$SPY Options Action trade - scott

28 sep - on the web extra today , scott has a SPY trade in response to a viewer question, heres the clip web extra

Buy the Jan 143/130 put spread for 3.25

im not a big fan of going so far out for my protection, i would do a serious of put spreads vs one big one that far out. scott says he wants the protection to kick in right away, sure, this will gain a bit if market goes down next week, but so will a put spread thats for Oct opex. but lets look at if this protection "kicks in right away" come Jan opex. as shown in the video clip, the SPY needs to be at 139.75 at jan opex to "kick in right away"...so in other words you will suffer a 10% loss FIRST before you protection kicks in right away. hardly my definition of protection. see all of scotts on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

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$MSFT Options Action web extra trade - scott

21 sep - scott doing the web extra again tonight and answers a viewer note, heres the clip web extra . viewer writes she has held the stock for "a very long time and has done nothing"... thats seems a couple years to me.. but then again its up 30% since last year..regardless..depends on your thesis for entering into MSFT.. for the dividend, for the tech exposure, for the windows 8 hype..dont know but also depends on how many shares she has.. have 1000 shares and wish you had bought apple...then dont mess around looking for a secret options strategy to make something happen in order to get out.. if "its done nothing".. sell..sell it now and get into AAPL Jan2015 DITM leaps with that money... sell whats not moving or what hasnt moved and put it to work elsewhere.
    but if you are married to MSFT and still want some type of options play AND want to get out , scotts Nov Ratio spread might work . see all of scotts on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

Buy the Nov 32/33 call ratio spread (buy one 32, sell two 33's) for zero (for every 100 shares you own), its a good setup.. if its below 32 at opex then no harm no foul, above 34 and you stock gets called away

i like ratio spreads and profit range on this one at Nov opex is 32-34. my alternative is if you want to keep holding, keep collecting that dividend, stable stock price..yada yada.. then instead go out 2months and sell the Nov 33 covered call for about .31... if you are ok with selling your stock a bit higher be more aggressive and sell the Nov32 covered call at about .60.. collect that premium..collect your dividends, keep the stock.. depends what your thesis is.

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CLOSING the $NKE Options Action trade - Mike

28 sep - show revisits the trade from last week with the usual graphic heavy lead in and oversize smiles. was a good winner and included a surprising and possibly first of its kind real live tweet from mike khouw updating the trade during the trading day. the stock opened right at the short 92.50 strike area, once i saw mikes tweet i priced this spread out at about 1.40 , so nearly a double. mike sums it up nicely in todays video clip, todays clip , about taking this trade off right away after the event. if you followed this trade and for some reason did not close it out in the morning, you can still take a profit on the Oct puts which were going for about a dollar..or if you want to get cute you can do another calender spread by again selling the 92.50 weekly put..which was going for about .30. nevertheless, a good trade and good followup for a change. see all of mikes on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

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21 sep - mike khouw with a trade on Nike for earnings which look to be next thursday, heres the video NKE clip

Buy the 92.50 weekly / Oct put calender for .75

i like the trade setup, would wait till day of or day prior to putting this on in case there is a move before that so you can base your strike selections on where you are at that point.. mike using the 92.50 strike since that is about where options are pricing in a move to right now.. its a cheap bet as well..since earnings are on thursday p.m. , if you get the direction correct the front month puts will decay big time since they only have one day to trade till they expire. see all of mikes on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

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CLOSING the $GOOG Options Action trade - Dan

20 oct - wow. this would have been a huge winner.. options action really missed a great opportunity to have a great segment with the slow motion smiles, music and cheesy graphics had dan left this earnings play on. would have been a 500% + winner since stock closed near 681.. per dans tweet / write up on his site, dans write up , he closed the spread at $6.00 for a $1.00 profit. tough break on that one.

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21 sep - on the show tonight dan has a bearish trade for google, heres the video clip, GOOG clip .. dan also has this trade posted on his website for free so you can read about it there too dans writeup

Buy the Oct 715/680/645 put butterfly for $5.00

my few concerns about this trade based on his thesis in the video, he is making this a bearish bet on an earnings move. earnings date is 11oct unconfirmed per briefing .com . this will profit if the stock pulls back before then but the biggest chunk of profits you will see will be after that move from earnings, you will not see much if it moves down now..."much" vs his stated $30 possible at opex...im thinking its premature to get into an earnings trade..might work, might not... he is taking a directional bet, so with that i would wait till day of or day prior to the earnings date and base my strike selections on where the stock is then..my choice would also be a put calender vs a call fly right here right now. dan references the implied move but thats misleading this far out , the weekly option premium and IV will be a more accurate gage of that vs the Oct monthly data now. see all of dans on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

i find it amusing that just 2 weeks ago dan bought the latest samsung phone and now goes along with the herd and gets an iphone 5..can you even return phones and get the money back?

