With the market down on the day and extending a bit of a selloff from last week’s highs we wanted to look at some trade management in some of our open short biased trades:
April 5th, 2012 – XLF (15.55) Bought the Apr 15 Puts for .11
– With the stock at 15.03 I am going to sell half at .26 for a .15 gain, I am taking my cost off of the table and letting the other half ride.
April 10th, 2012: Sold half at .27 (Stock ref 15.01)
April 3rd, 2012 – KO (74.05) Bought the May 72.50 / 70 Put Spread for .42
-With the stock trading below my long strike, I have this trade right where I want it, I am going to leave on but look to sell half when the spread is worth 50% of the width, so about 1.25 which would be 3x what I paid. With stock 72.12, the spread can be sold at .86
April 10th, 2012: Sold half at .87 (Stock Ref 72.00)
March 28, 2012 – CRM (152.50) Bought the May 145/130/115 Put Fly for 2.18
-this is one of my few shorts that is showing some relative strength in the last few days, and to be honest this action scares me a bit…..but I have defined my risk and will monitor closely. The spread can be sold with the stock at 154.15 for a .20 loss.
March 23, 2012 – NKE (110) APR 105/100/95 Put FLY for .55
-NKE is getting creamed today down about 3.5% and this Fly is now worth about .60 with the stock right above my high long strike. I am going to sit with this one and ride it out a bit.
March 16, 2012 – WMT (61.00) Bought the Apr 60 / 57.50 Put Spread for .35
-With the stock down about 2% since putting this trade on the spread is now actually starting to work. With the stock now at 59.90, the spread can be sold at .46 for a small gain. I am going to stick with this one and look to take some profits with the stock near $58.
March 15, 2012 – IBM ($205.55) Bought the Apr 200/195 Put Spread for 1.00
-IBM is trading near 1 month lows and this spread now just 1.5% from my long strike is starting to work, with the stock near 203 the spread can be sold for 1.26, but I am going to stick with it as earnings next week could server as a significant catalyst for the stock.
March 2nd, 2012 – MSFT ($32.10) Bought MSFT April 31/29 Put Spread for .39
-This position has been near and dear to my heart, because I have been trying to keep some short exposure in the name all year since the stock was up about 12% on the year. With earnings next week I am going to hold this position through the print, but will look to take half off when I have a double. WIth the stock at 30.35 the spread can be sold for .77
April 10th, 2012: Sold half at .77 (stock ref 30.38)
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SO I GUESS MY POINT IS, ONCE I GOT AWAY FROM STARING AT AAPL EVERY TICK HIGHER I WAS ABLE TO SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES. I HAVE A LOT OF POSITIONS THAT ARE WORKING, OR VERY CLOSE TO AND I WILL LOOK TO TRIM MOST ON TODAY’S CLOSE.