Value 543 -- Trade Journal 2.0

Didn't make any moves yesterday & fairly routine today

2/16 IWM credit spreads expired OTM +2.25%

Rolled my MO weekly covered calls to 2/25

Finally got into NOK weekly covered calls; took much less net credit than I wanted, but at least I got filled.

Thanks for stopping by,

V

 

I took some more profits today on the pullback

• CVS Puts 5/20 $100 -- enter 2/7 -- out 2/17 -- +44.44%
  
• PTON Puts 6/17 $127 -- enter 2/5 -- out 2/17 -- +18.46%
• USO Puts 4/14 $60 -- enter 2/4 -- out 2/17 -- +1.9%

I still believe in my USO trade, but geopolitical events are weighing too heavily on oil prices right now so when it popped back into the green I took it off the table just in case.

I brought my CLSK covered call back to the 4/14 option chain; I originally had it out to the 6/17 chain but it's 5% pullback today allowed me to bring the expiration closer while keeping the credit I collected when I first entered.

Lastly, I entered into a new IWM 184/179 credit spread on the 2/23 option chain. I tried to enter 2/22 and 2/25 chains as well, but did not get filled so I'll keep trying.

Thanks for stopping by,

V

 

Thanks again to @anotherdevilsadvocate for flagging BA hitting its upper TL; I made a day options trade against it and came out +11.87% by using 5/20 $200 puts.

My last IWM credit spread for this week expired OTM +1.73%

The continued move down in IWM allowed me to get in 2/22 and 2/25 credit spreads; 189/184 and 182/177 strikes respectively.

All of my weekly covered calls expired OTM, as did the puts I sold on AMC and CLSK

Lastly, I entered into an options play looking for a pullback on BMY which I first found on the monthly chart. It's coming into not only a long term ceiling, but also TL resistance. I kept my entry size small, so I could add more if it gets to 69 - 70. I went with buying $62.50 puts on the 6/17 chain.



Thanks for stopping by,

V

 

Weekly Rollup: February 14 - 18, 2022
Trades: 16
Winners: 16
Losers: 0
Summary: Another solid week with 3x option plays on CVS, PTON, and BA all bringing in over 10%. My other option plays remain underwater right now...but my wins these past two weeks gave me enough cushion to ride those trades out to the bitter end. I gave myself time on the clock, and if they do not pan out, I'll still be up on the year thanks to these last two weeks. The pullback in the markets allowed me to bring back some of the covered calls I had to roll out last week to closer expirations while keeping the net credit, which will help me continue to reduce basis as I can make more trades on them now that their expirations are closer (as opposed to having to wait months to trade them again). I debated long & hard about if I should do any IWM credit spreads given all the geopolitics going on & the end of the Olympics...but decided to go with very small position sizes so I can roll them down if I have to...but these credit spreads are my biggest risk right now, so I'll watch them closely.

Next Week: I will keep a close eye on my IWM credit spreads, and set up weekly covered calls on my longs that expired this week. If the pullback continues, I'll look to exit half of my BMY trade between 15-25% and then let the other half ride. If the market rises, then I'll look to add to my BMY trade if it can reach that $69 - $70 range. As for any new trades, I'm going to use Monday to do some chart scanning & see what I can find...

I hope everyone had a great week -- and thanks for stopping by,

V

 

My first IWM credit spread for this week expired OTM +1.83%

Didn't even try to get any of my weekly covered calls filled...I would've had to bring the strikes way down to get filled & given the chance of a run-up on seemingly any good news related to geopolitics or rates, I thought it too risky!

I did get into a ton of swing trades today, however. Too many to post all at once, honestly, and very small positions (1% of my portfolio or less). I'll begin to work through them over the next few days so they are all laid out here.

First up: ZM. There isn't a ton of analysis (which is why I'm starting off here!) beyond the fact ZM is down massively but approaching where the epic rise all began around that $100 mark. I'll continue to nibble at this down to $100, but if there is a continued move below $100 then I'll bail. This swing trade boils down to the fact there is so much room for upside, with comparatively limited room for downside. To be clear, I am not saying ZM is a investment for the long term, but I do believe once geopolitics and rates stop affecting the markets in the ways I believe they currently are, we could see a pop here before more downside.




