The pop this morning allowed me to sell the weekly covered calls I couldn't yesterday. I got filled in NCLH, SLV, CCL, and F -- I did not get filled in NOK, so I will try again tomorrow. The stunning reversal to the downside sent several names to their COVID lows -- unreal! Needless to say... Re-entered a swing trade in ROKU -- my basis is $80.09 with 1% of mr portfolio Entered a new swing trade in CVNA -- $37.95 // 1% Entered a new swing trade in SNOW -- $141.13 // 1% Similar to the plays above, IWM is back to its pre-COVID high -- I entered a new swing trade with a basis of $174.91 and 1% of my portfolio Added to the following swing trades today: AFRM -- basis now $19.51 with 1.7% of my portfolio ARKK-- $42.52 // 1.5% GLD -- $172.79 // 1.5% Speaking of metals...I am looking to add to my SLV position, as well as open a new gold position via GDX -- if we see more downside in these names tomorrow, then maybe... All eyes on the CPI numbers tomorrow...thanks for stopping by, V
Busy couple of days -- for me & the markets, apparently! I closed my XOM long position +241.73% -- my shares got called away when my covered calls went in the money. This is the "risk" I accepted when I got more aggressive selling covered calls as the broader market rolled over. Of note, I entered this position in March 2020, and over the past 2-years I reduced my cost basis by 31.61% through selling weekly covered calls & quarterly company dividends. I suspect I will see an opportunity to re-enter a long positon here by the end of this year (or sometime next year), given where I believe not only oil prices, but also the market in general, are going. The quick surge we saw in the first hour of trading this morning allowed me to close multiple swing trades & option plays: MSTR swing trade +31% 1/2 of my AFRM swing trade +20% K puts +19.61% CVNA swing trade +13.77% ROKU swing trade +7.8% My shopping spree continued as prices moved further down to lower support levels & I added to existing swing trades: SQ swing trade -- basis now $79.35 with 3.65% of my portfolio SLV swing trade -- $20.36 // 3.15% PYPL swing trade -- $84.35 // 2.60% SPY swing trade -- $393.89 // 2.47% I also entered into new swing trades as price moved to major levels of support from the COVID crisis MSFT swing trade -- my basis is $258.15 with 3% of my portfolio IWM swing trade -- $171.41 // 2.5% NVDA swing trade -- $156.27 // 1.75% QLD swing trade -- $43.86 // 1.5% SMH swing trade -- $217.00 // 1.5% GDX swing trade -- $30.65 // 1.25% In the maintenance department, this volatility has allowed me to shift around my option plays and rake in more credit: Pulled my DAL covered calls from $44 9/16 to $37 6/17 Rolled my BABA puts from $91 5/13 to $87 6/03 Anyone's guess what'll happen tomorrow -- thanks for stopping by, V
Nice continuation today across the board! Closed the following swing trades to take profits off the table as we head into the weekend & whatever comes next week: AFRM +28.14% -- this closes out the remaining 1/2 of my trade SHOP +14.75% NVDA +11.64% DKNG +10.57% SNOW +10% RBLX +7.54% ARKK +7.25% I rolled those profits into my existing swing trade in GLD -- my basis is now $170.05 with 3.5% of my trading portfolio. This gold play compliments my swing trade on gold miners via GDX -- my basis here is $30.65 with 1.25% of my trading portfolio. I am looking for a chance to add to my SLV swing trade, as well as get back into shorts on USO and UNG...but those prices aren't quite there yet...but close! Finally, I pushed my $37 6/17 DAL covered calls back out to 9/16, using the $40 strike and collecting another round of premium. I hope everyone had a great week -- thanks for stopping by, V
Weekly Rollup: May 9 - 13, 2022 Trades: 28 Winners: 27 Losers: 1 Summary: Busier-than-normal week for me, driven mainly by the surge we saw over the past 2x trading days...wow! I'll admit, it's often hard to stay the course when swing trading in such volatility...even though it is that very volatility which makes swing trading so profitable. I found myself multiple times this past week questioning if I should continue adding to my positions to improve my dollar cost average. But I did, and in doing so I positioned myself very well for when that surge came. I'm thankful, obviously, the surge came sooner rather than later...it's hard not to wonder if I'd stay the course when that course plays out over weeks as opposed to days. I'd like to think I can (will!)...but only time will tell. My 1x loser this week comes from the XOM covered call which went ITM & caused the shares to get called away. Next Week: Hoping to see more upside, as there are still several swing trades underwater at the moment & continuation of this move will pull them into the profit-zone. I also did not get a chance to sell many of my weekly covered calls, so continuation will help there too. I'm watching a few names closely, mostly because continued upside would send them to prior support / now resistance areas...which I can, in turn, short. I'll post about those in the "What's On Your Radar" thread tomorrow, along with their respective charts. Here is the latest snapshot of my trading portfolio; this account is now nearly 80% invested...and it's 67% in Robinhood and 33% in TradeStation. All new trades are going into my TradeStation, and as I close trades in Robinhood, the funds too are being transferred over: I hope everyone is having a great weekend -- and thanks as always for stopping by, V