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update to $WFC Options Action trade - Dan

12 oct - Options action should have covered this last week since dan made this adjustment on 2oct like i posted below..so 10 days have gone by if you entered the trade and didnt catch the tweet. heres the video clip WFC clip . the long jan38call that dan is holding is going for about .35 now. would have said try to sell front month calls against it to further lower the cost basis while waiting to "spread it out" ..in this case the Nov38 are going for just pennies so scratch that idea . in hindsight , when closing out the Put of a risk reversal to free up buying power it might be tactically better to "spread out" that call at same time to bring in more premium, ie lower the cost basis, or just close out the call as well..since your thinking its going lower anyway , thats why youre buying back the Put. going to need a decent move on this slow money stock to get a profit now.

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2oct - interesting how this is playing out. see it alot, when traders sell a put or do a risk reversal and the stock moves down a bit, they get shaken out. the would be ok owning it lower thinking gets thrown out the window. you can see dans write up on what hes doing here risk reversal . Basically buying back the short 33put for a loss of .22 and holding the long call. still has 3 months to go till opex so was a bit surprised that hes jumping ship so soon. will keep tracking that long call .

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14 sep - as posted on his website also, Dan has a risk reversal trade on  the show today for WFC, heres the clip WFC clip

Buy the Jan 33/38 risk reversal for .10 (sell the 33 Put / buy the 38 call )

i like risk reversals, usually high probability winning trades.. my usual comments, the "you may have to buy the stock" commentary goes along with these type of trades because of the short Put..you have almost no risk of getting "put the stock" until the Jan opex, wish that was made more clear. also figure on having to set aside buying power/margin equal to having to buy the stock at 33..so figure $3300 depending on your margin situation. although you can do risk reversals on any stock, they tend to work better if you are ok owning that particular stock if it goes down..many say they would but chicken out when it goes lower and just take the loss vs getting put the stock.. so decide which camp you are in before entering... if stock moves up nicely look to close out that short put and possibly selling an upside call to "spread it out" . see all of dans on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

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CLOSING the $AAPL Options action trade - Mike

21 sep  - the show tonight revisits this trade for whatever reason after only a week, i guess since its all about AAPL day. heres the clip, starts at about the 4min mark AAPL clip .. carter sums it up nicely.. "not a whole lot has happened in 5 days" ..exactly..dont know why revisit this with several others hanging out there..losers not good for ratings i guess. so if you pull up this spread its up about a dollar...thats right..bought for $20, now can close for $21...listen to mikes wishy washy answer .. after all that from last week, like he forgot that he was the one suggesting this one. based on that lame response i will close it out in the spreadsheet since he "can only have so many things in his book".

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14 sep - carter worth and mike khouw with a trade on AAPL on the show this week. heres the clip, AAPL clip .. carter has not had a good track record lately but comes up with a bullish recommendation today.

Buy the Jan 675/715 call spread for $20 ($2000)

this is one of the more wacky trades ive seen mike suggest..first he prefaces his comments that "i dont want to lay out a great deal of premium"... well sweet sassy molassy...$2000 bucks..guess hes big time..spending $2000 to make $2000 does not fit the often advertised slogan of risk less to make more.. hes correct that the spread will not lose money if stock stays flat, but essentially wants stock to go up from here. there are way cheaper ways to set that up..mike seems to be making the comparison that instead of buying the stock at 700, to buy this call spread for $20....ok, but how about another trade vs buying the call spread for $20. i like dans comments at the end of the clip about not liking the risk reward. true dat .

it might work out but my objective then would be to make a lower premium trade for a luke warm bullish thesis. instead of mikes in the money call spread, id go for a Jan 700/740/780 call fly if you are locked into a Jan trade.. might get for about $540.. mildly bullish, risks way less.. big profitable range if you  get the christmas hype going, risk less to make more.. see all of mikes on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

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$SLV Options Action web extra trade - scott

14 sep - scott talking at SLV trade in the options action web extra, heres the video clip SLV clip

Buy the Dec 33.50/37 call spread for 1.20

i dont follow silver, gold either really.. but seems like most on the network are buying into the belief that both are going higher thanks to the Fed actions. scotts setup is straight forward and goes out a few months to give it time to work, max profit at 37 or above. only alternative that would come to mind is a risk reversal or call spread risk reversal... selling a put to finance this trade if you have the margin for it. see all of scotts on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

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CLOSING the $LNKD Trade of the Day - Scott

21 sep - no change...going to be a max loss also with stock near 121 still


19 sep - if you followed scott into this trade its worth about 2 cents now, need something dramatic to happen in next 2 days to salvage anything. LNKD defying gravity for another month. just a comment about being at the top of the bollinger bands.. nothing says stock has to sell off when its at the top.. can just as easily go sideways or slow its rate of increase which is what happened here.. stock up 6 bucks from this entry.

