I closed 5 FSLR calls today at $4.40, but it seems I didn't close enought as FSLR is down after hours. Oh well. You win some and you lose some. Ben
Ben: Good Journal, and congrats for the wins. I have a question and a suggestion/idea. I will pose the question here, but the idea I prefer to share in a private message. Let me know if I can PM you. As for the question: have you considered doing what you do with OTM butterflies. They cost on commissions, but they are cheap in price. For the same capital you should be able to buy more and make more per win.
Sold the other 5 FSLR calls at $0.40 and the loss on this trade was ($1,244.90). I'll take that loss any day lol. It could have been closer to a $2,000 loss had I not sold 1/2 earlier. Ben
Ben, it was very wise of you to take some profits when presented before earnings, because you never know what can happen. I watched FSLR after hours yesterday and first they announced record earnings and the price went to 144, then suddenly they started talking 2009 guidance and poof, below 120!
Yeah it was pretty crazy. I think you talked about FLR before, but that is one of my trades today. I bought 8 FLR calls at $1.50 and 6 FLS calls at $2.20. Both reported earnings and are flying in post market trades. I'll update tomorrow.
That's fine just pm me. You might want to go more into details on the trade you explained on your post too, such as comparing the differences. I thought straight calls would give you the most benefit, but it sounds like you feel butterflies are a better reward. That is interesting. Ben
I saw both of those after hours. Very nice! Yes, FLR was the example I gave from last summer of gaining $4/share after hours, then dropping hard from the open all day. What I've done when trading options under volatile "emotion-driven" conditions (news or earnings) is have a 1-min chart up at the open and use it to guide an exit with maximum profits in case there's a sudden reversal. I have an example of this posted in my journal with a 1-min chart of the action when I traded AAPL calls in early September: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=132626&perpage=6&pagenumber=14
Ben, I will follow up on the PM. With regard to butterflies, they will protect you from a volatility crush. They involve three options. You sell the middle strike, and buy the two next to it. You can do them with puts or calls, it does not matter. Execute them as two spreads, as you will have a lower commission. Run some numbers and you will notice that the price of a butterfly is low. Maximum profit is when stock ends right at the middle strike. Best to you
Alright, I sold FLR calls earlier at $2.75. As for FLS I just sold minutes or so ago at $5.80. My gains on FLR was $970.10, and my gain on FLS was $2,130.10. My overall gains are now at $23,561.75 and my account is now at $35,561.75. Whoa, I'm sitting here and I almost can't believe the money I've made on these trades. It's one of those heart pounding very fast moment. Ben
Nice gains Ben! For FLS ans FLR, did you look back at prior earnings releases for guidance for this latest release? With the current economy I figured everyone has to watch out for downside suprises!!