct 14 calls after expiration.

I closed out my TBSI puts I sold short back on August 24th. You can see from the chart that TBSI moved back to the 61.8% retracement level from the June 2nd high. I also feel TBSI is pretty overextended on a short-term basis and I want to lock this in while I can. This lowers my cost basis to $8.59 on my original long position I was assigned at 10.

Longer term I feel TBSI still has some room to go. The moving averages are all lined up nicely and there was some insider buying back at the end of August as well. I am still long the stock but I decided to close out my puts because there are several weeks to go before Oct expiration and the bid on them is .05. This frees up some cash I can put to work on something else. The other shippers I am holding are doing very well too (DRYS, DSX).

I sold these at .85 and bought them back at .10. That gives me a net return of 7.13% in just over 2 weeks. *

* This is based on the premium I received from the sale of the options (less commissions) and the unmargined capital set aside to pay for their possible assignment.

I sold to open AMB Oct 20 Puts. AMB has a rising 50 day MA and it just completed a 50% retracement on the hourly chart. AMB also has strong support at $20 on the daily chart. The 20 strike gives me a little room to maneuver.

It is very, very tempting to sell some UNG puts this afternoon. However, I’m not going to sell any puts until I see some of those short-term moving averages flatten out. UNG imploded far worse than I expected, but the market doesn’t care what I expect and UNG can still fall much further. If 9.00 does turn out to be the bottom then happy days.

I still don’t feel too much pain because my cost-basis is $11.52. I was put some UNG at 13 and 14 at August expiration and I still have plenty of cash to add to this when I’m ready.

I bought-to-close the CRS 17.50 puts I sold back in August. I wasn’t comfortable holding through expiration. I’m pretty happy with this trade – sold at .80 and bought back at .10 for a net return of 2.77% in one month. *

* Return is based on the premium I received from the sale of the options (less commissions) and the capital set aside to pay for their possible assignment.