Depending on which specific calls some wrote, they are looking at about a 5k-7k loss per contract. It doesn't take too many contracts to put a serious dent in someone account or even wipe one out if they were over leveraged.
One way to play earnings with options is to sell as many contracts (at different strikes) as one buys and thus limit ones maximum loss. I don't understand people entering a leveraged directional naked option bet with a small but reasonable chance to wipe out their entire account. They're just asking for it because sooner or later chance will catch up with them.
Yesterday in Brazoria County, Texas a man was pulled over by a sheriff's deputy b/c someone had called in the car as having possibly been used in a burglary of a residence. As the deputy was walking up along side of the car he looked into the back drivers side window of the car he saw a LIVE 6ft alligator completely unrestrained and with no muzzle on. The man had apparantly caught the gator from a local river. The man is now in jail and the gator is in a wildlife reserve. Now, what in the FUCK would posses someone to drive around town with a 6ft live gator in his car unrestrained in anyway? I have no clue whatsoever. It's kind of the same thing with people that wrote naked covered calls on GOOG today. Of course we are not sure how many of those calls that were written were naked and I hope none were for the sake of those involved. However, just like the man with the gator, I have learned to never underestimate the stupidity that some people seem to posses. Nor do I try to predict it, explain it, or rationalize it.
Oh I have a couple of facts slightly off on the gator story. He was actually pulled over for a suspicious U-turn and linked to the burglery after the fact by a state trooper and not a sheriff deputy. He also apparantly was found with a water-moccasin in his car last Friday and it had bitten him but he refused treatment. Here is the full story from the Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5703545.html
I told ya goog ALWAYS comes back if you want to short tech short burned-out stocks like EBAY INTC OERCL CSCO
It is really strange that the 500 calls were selling for less than $1. Even more ridiculous that the low of the day was 10cents. Anybody knowing a company like GOOG that came all the way from $747 to $450 in less than 2 quarters should have seen some possibility that a $75 move could come post-earnings. I do expect some pull-back though in early trade tomorrow, if for nothing else to dampen the enthusiasm of the far-OTM call holders.
Think of that leverage. .10c -> 27.00. Buy a few hundred of those and retire -- don't need any of the wear and tear of these mkts. One can dream... I have a few April 490/500 verticals that I never closed (bought around 3.00), and saw that 500 side hit .10c today. Put my bid in right after to close my short at 500 at .10 (missed it though), and it went back to .60c quickly. Wonder what caused that aberration. Imagine had I just ponied up the .60c, x2 I would've been $5500 richer. Lesson: in long verticals, if the short side gets under a buck, don't be cheap if you still sit in front of a big event.
you don't reckon the options MMs were not able to dynamically hedge all of their short otm call positions in time after the release? (wishing I weren't so "smart" being long verticals instead of outrights).
I don't get it either. Is it really that competitive out there for these guys? Who the hell is pricing these things? Granted vol. has come down, someone needs to use their head.