I have similar feelings about RBLX -- just a massive fall from grace. This is a swing trade to see if we can get a gap-fill into the 60s. Since there is not a lot of technical data at these levels...an my target is the gap fill...I will keep my stop tighter here to only in the 30s.





Thanks for stopping by,

V

 

Agree 100% @hitman on your ZM comments -- Teams is definitely my preferred platform between the two.

Geopolitcs continue to weigh on the market overall, but the quick pop this morning made for a busy day here!

• My second IWM credit spread expired OTM +2.04%
• Entered an IWM credit spread at 179/174 on the 2/28 option chain
• Entered weekly covered calls in F, SLV, and NOK
• Rolled my MO covered call from the 2/25 to the 3/18 options chain
• Pulled my XOM covered call from the 5/20 to the 4/1 options chain
• Entered my monthly covered call on SPWH on the 3/18 option chain
• Sold weekly AMC puts at $14

Continuing on with the swing trades I recently entered...

PLTR is coming into a major support level on its weekly chart. I am looking for a bounce to that gap-fill around 13.66 on its daily chart.






Another overly beaten down name I am looking to swing trade is AFRM. Its recent earnings call caused it to break down through a major support level on its weekly chart, but it does appear to be stabilizing...especially when compared to the overall market. I am looking for another gap-fill bounce to $58




Last one for today -- a trade on SQ. This too is coming down into a major support level on its weekly chart. It will be interesting to see what happens during its upcoming earnings call. I'll nibble down into the $85 level; looking for a bounce potentially up to $120, which is where it consolidated on the daily chart through most of January.





Thanks for stopping by,

V

 

Woah what a rollercoaster! Today's whipsaw action made for another busy day & allowed me to take 3x profits:

• Closed my options play on PM +25.37%
• Closed my swing trade on SOFI +9.44%
• Did an intraday options trade on CLOV +33.17%

The steep slide overnight allowed me to pull back another series of covered calls. If these stocks go back on the rise once geopolitical events calm down, I'll just roll them back out and keep raking in net credit to reduce my basis.

• NCLH from 6/17 to 3/11
• DAL from 4/14 to 3/4
• XOM from 4/1 to 3/18
• CCL from 3/18 to 3/4
• MO from 3/18 to 3/4

The steep drop at the open also allowed me to add to all of my swing trades...and with that, I'll keep working through those now:

PARA has dropped back to a major support level on it's weekly, and back in December gave us one pop. This trade looks for a bounce gap-fill around $35. Given that upside target, I've set my stop to $20






I got in a little early (thanks, Russia)...but I see AI forming a double bottom. The breakdown yesterday confirmed the move, but today's action right back up to that bottom will be interesting to see play out. I am looking for AI to return to one of it's moving averages (50 or 100 SMA); given that upside, I am keeping my stop to $15.




The next swings are interrelated because they are biotechs (IBB & BIIB) and health tech (TDOC). Much like the rest, all are at major support levels. They've broken down through those support levels thanks to the current geopolitical pressures on the market, but I will continue to nibble on them...as I did today at the market open...and look for those swing bounces.








Thanks for stopping by,

V

 

Continued impressive run up today...just wow! Not much else to say about that...

• Closed SQ swing trade +35.21% -- wasn't expect that much of a pop on the earnings, but I won't complain!
• Closed SE swing trade +16.78% -- I didn't get around to posting my play on this like I did with some of the others, but it's a moot point now!
• Closed swing trade on PLTR +15.92% -- once it went +15% I set a trailing stop and it triggered before hitting my $13s target
• Played with some intraday options on TDOC; at first they got away from me, but the end of day pullback off $70 let me walk away +3.45%
• Last IWM credit spread of the week expired OTM +2.04%
• AMC puts expired OTM, so I just pocket the net credit since I do not have a position in AMC
• Weekly covered calls on SLV, F, and NOK all expired OTM

The past two days sent a number of my covered calls back ITM (e.g. the same ones I pulled back to closer expirations). I'll look to roll those strikes back out so they are OTM while still picking up some more credit.

