I had the following options expire in February. This was a fairly light month – they seem to alternate like that. January was pretty big, February light, and now I have a lot if inventory expiring in March – and April is light. Not sure why that is exactly. I need to focus on getting my April inventory filled in the next couple weeks.

AMR Corporation (AMR) – Feb 7 strike puts expired OTM. I’ve done well with AMR over the years – and airlines in general for that matter. The airline charts look horrible right now though. Probably the cost of fuel. I sold these back on 11/24. This is a 3 month return of 4.28% *. This will get moved back to my L3 list.

AMR Chart

Steel Dynamics Inc. (STLD) – Feb 13.00 puts expired OTM. I sold these back on 11/04. This is a 3.5 month return of 2.69% *. This will go back to my main watch list.

STLD

McMoRan Exploration Co. (MMR) – Feb 13.00 puts expired OTM. I sold these back on 12/21. This is a 2 month return of 2.46% *.

MMR

MGIC Investment Corp. (MTG) – Feb 9.00 puts expired OTM. I sold these on 1/3. BIG sell-off the week of Jan 17th as you can see from the chart. I believe it was an announcement regarding earnings but I honestly don’t know. This is exactly why I sell puts – you have control over your purchase price. I maintained composure and didn’t close these out. I’m short the March 7 strike puts in a different account. This is a 6 week return of 3.11% *.

MTG

* 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 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.

I made a few trade adjustments earlier this month and rolled CENX and GMXR forward and down:

• Century Aluminum Co. (CENX)
• GMX Resources Inc. (GMXR)

I also closed out of some short options positions early to lock in a profit and eliminate any risk of assignment.

• Ultra Financials (UYG)
• McMoRan Exploration Co. (MMR)

DryShips, Inc. (DRYS) – The DRYS November 6.00 puts I wrote at the end of September expired OTM. This is a 7 week return of 7.38%. *

DRYS is forming a wedge on the hourly chart – like just about every other chart I’m seeing right now. I might take another opportunity to sell more puts this coming week. Probably the January 5 strike. I should probably write some covered calls on the small position I’m holding too. I was hoping for a breakout much like DSX but it hasn’t formulated yet.

DRYS Hourly

My current cash position is at about 60%.

* 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.

MMR Hourly

* 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 actually had an order in yesterday after the breakout but it didn’t get filled. I tried again today on a low-volume pullback and caught a bid.

MMR Hourly