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10 sep - a very rare on-air trade by scott nations during fast money tonight, was featured as the trade of the day but since hes on options action ill add it to the tracking spreadsheet, heres the video clip LNKD clip

buy the Sep115/105 put spread for $1.55

not much time for this to play out, pretty straightforward with a bearish thesis. but at least its a cheap shot, right near top bollinger bands. no alternative suggestion this time.. sometimes its just a no trade. see all of scotts on air trades in this google docs spreadsheet . i dont expect to see an update to this trade on -air or via scotts twitter.

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CLOSING the $AAPL mid day Options Action trade - dan

14 sep -  going to be a full loss if you did nothing, had a decent profit on the selloff before the apple event, did not see any updates online or on air about closing this Put or "spreading it out" . thesis was for a selloff after the event so probably held. stock now near 695 so option will expire worthless

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10 sep - a rare options action trade on Fast Money , heres the clip aapl hit , dan with a pretty straight forward Put purchase for a apple event selloff / protection. with stock near 675

Buy the Sep weekly 665 put for $6.00

already a good gain an hour later. see how it looks after the event. see all of dans on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet




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CLOSING the $AAPL options action trade - dan

20oct  - read dans write up from below, dans write up . by "spreading this out" , he locked in a profit and with stock selling off since then it was a timely move.. essentially a $3.00 profit. nicely done . see all of dans on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

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21 sep - like i said below, read what dan wrote on his site. tonights show revisits this trade and after a painful 3 minute graphic and music laden lead in Dan hardly says anything, no specifics..if i had not previouslly read what he had done i would not be clear on what he did..wonder why he did not mention prices, max profits, minimum profits, specific strikes..seems odd since the segment title was "how to make more money in AAPL" , heres tonights video clip AAPL clip

21 sep - going to be easier if you just read what dan wrote on his website instead of me paraphrasing it, dans write up . now he has a no lose trade. the scenario didnt play out like he expected but the stock moved as he wanted which is what matters. he closed the Sep short call and Sold the Oct 705 call ..will leave it open on spreadsheet until the final profit is known at Oct opex. nicely done and fully transparent..cue the dancing bears

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7sep - dan nathan with a trade on AAPL from the show, heres the clip AAPL clip

Buy the Sep/Oct 700 call calender (sell the Sep 700, buy the Oct 700) for $10.50 ($1050 per one lot)

i generally like calender spreads as a way to reduce your capital outlay, this one is a bit pricey for me though. melissa makes a good point about the timing of this spread in her question to mike. dans own thesis is that iphone 5 dissappoints and stock sells off a bit, but then rebounds on speculation of the smaller ipad. could happen i guess, just seems like cheaper ways to put on that trade vs a $1000 outlay. this spread will be a nice winner if iphone does not disappoint and it moves up to 700 prior to sep opex... just seems a bit bass ackwards on his timing based on his thesis. id be more inclined put on a cheap near term position(maybe a 10or15 wide call fly, such as the Sep685/700/715 call fly for about $2.00) for a possible upside move on iphone announcement AND wait for that sell the news selloff THEN enter for a bullish rebound and/or mini ipad ramp(maybe a risk reversal or credit put spread then). different ways to skin this cat but $1000 is too pricey for me based on the thesis. see all of dans on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet. if you do this trade, after Sep opex, consider selling weekly 700calls against that remaining Oct long call to further reduce your cost.

have you figured out what this picture has to do with AAPL yet?

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$BAC Options Action trade #2 - scott

7sep - on the options action web extra , scott has a trade on BAC, here is the video clip, web extra . a better format would have been to feature this trade on the main show since what scott says directly contradicts mike khouws trade on BAC and use the web extra time for another stock. anyway, scott doing a risk reversal

buy the DEC 8/9 risk reversal (sell the 8 put and buy the 9 call) for a .12 credit

i like risk reversals. as usual my comment is that the information that is left out of this segment is that this is not a free trade, since you are selling a Put, you need to set aside that margin/buying power to actually buy the stock at 8 if it "gets put to you" at Dec opex..so figure $800 per one-lot. alot of traders that do risk reversals / sell cash secured puts always say they would be ok owning the stock at that level if it indeed drops.. thats all well and good if you mean it but most opt out and take a loss vs buying the stock. if the stock starts moving up you profit right away as the call gains and the Put decreases..scott is looking for a significant move he says..if that happens, look to close your short put as a minimum to get out of that margin requirement.. also possibly selling an upside call as well to lock in gains / bring in some added premium. there is going to be resistence at 10ish so i would target selling the 10call when it came to that. see all of scotts on - air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

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CLOSING the $BAC Options Action trade - mike

20 oct - got a decent rebound this week to make it a nice winner. stock closing out at about 9.44 , so about a .19 gain . percentage wise a good gain but realistically would have to do a large lot size to make serious coin. see all of mikes on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

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12 oct - going to have to make a decision right quick if you followed this trade...still worth about what you paid for it...that Oct9 call will be decaying rapidly with the stock at 9.10ish now

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7 sep - mike with a trade on BAC to open the show today, heres the clip BAC clip .