So close -- yet so far... I did get to short UNG this morning as Nat Gas went over $8 -- I entered at $27.50 but with only 0.5% of my trading portfolio -- pretty much any upside tomorrow will see me add to this position. On the other hand, both CVX and USO came oh-so-close to my triggers today, but neither quite got there. Will look for opportunities on both names tomorrow. The continued upside at the opening bell allowed me to sell my weekly covered calls in F, CCL, NCLH, and SLV Thanks for stopping by, V
Busy little maintenance day for me... Entered a new short on CVX -- my basis is $175 with 0.5% of my portfolio -- I forecasted this trade in the "What's on Your Radar" thread Added to my UNG short from yesterday -- my basis is now $28.21 with 1.5% of my trading portfolio Also added to my BMY pullback option play -- my basis is now $4.50 with just under 2% of my portfolio. I'm using $75 11/18 puts, as I entered this play before my TradeStation account was up & running, e.g. directly shorting was not an option at the time. Roll my BABA $87 6/3 puts to $90 5/27 puts -- my adjusted basis if I get assigned the shares will now be approximately $84, given all the premium I've collected over the course of selling & rolling these puts. Rolled my MO covered calls from $52.50 6/17 all the way out to $55 11/18 -- this is the earliest I could roll to while still collecting premium. If the broader market downside continues, as I suspect it will, then I'll look for opportunities to bring these back to a closer expiration date. Rolled my DAL covered calls from $40 9/16 to $42 12/16 -- same story, this is the earliest I could go while still adding to my premium. Will look to bring closer as soon as I can...if I can. Still watching oil closely for either a play on USO or SCO -- the pullback in oil today took these further from my desired trigger Indices are getting close to resistance levels (notably, IWM is already there), so I'll look to take profits on what I can tomorrow if we see upside to those levels -- specifically my swing trades in IWM, SPY, QLD, and ICE Thanks for stopping by, V
Oof -- today's sell off felt so controlled, so automatic, I have to suspect it was largely institutions and algos. In other words, not a good sign...as if that wasn't obvious enough. I really thought we'd see one more day of upside...oh well. I'm kicking myself for not picking up SCO this morning when oil hit $115 -- that was my trigger and I didn't do it...convinced we'd see that upside so I could get in mid/late morning. Again, oof... Added to my swing trade in CTSH -- basis now $75.94 with 1% of my trading portfolio This crashed down through it's pre-COVID high today. I have two more areas where I'd add: $69.50 (another 0.5%) and $66 (final 1%). A sustained move below $66 is my trigger to exit. I did get into a new swing trade today in WMT -- my cost basis is $122.25 with 1.25% of my portfolio. Price got crushed again today to below pre-COVID highs. My next add will be between $120 - $117 depending on how it trades down to those next support levels. Finally, I rolled my BABA $90 5/27 puts to $88 6/10. These are still barely ITM, so at risk of getting put the shares, but if I do my adjusted cost basis is down to sub-82 at this point...so it's a "risk" worth taking, in my opinion. Thanks for stopping by, V
Choppy day -- interesting to see how the SPY and QQQ are both back down to their lows (e.g. they've given up everything from the surge 3-day surge we saw late last week through the beginning of this week), while in the meantime the IWM is hanging up around the 50% retrace level from that same surge. Relative strength from the only index which hit it's pre-COVID19 high...I wonder what this suggests will happen to the other two? Took profits today on what I could... Closed SOFI swing trade +11.48% Closed 2x short positions as they each made what could be near-term bottoming tails on their respective daily charts -- CVS +6.08% and AON +3.29% -- if their pattern plays out, I will re-short on sufficient upside (e.g. if they return to the high of their wide range bear candles) I entered a new short trade in USO -- my basis is $78.28 with just under 1% of my trading portfolio. I fully admit I goofed up this latest oil trade by not getting into SCO when oil hit $115 yesterday...so while this may look like "chasing" (and I guess in a way, it is!) my thought here is that by shorting the stock vs. playing the 2x leverage ETF, I can be in this play longer than I normally would be, because I am not fighting time / 2x leverage (e.g. every leverage ETF's slow march to $0). Additionally, my theory on this trade is oil will breakdown below the current floor around $100...so why quibble over a few dollars when I am expecting massive downside...slowly accumulate for a longer swing trade as price remains above that floor...then cover as we get into midterms & global recession later this year. I added to my ICE swing trade -- basis now $95.84 with 1.5% of my trading portfolio. Price touched its recently double bottom shortly after the opening bell; this average down puts my basis towards the low end of 2x previous wide range bear candles...so a 50% retrace should put my shares ITM for an exit. Lastly, I pulled my MO $55 11/18 covered call back to $52.50 9/16 as price continues to pullback from the surge we saw earlier this week. This roll gave me another healthy chunk of premium & further reduced the long position's cost basis. Thanks for stopping by, V
