Sell to open CENX June 11 puts. This is a little further out than I normally go. Small position. Looking for some diversification.
Century Aluminum Company, through its subsidiaries, produces primary aluminum in the United States, Iceland, and internationally. The company offers molten aluminum, as well as standard-grade ingot, extrusion billet, and other value-added primary aluminum products. It also holds a 40% joint venture interest in a carbon anode and cathode facility located in China. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Monterey, California.
CENX Daily/Weekly
Sell to open AEO May 12.50 puts. I sold some Abercrombie (ANF) puts in my cash account on the 8th. This trade was in my IRA. Same theme – apparel stores.
AEO Daily/Weekly
Sell to open ANF May 40 strike puts. Weekly indicator fired yesterday. Earnings on 2/16. Support at 40. Rising 100 day.
ANF Daily/Weekly
Sell to open WSM May 27 strike puts. Indicator on the weekly chart fired. Rising 100 day and support at 28. I like Williams-Sonoma. I buy a lot of stuff from them – not necessarily a good reason to buy their stock. A catalog with recipes. Brilliant.
WSM Daily/Weekly Chart
Here are a couple of opportunities you may want to consider for a neutral-to-bullish bias. I had short put orders in on both but they didn’t fill. I was looking at June expiration. I don’t usually go that many months out and I didn’t want to get too aggressive as this rally seems a bit long-in-the-tooth.
Commercial Metals Company (CMC) – June 13 strike didn’t fill.
CMC Daily/Weekly Chart
Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (HLX) – June 9 strike didn’t fill.
HLX Daily/Weekly
Sell to open May 9 strike puts and May 13 strike calls. These are covered calls. I have a neutral bias over the next few months. Anticipating range-bound between 9 and 13.
CHS Daily/Weekly Chart
Sell to open LPS March 25 strike puts. I wrote these yesterday and didn’t get around to posting it until now. I have a bullish-to-neutral bias on LPS. These are pretty far out of the money but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any risk. Support at 29 and then again at 26.
LPS Daily/Weekly Chart
It is payday once again. I had the following options expire in January 2011. January was a good month indeed. I think you could have sold puts on about anything during this rally and you wouldn’t have had to worry about assignment.
I will be using weekly charts for this analysis. I find the weekly chart best suits my timeframe as it filters out the noise from a chart with daily bars. My indicators seem less ‘chatty’ on a weekly chart too.
American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) Jan 2011 22.5 Puts expired out of the money. I wrote these back on 09/08/2010. You can see AMSC took a beating starting about the beginning of November but I had sold these so far OTM that assignment wasn’t really ever a concern for me. 4 month return of 5.2%*.
AMSC Weekly
Chico’s FAS Inc. (CHS) Jan 2011 12.5 Calls expired OTM. These were covered calls. I will probably turn around and sell more calls right away. CHS is currently on my watchlist for another short-put trade as well. I might sell some more puts next week if it holds that trendline. 4 week return of 2.8% *.
CHS Weekly
La-Z-Boy Inc. (LZB) Jan 2011 7.5 Puts expired OTM. I wrote these on 10/6. 3 month return of 9.5% *. LZB is on my watchlist as well but options are thin and bid/ask is wide. I will probably stay away.
LZB Weekly
McMoRan Exploration Co. (MMR) Jan 2011 11.0 Puts expired OTM. I wrote these on 10/28. 3 month return of 2.8% *.
MMR Weekly
Xerox Corp. (XRX) Jan 2011 7.5 Puts expired OTM. I wrote these on 9/9. XRX will immediatly go on my list for next week again.
XRX Weekly
* The return is calculated using the premium I received from the sale of the options (less commissions) and the capital required to pay for their possible assignment.
Sell to open JOSB April 35 puts. I’d been watching this for about a week to see if it would bounce off that channel. Apparel stores have been hammered of late. Watching CHS and ANF as well.
JOSB Weekly
Sell to open JASO March 6 puts. Solar stocks upgraded yesterday. I wanted to put this trade in yesterday but I wasn’t at my desk. I also have CSIQ on my watchlist. I’m going with JASO for now.
JASO Daily/Weekly
