Option Block 761: Apple Wreck, Nat Gas Blowout and More

Published: Nov. 20, 2018, 7:11 p.m.

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Trading Block: Apple woes hitting the market again., Plus earnings.

  • Target
  • Best Buy
  • Lowe's
  • Kohl's

And growth in US corporate earnings expectations remains strong.

Odd Block: Tesla put summary; call love in JD.Com Inc. (JD); line in the sand puts in Mattel, Inc. (MAT); put love in ENSCO PLC (ESV).

Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses premium selling

Mail Block: Options question of the week

You guys did great on last week's crystal ball so we've upped the ante. Where will VIX be at the end of Volatility Views in TWO WEEKS - aka Fri 11/30? Closest (within 1 pt) wins signed book from Option Pit Good Luck!

  • Here: 18.5-20.99
  • Higher: 21-23.5
  • Lower: 16-18.49
  • Crazy: Above 23.5

Listener questions and comments:

  • Question from Steve Giannakopoulos - Seems right that you can write 1 put option when you already own 100 shares of the underlying stock. Brokerage can lock and keep the 100 shares as collateral instead of holding cash as collateral. It doesn't happen though. Why? You could have your long 100 shares forced sell at the put option strike price if it's ITM and you get assigned. I read you said I just don't understand it. Thank you.
  • Question from Matthew Grabarczyk - First of all thank you for the programming and knowledge! Coming from the technical side of equities trading I need some help and I could not really find a direct answer in the archives. A trade I'm in went long at 149.05 with a target of 152.75. At 150.90 (midway) I legged into a diagonal spread long the Jan 151 calls, short the weekly 152.50 trying to optimize skew. It is currently at 152.20 and gamma is kicking my ass. If I wanted to be out completely by 152.75, how would you suggest adjusting this trade?

Around the Block/This Week in the Markets

  • Nov 20: Housing Starts
  • Nov 21: Jobless Claims, Durable Goods, Consumer Sentiment, Existing Home Sales
  • Nov 23: Fed Balance Sheet
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