Well Puts

I had the following options expire in January. January was a good month. I don’t think I will be nearly as prosperous in February.

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO) The Jan 15 puts expired OTM. I wrote these back on 11/25/09 for a 7 week return of 5.28% *. AEO is back below the 100 day SMA. I might consider selling some more 15 strike puts if support holds. This will come off my watch list for now.

AEO Daily

Century Aluminum Co. (CENX) I wrote these puts in my IRA back on 11/18. They expired OTM for a 8 week return of 3.23% *. There is support at 12 and I might look to reenter this by selling March 10 or 12.50 puts.

CENX Daily

DryShips, Inc. (DRYS) The Jan 7.50 calls I wrote back on 12/02/09 expired OTM for a 6 week return of 2.16%. I had also sold some 6 strike puts as part of this trade but I closed them out at break even. DRYS is breaking down and I won’t sell any more puts at this point.

DRYS Daily

Diana Shipping Inc. (DSX) I wrote Jan 15 puts in my IRA back on 12/1. This is a 6 week return of 5.61% *. I still hold some DSX in my Roth. My cost-basis is $11.09.

DSX Daily

Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) The Jan 11 puts I wrote on 11/27/09 expired OTM. This was part of a trade adjustment I made to roll the Dec 12 puts to Jan 11. I also wrote Jan 11 puts in my IRA.

ENER Daily

Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) The Jan 22.50 puts I wrote on 12/08/09 expired OTM for a 5 week return of 2.63% *.

HBI Daily

RTI International Metals, Inc. (RTI) The Jan 17.50 puts I wrote back on 11/24/09 expired OTM. This is a 7 week return of 4.24% *.

RTI Daily

UAL Corporation (UAUA) The Jan 7.50 puts I wrote back on 12/01/09 expired OTM. This is a 6 week return of 6.56% *.

UAUA Daily

* 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.

I’m having a bit of a tough time finding anything suitable to fill my February inventory. The silver miners are looking pretty good – notably PAAS, SLW, SSRI, SVM, MVG, HL. The silver miners would have been timed better if the puts were written last week, but it was a busy week for me and I missed it. I still think the trade could be done on a few of these. I like PAAS and I’ve done well with that one in the past.

I’m also watching apparel stores like ANF and CHS. I sold some puts on AEO about a week ago and that trade has been working out. Some other miscellaneous stocks include CIG and HEAT. The chart for CIG is almost perfect but the 17.50 strike is too close to the money. HEAT might be a good trade later this week or next week.

No trades today. I’m feeling rushed today and I feel like I need to write some puts – not the right mindset to be in when I’m logged into my brokerage account.

Sell to open American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO) Jan 15 puts. Nice bounce off trendline support at $14.50 on higher volume. I’d prefer to have a little more cushion than the 15 strike but that was the only viable option at the current price.

AEO Hourly

AEO Daily