What a day...SPY & QQQ each pierced their previous lows from March 12th, before they finally caught a bid & ended up closing just slightly above that day's real body candle. IWM continues to show relative strength, as it did not pierce the March 12th low...neither the candle's real body or its wick. On the Weekly chart, all 3x indices pierced...but closed above...the low from the previous week. Given how the Russell has been a leading indicator moving into this market rollover...so does the relative strength its showing signal, plus the fact on a Weekly chart none of the indices closed below the previous low, mean we'll catch a bounce next week? Time will tell.... My PYPL 5/20 calls expired worhtless -100% -- obviously I did not get anywhere close to the size bounce I needed to get these ITM...and the trade went against me almost immediately, as I purchased these calls back in early-Feb when PYPL was still very much in free-fall. My account size + the cost of those calls did not really give me any room to accumulate / average down...so it was a one-time shot trade. Not ideal by any standard, and not a trade style I will replicate...yet another reason I'm glad to be transitioning to TradeStation, where I can short shares directly vs. buying puts. Day traded IWM 6/17 calls & puts +7.52% -- flipping back & forth as price bounced from support to resistance TLs. Below is my attempt at visually depicting the trades. I certainly did not get the timing just right, especially on the second half of the session on the SELL CALL side of the house, but good enough to take profits. I entered a new swing trade in MARA -- my basis is $9.35 with 1.5% of my portfolio. Price is back to its late 2020 / early 2021 levels, and more near-term it's also done more than a 75% retraced from the low it put in on March 12th. I am looking for price to return to between its 20 daily MA in the upper-13s and a $15 gap fill from earlier this month. Another major support level will be $5.25 -- which is where price moved to during the COVID-19 surge in Summer 2020. As for my other swing trades, I added to JPM (my basis is now $123.54 with 3.25% of my portfolio) as well as WMT ($119.25 // 4%). Finally, my covered calls in SPWH (monthly), NCLH, CCL, F, & SLV all expired OTM -- so I'll re-enter those on Monday. Thanks for stopping by, V
Weekly Rollup: May 16 - 20, 2022 Trades: 15 Winners: 14 Losers: 1 Summary: Quieter week within my portfolios, but definitely not the broader market! Of my 15x trades this week, 10x were through selling & rolling my deep OTM covered calls, while only 5x were from swing, short, or daytrades...so again, a quieter, more "typical" week for me. With so much and such steady downside, from a trading portfolio perspective the focus this week was on continued, slow accumulation. I either entered new, or added to, approximately 9x positions throughout the week. I'm positioning myself for when that eventual bounce comes. From a technical perspective, it should've come this past week...but obviously not the case...so perhaps this week? If not, then I'll continue entering new trades or adding to my existing ones...as it's only a matter of time. Most significantly from a trading strategy perspective, I'm down to just one, final pullback option play using puts -- BMY. I cannot wait for the day when I am put-free. I'm going to be waaay more selective on when I use options as my trading vehicle vs. shorting shares. As I look back on the year so far, 4-out-of-7 losers were options. Soon enough... Next Week: Hopefully sell the bear market rip!!! If not, I'll continue to dollar cost average down so I'm in position for when it does come. Beyond that, I'll sell my weekly covered calls to grind my investment portfolio's cost basis down a few more percentage points lower. Here is the latest snapshot of my trading portfolio; this account is now 82.5% invested...and it's about 50% in Robinhood and 50% in TradeStation. All new trades are going into my TradeStation, and as I close trades in Robinhood, the funds too are being transferred over: I hope everyone had a great week -- and has an even better weekend -- thanks for stopping by, V