Buy to open the Oct 9/10 call spread for .25

stock breaking out today. as you saw in the video clip, mike is selling the 10calls for a nickel.. if doing this trade i would instead just buy the 9calls and possibly leg into the spread by selling the 10 calls if the stock spikes a bit.. selling a nickel call is hardly worth it. other alternative is to make it a sep/oct 9call calender..the sep 9's are going for .15 still... that .15 cuts your cost basis in half. see all of mikes on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

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CLOSING THE $FB Options Action trade - dan

20 oct - dan pulling the exit trigger early on this one for breakeven, here is a cut and paste from his site for his explanation www.riskreversal.com

Trade Update Facebook (FB): Closing Nov/Jan 22 Calendar For What I Paid

10:52 am EDT - October 19, 2012 By Dan

Trade Update Oct 19th, 2012 at 10:30am: Since initiating the Nov/Jan 22 Calendar Call Spread in late Aug FB has been all over the place, rather than playing for a bounce I decided to try to thread the needle a bit between the Nov Lock-Up Expiration and what I felt could be a late year/new year rally in the depressed shares.  Given GOOG’s commentary and results yesterday, I have significantly less confidence that FB has any near term fixes to what seems to be plaguing online advertisers as consumers shift computing habits towards mobile and away from the far more lucrative desktop.

Action: Sold to Close FB (18.97) Nov/Jan13 22 Call Spread at .45, what I paid for it.

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14 sep - options action revisiting this trade. i find in kind of odd to revisit this one since its a NOV dated trade at minimum, not setup for a quick payoff. several other trades out there that could be revisited for those "constant trade updates". note: if there are updates being posted on facebook, i refuse to go there. im not 16years old. here is the clip FB clip.. could have just summarized this segment as "keep holding" .. really going to have to hold to Nov to get that time decay going for you .

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31 aug - dan with a trade on Facebook on the show, heres the clip facebook clip . dan lays out his thesis pretty well, not exactly bullish on the name but likes the setup of the trade:

Buy the Nov/Jan 22 call calender for .45

his reasoning for chosing the Nov option makes sense. its a cheap way for a bullish position of the stock rebounds after the lockup. only thing i will add is that if it works like he wants and Nov option expires worthless and stock price is still in this area...then look to sell a DEC call option to bring it back to another calender spread.. hopefully there is still some premium in those DEC calls then..this will lower your cost basis even more.  see all of dans on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

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update to $BA Options Action trade - mike

26oct - with 3 weeks to go, this option is going for about 15cents, so near 90% loss if you followed into this trade and also stuck with it per the 7 sep show.. the stock is right about where it was when trade was put on.. been couple days since earnings where it popped. didnt see an update if he did anything , ie close it or spread it out.

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7sep -  on the show tonight , they revisit a one week old trade on Boeing, complete with the usual photoshopped pictures, happy music and big smiles.. heres the clip updated clip . mike sticking with the trade which is expected. my suggested alternative of making it a sep/nov 75 calender would be working also.

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31aug - mike khouw and carter worth with a trade on Boeing on show today, heres the clip Boeing clip ... this sure does seem familiar..its deja vu all over again.. i remember now.. he had a near identical trade on a fast money hit in may, heres that first trade and clip first Boeing trade. that option expired at max loss BTW.

Buy Nov 75 call for $1.25

i dont see it on the chart as to why to buy BA here..maybe if it breaks the 50/200 day moving average...if anything it looks like a good candidate for iron condors...been range bound since Jan.  , anyway..as usual my alternatives to just buying a call months out are to make it a calender spread or a series of calender spreads.. the Sep 75 is still going for 20cents, the Oct 75 is going for about 70cents... that way you reduce that premium outlay...like shown in the graphics..at opex the stock needs to be at 76.25 to breakeven and as you can see in the chart there is significant 9month resistence at 75..another reason i would not do this trade. need almost a 10% move to be profitable at opex and have to break serious resistence to do it. no thanks. see all of mikes on-air trades in this google docs spreadsheet

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