Thanks for stopping by,

V

 

Weekly Rollup: February 21 - 25, 2022
Trades: 17
Winners: 17
Losers: 0
Summary: What a crazy week...on so many levels. My heart breaks for what the people of Ukraine are going through; I just cannot imagine...and I send my prayers.

Next Week: If we see continued upside, I'll be closing more of my swing trades, as several are coming into the range where I set trailing stops. If the market reverses to the downside, it will probably be a comparatively slower week as I'll focus on tending to my covered calls & credit spreads.

Thanks for stopping by,

V

 

YTD Rollup: February 2022
Return on Risk: +15.75%
Net Gain/Loss: +470.53%
Russell: -9.1%
S&P 500: -8%
NASDAQ: -12.47%

Total Trades: 89
Winners: 88
Losers: 1
Scorecard: 98.88%
*** Keep in mind, I mainly trade deep OTM plays to reduce cost basis ***

Summary: Pretty massive month for me, but I know the figures above are potentially misleading, because I have a few option plays (FB, PYPL, AXP, and BMY) which remain underwater and may therefore bring those numbers back down to Earth if they do not turn around over the next month or two. Still plenty of time for them to turn around, and if we can get back to something more 'normal' I think they will...but right now we are in market conditions that are anything but normal...so we'll see...as I said before, that is why I gave myself so much time on the clock.

Looking back at my initial 2.0 goals, I feel as though I'm stil adhering to the standards I want to -- namely, I am keeping my risk in check by keeping my riskier trades (OTM credit spreads & option plays) to small overall percentages of my portfolio (1% or less per trade and never exceeding 10% of my overall portfolio). Additionally, I've been very actively trading within my long term investments. As a result, I've reduced my total cost basis by 1.14% so far this year...and if I happen to get called away on any of those longs, I'm OK with that.

Here are my current long positions:



Thanks for stopping by -- and good luck next month everyone,

V

 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Wanted to share some charts I'm going to watch this week for possible swing trades.

VICR -- I found this on its monthly chart. I like how it came right down into a major support level, which is also the 61.8% Fib retrace from the high. There is also another major support level just $10 away, which also coincides with a major moving average. The RSI on the monthly is 44, suggesting it very well may go down to that secondary support / 50 SMA. If you look at monthly volume, it's returning to normal levels on its monthly chart (e.g. volume was up 100% / 2x back at the high, but it's not trading within a more normal monthly range). On the weekly chart, the 200 SMA is right there between the current & second support areas. Volume-wise, however, the stock is seeing 2x volume this past week, suggesting it was the institutions...the same thing can be seen on the daily chart, volume-wise. However, the weekly & daily chart RSI are both 30. If the institutions keep beating it down overnight and/or in the morning, I'll hold for it to reach 65. If not, I'll take small bites from 75 down to 65. My target is a gap-fill to the Thursday open 88; my stop will be 55.






LPSN -- this kissed its Monthly 200 SMA and is a couple bucks away from another major support level, and closed on Friday at the 78.6% Fib retrace; the Monthly RSI is 30. On the Weekly chart, it kissed another support level already and the RSI is down to 20...but the RSI has been way oversold / under 30 for quite a while. It's volume is 3x normal on the Weekly vs. only 2x normal on the Monthly. The Daily charts shows that pop off the aforementioned support level on 5x normal volume; the RSI is still only 25. A gap-fill here would be to 22, but on the Weekly there is a big breakout candle and a lot of consolidation before that around 27 - 30...that would be a bounce to the 78.6% Fib retrace from the low-to-high on the Weekly chart...or a 61.8% Fib retrace if you use the low-n-high on the Monthly. I'll watch how this one gets treated overnight & in the morning as well. I could see taking a small position and nibbling down to 14, with a target range to 26 - 30 and a stop at 10.






A couple others I'm looking at but don't think are quite there yet are EVBG and FL. We'll see...

Thanks for stopping by -- I hope everyone had a great weekend & good luck out there this week!

V

 

Busy Monday & nice way to kick off the month. The market cerainly did not disappoint today in terms of volatility.