Nice little pop today, and much needed after the last 8x weeks! All of the major indices not only held their gains from the overnight, but they all added to those gains over the course of the day. Multiple swing trades are back in positive territory now, so I'll keep close eye on those for profit-taking...or at the very least, to exit before they turn back against me. I am under no dillusion in thinking today means the bottom being in; far from it. A nice bear market rip this week would be perfect... Had the day off from work, so did a little day trading similar to Friday. I played SPY & IWM 6/17 puts & calls with about 1% of my trading portfolio each time, rounding out the day +5.94% Entered new short trades on MRO (basis is $28.05 with 0.75% of my trading portfolio) and MRK ($93.75 // 0.5%). I also re-entered my swing trade on SNOW -- my basis is now $143 with 0.75% of my trading portfolio. Added to my swing trade in NFLX (now $190.57 // 6.25%), as well as my short trades in UNG ($28.88 // 2%) and USO (now $80.15 // 1.75%) Sold my monthly covered calls in SPWH $10 6/17 -- my adjusted basis on this trade is now $5.42 This trade is "covered" not by physical shares, but by LEAP $5 12/15/23 calls I purchased earlier this year If my shares get called away at $10, I am locked in for a 84.5% profit. Conversely (& theoretically), if my covered calls were to expire OTM today and I exercise my LEAP call, I am looking at a $69.37% profit. In summary, this trade is somewhat of a balancing act in terms of how many months I continue to hold & play. If the stock price gets too close to my adjusted basis, then I am better off letting the covered call expire OTM & exercising my LEAP to close down the trade entirely. But so long as the stock price is well above my adjusted basis, I will continue to chip away. Sold my weekly covered calls in F, CCL, NCLH & SLV -- reduced my basis across each position by between 0.5% to 1% Thanks for stopping by, V
Well today was quite the ride...but then again, in a way it felt "typical" at this point! Closed my ICE swing trade +1.91% -- this trade went against me, and the Friday-to-Monday pop got it back ITM, but the larger timeframe pattern turned rather bearish since I entered the trade on May 9th...so better to take profits & move on, even if those profits aren't much to write about. Went on quite the shopping spree during the sell-off at the opening bell: Added to my FB swing trade -- basis now $188.71 with 2.5% of my portfolio Added to my TME swing trade -- $4.14 // 2% Added to my SNOW swing trade -- $135.28 // 1.75% Re-entered my CVNA swing trade -- $26.45 // 1% Re-entered ROKU swing trade -- $77.77 // 1% Entered a new swing trade in TGT -- $77.77 // 1.25% Entered a new swing trade in NET -- $77.77 // 1% Thanks for stopping by, V
Quiet day here.... My only action was closing my CVNA swing trade +17% from just yesterday's entry. The broader market saw a little continuation ahead of the Fed meeting, and then more upside off the Fed minutes, which honestly surprised me given how things were seeming to turn back around towards the worst during the overnight price action. We'll see if NVDA drags the markets down tomorrow...the indices seem to be holding up right now. You'd expect to see this upside continue over the next two days, since we're down so many weeks in a row across the board, but in this market...who the heck knows?! Thanks for stopping by, V
Really nice continuation to the upside today! Built up a lot of suspense for what will happen tomorrow... The moves in IWM and SPY allowed me to close my swing trades in both indices +6.69% and +3.22% respectively. I still have my QLD swing trade open; we will see if the NASDAQ can get above its 20 DMA -- which is right where it stalled today. If it does, the next resistance point is a gap fill at $304.45, and up thru to the previous pivot high at $306.56 I closed 3x other swing trades today as well: ROKU +13.11%, TGT +9.3%, and NET +7.98% And speaking of upside, what a pop in BABA -- it closed well above the 20 DMA, so not lets see if it can do the same above the 50 DMA of $97.43 -- which is where price stopped right at the previous pivot high. Its move today allowed me to pull my $88 6/10 puts back to $92 6/03 puts, collecting another tranche of premium. My adjusted basis if I am put the shares will be $85.38. If price does falll tomorrow, I'll just roll the puts out again & keep raking in premium. Energy continues to be interesting, so I added to 3x existing short plays today: The 2x day failed surge in NatGas makes it look very weak, so I added to my UNG short -- my basis is now $29.04 with 2.5% of my trading portfolio. If we see another push into $32 tomorrow, I'll add again. Oil is also back to trading at its upper resistance, but comparatively it looks stronger (though I'm still bearish overall), so I added to my shorts in CVX and MRO but not to the same extent as NatGas -- my basis/percentage on those is $176.25 // 1% and $28.99 // 1.25% respectively Thanks for stopping by, V
