My first calendar was with TIVO which was horizontal. I closed out for a small loss. Which do any of you find more successful with, diagonal or horizontal. It seems to me calendars are similar to covered calls but with less $ at risk. Am I wrong about this? T
Hey T...hummm someone else with nothing else to do on a Sat nite I agree calendars feel a lot like a CC...as to which is more successful a diagonal or horizontal...don't really know. I put on a bunch of cal's in Mar that have yet to play themselves out. Two I have gone from horizontal to diagonal..one I'm thinking about not selling a May put on (I let the apr expire). I would also be interested in ppl's experiences with horizontal vs diagonal. My only criticism of TIVO is that I don't think calendars work as well on lower priced stocks.
Hi Donna, The MAY 35 Calls are left at .40, will most likely sell them Monday. I closed the Put spread at a $40 loss including commish. Had 14 spreads going into exp. Worked most of today but will tally up in a few days. Overall lost just a little $, but I believe the tuition was worth the expense.
I agree its a very interesting trade, I've learned a lot as well. One thing I did that is paying off. After I put on the 37.5 Jul/Mar cal (on Feb 27)of course AMD crashed down but I added a 32.5 Jul/Apr cal(on Mar31) so now I'm at least profitable over-all. I may not make money on the 1st one (probably break-even) will will make money on the 32.5 ..I think What I'm learning is the high vol stocks (over 30) are best for shorter term or even the RC's...however if vol is less than 20 you often can't get real payback. Ideally you find a nice stock with 20-30 vols...pick a direction and are right but not tooo right about the direction
Was the 32.5 a Put or Call cal? RC's? You're right about being "too right" about direction. That happened to me a couple of times. I'm starting to experiment with Cals on indexes. So far I have had more success writing them on SPX than I have had on SPY or Q's. The ETF's lose vol quickly. Just beginning to scratch the surface and looking for consistancy.
Bot the SPX 1310C cal <30 days out at 8.80 net and sold the spread when it was ITM for 12.20 net Was an expensive debit, but percentage wise it worked out. Shoulda/coulda held it longer.
I assume your talking Apr/May cal? very nice trade...no s/c/w...it easily could have gone the other way...great trade
Hi Guys! As I could see,most of you trade Calender Spreads on Stocks. Does anyone have any experience with trading them on some major stock indices? (S&P,nasdaq) Thx