• Closed swing trade on TDOC +29.67%
• Closed swing trade on AFRM +12.90%
• IWM credit spread expired OTM +2.04%

I entered the following trades

• Swing trades on VICR, LPSN, EVBG, & FL -- I've already sold some gains on LPSN and EVBG to reduce basis
  
• Option play buying Jul15 $65 puts on USO
• 3/2 IWM credit spread @189/184
• 3/4 IWM credit spread @185/180
• Weekly covered calls on NOK, F, & SLV
• Rolled covered calls on DAL & MO

Thanks for stopping by,

V

 

Was not expecting today to be as busy as yesterday (Mondays are always busy just based on how I trade) -- but it sure was!

• Closed swing trade on EVBG +25.05%
• Closed swing trade on LPSN +23.15%
  
• Closed swing trade on PARA +10.59%
  
• Closed swing trade on FL +5.11%
  
• Closed options play on AXP +1.65%

The AXP trade was a big dumb miss because the trade worked (e.g. my entry was $7.25 and my exit was $9.25) -- however -- I fat fingered half of the trade. I accidentally sold half of the position at $5.45, which in turn threw my cost basis for the remaining half up to $9.10...ugh. Given how that trade went against me for quite a while, I shouldn't complain though.

I entered the following trades

• Swing trade on JPM -- came into a support level and kissed its 100 SMA on the weekly chart.
• Swing trade on RSX -- we'll see...this is a pure gamble
• Sold $15 puts on AMC
• Rolled covered calls on SLV, XOM, and CLSK

Thanks for stopping by,

V

 

@hitman I said gamble mainly because I'm wondering if there is any way that ETF...or the stocks it tracks...could some how get halted, delisted, or in some other way 'weaponized' as leverage against Russia...

I added to it today; it's about 1% of my trading portfolio now. My basis is $8.06

 

Much quieter day for me. As I posted here earlier & elsewhere, I added to my oil & Russia positions (buying more USO puts as well as stock in SCO and RSX). I wanted to add to my BMY options play, but could not get filled where I wanted to; if we see more upside tomorrow, I'll try again. On the gain/loss side, one of my weekly IWM credit spreads expired OTM +1.63% and I exited half of my AI swing trade +11.45% -- I'll let the other half run.

The move on oil is just epic -- and what goes up, must come down. Over $100/bbl is not a good place for oil to be trading if you're an OPEC country or a poliician...let alone a consumer!



Thanks for stopping by,

V

 

Another quiet day here today. The market's reaction to Chairman Powell's comments today vs. yesterday have set the stage for an interesting day tomorrow...

I closed out my AI position +29.21% (+21.6% combined) after seeing the pop during pre-market; 1-min after the bell my 1% trailing stop triggered. Beyond that, I added to my BMY option play and my RSX swing trade.

Finally, I opened a small swing trade on COF at 1% of my trading portfolio as it hit 138.50 today.



Thanks for stopping by,

V

 

Weekly Rollup: February 28 - March 4, 2022
Trades: 19
Winners: 19
Losers: 0
Summary: Volatility continues to reign supreme. The pop we saw early in the week allowed me to take profits on several swing trades. I put those gains back into the market during the latter half of the week, as I entered new swing trade positions and loaded up across my portfolio. Before I dive into all that: my IWM (+2.04%) credit spread; weekly covered calls on CCL, NOK, & F (reduced cost basis on those longs); and AMC (pocketed the credit) puts all expired OTM.

Next Week: I don't even know what to say other than: we'll see. I am hoping the toping tail oil put in on Thursday holds. And I'd love to see BMY take a turn to the downside...it's held up remarkably strong through both its major double top formation & just the general market conditions. Of course, it goes without saying I hope we see an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- just so horrible.

Diving into my trades today, here are my new positions:

• Bought 6/17 $80 puts on AA
• Swing trades on BAC, SE, TDOC, AFRM, TIGR, BIDU, CGC, and KWEB
• IWM 185/180 credit spread on 3/7 chain
• IWM 179/174 credit spread on 3/9 chain

And here are the positions I added to: SCO, JPM, BILI, PDD, BABA

And since I've entered, added to, or closed so many positions, here are my current swing trades & option plays. In the future, I'll include this snapshot alongside my longs when I do my monthly roll ups.



I hope everyone had a good week -- thanks for stopping by,

V