Bit behind the power curve this weekend -- I meant to post this yesterday, but life & the long weekend had other plans -- so here I am nevertheless. As I had hoped, we did indeed see more upside yesterday, and with this volatility, I did not waste the opportunity...who knows what'll happen Tuesday: Closed 3x swing trades: STNE +15.68%, SMH +14.77%, and QLD +10.16% Rolled my SLV, CCL, NCLH, and F weekly covered calls a bit early, as opposed to Monday morning, as I've had to do the past several weeks due to Friday sell offs. On the flipside, there was downside to be found, and so I added to my CGC swing trade -- my basis is now $4.95 with 1.75% of my trading portfolio. Price here broke down through the lows from Summer 2017 -- and with the US midterms coming up, e.g. Democrats will talk of legalization in an attempt to score politcal points where they can given the negative landscape they'll undoubtedly face, I want to build up a decent position size. I hope everyone had a great day yesterday with this upside...we'll see what happens Tuesday. Thanks for stopping by, V
Weekly Rollup: May 23 - 27, 2022 Trades: 20 Winners: 20 Losers: 0 Summary: What a week! This 3-day surge (finally!) let me close 11x swing trades this week, which was much needed after entering & adding to my positions consistently over the last 7x down weeks...my account was getting pretty stretched. And this volatility overall is making deep OTM options writing continue to be very effective at reducing my long positions' cost basis. In short, what is not to love about this market as a swing trader? Next Week: I still have several swing trades still on the table, so I'd like to see the upside continue so I can close those out & cycle the profits into short positions. I already rolled my covered calls, so the coming week should mainly consist of swing trades & shorts. But who knows, this market could give us any number of scenarios... Here is the latest snapshot of my trading portfolio; this account is now down to 65% invested. My transition to TradeStaton continues, we're about 67% of the way there until transition complete: I hope everyone is having a great weekend -- thanks for stopping by, V
YTD Rollup: May 2022 Account Growth/Loss: +63.04% Return on Risk: +73.31% Net Gain/Loss: +3,137.91% Russell: -15.92% S&P 500: -12.76% NASDAQ: -22.46% Total Trades: 281 Winners: 274 Losers: 7 Scorecard: 97.51% Summary: My most profitable month thus far, in terms of both account growth, as well as my return on risk capital. The main driver for this was my long/investment position in XOM getting closed when my weekly covered calls got exercised/called away early. So while I "lost" on the covered calls play not going the way I intended, I won big time in the long position's growth since I entered during the COVID lows of March 2020. Given where I think the market is heading (to include energy, despite how its been trading compared to the broader market), I am alright with that...which is a key ingredient for writing covered calls in the first place: you should only write calls at strike prices you're comfortable losing the shares. Of my 42x total trades this month, PYPL calls were my only loser, and it was a hefty (total!) loss. But on the bright side, it was my second-to-last pullback option play...only BMY remains...and I'm much more confident that play will work out. From now on, all of my pullback plays are occuring through short trades...and since I keep enough capital on my account, I am not using margin to do so. In closing, as I look across my current 28x trades, 22x are 'long' and 6x are 'short'...so I feel pretty good about how I am positioned relative to the market direction writ large. We'll see what the next month has in store... Here is a snapshot of my current investment holdings; I reduced my total investment portfolio cost basis by 1.5% this month through selling covered calls: Thanks for stopping by -- and good luck next month everyone, V Account Growth/Loss = dividing my total profit/loss for the year by my account balance from January 1, 2022 -- deposits & withdraws not included / do not affect % Return on Risk = dividing my total profit/loss for the year by the aggregated amount of money I had to put at risk for each trade Net Gain/Loss = simply adding up all the winning trades' % gains and subtracting out all the losing trades' % losses Scorecard = keep in mind, many of my trades are deep OTM option writing plays
Busy first hour or so -- then things quieted down significantly for me.= & it seems the market as a whole. Took profits as coming off the long weekend there was some quick, steep price moves: Closed 1/3 of my BMY pullback option play +22.22% Closed MARA swing trade +16.63% Closed SE swing trade +12.59% Closed WMT swing trade +8.52% Closed MSFT swing trade +5.85% I also did some maintenance on my BABA puts -- I kept the 6/3 expiration, but rolled from the $92 to $94 strike -- my adjusted basis is now $86.88 if I'm put the shares; however, if price falls then I'll just roll out to next week & keep picking up premium. I opened 2x new short trades: CTVA -- my basis is $62.01 with just under 1% of my trading portfolio MCK -- $330 // under over 0.75% Finally, I added to an existing short trade: MRO -- my basis is $30.29 with just over 2.75% of my trading portfolio Thanks for stopping by, V
