Terry's Tips Stock Options Trading Blog
December 3rd, 2013
This week is a good time to take a little break from the market (it’s the holiday season and volatility usually slows to a crawl and edges a little higher – it’s called the Santa Claus rally). It is a great time to own calendar spreads or my favorite ETNs (ZIV and XIV, two equities that have nearly doubled in each of the last two years).
Check out below how you can become a Terry’s Trades Insider, receive two month of free service plus several valuable reports, all for absolutely no cost while you enjoy all the benefits of a new account at thinkorswim by TD Ameritrade (including no commissions for two months of trading).
Terry
If the market knocks you down, try laughing instead of crying –
Some Market Definitions:
CEO –Chief Embezzlement Officer.
Tags: stock market humor
Posted in Stock Option Trading Idea Of The Week |
November 25th, 2013
Today we are going to look at what the analysts are forecasting for 2014 and suggest some option strategies that will make 60% or more if any one of the analysts interviewed by the Wall Street Journal are correct. They don’t all have to be correct, just one of the 13 they talked to.
Please continue reading down so you can see how you can come on board as a Terry’s Tips subscriber for no cost at all while enjoying all the benefits that thinkorswim by TD Ameritrade offers to anyone who opens an account with them.
Terry
How to Make 60% to 100% in 2014 if a Single Analyst (Out of 13) is Right
Tags: AAPL, Auto-Trade, Bullish Options strategies, Credit Spreads, diagonal spreads, ETF, GOOG, Google, LEAPS, Monthly Options, Portfolio, Profit, profits, Puts, Risk, SPY, Stocks vs. Stock Options, Terry's Tips, thinkorswim
Posted in AAPL, Monthly Options, SPY, Stock Option Trading Idea Of The Week, Stock Options Strategies, Terry's Tips Portfolios, Weekly Options |
November 18th, 2013
In case you are new to options or have been living under a rock for the past few months, you know that option prices are at historic lows. The average volatility of SPY options (VIX) has been just over 20 over the years. This means that option prices are expecting the stock (S&P 500) will fluctuate about 20% over the course of a year.
Right now, VIX is hanging out at less than 13. Option buyers are not expecting SPY to fluctuate very much with a reading this low. Since in reality, SPY jumps around quite a bit every time the word “tapering” appears in print, or the government appears to be unwilling to extend the debt limit, there is a big temptation to buy options rather than selling them.
Today I would like to share with you an idea we have developed at Terry’s Tips that has been quite successful in the short time that we have been watching it.
Terry
Interesting SPY Straddle Purchase Strategy:
For many years, Terry’s Tips has advocated . . .
Tags: Auto-Trade, Calls, ETF, intrinsic value, Market Crash Protection, Monthly Options, Portfolio, Profit, profits, Puts, Risk, SPY, Straddles, Strangles, Terry's Tips, thinkorswim
Posted in Monthly Options, SPY, Stock Option Trading Idea Of The Week, Stock Options Strategies, Terry's Tips Portfolios |
November 6th, 2013
Last week I told you about a spread I had placed on Apple (AAPL) just prior to their earnings announcement. I closed out that spread this week, and there was a learning experience that I would like to share with you.
Please continue reading down so you can see how you can come on board as a Terry’s Tips subscriber for no cost at all while enjoying all the benefits that thinkorswim incentive offers to anyone who opens an account with them.
Tags: AAPL, Calendar Spreads, Calls, diagonal spreads, Earnings Announcement, Earnings Option Strategy, Earnings Play, Monthly Options, Portfolio, Profit, profits, Puts, Stocks vs. Stock Options, Terry's Tips, thinkorswim
Posted in AAPL, Earnings Announcement Options Strategy, Monthly Options, Stock Option Trading Idea Of The Week, Stock Options Strategies, Terry's Tips Portfolios, Weekly Options |
October 30th, 2013
Today I would like to share with you an options investment I made yesterday, just prior to the Apple (AAPL) earnings announcement. While it is too late to make this same investment yourself, you might consider it three months from now when announcement time comes around again, or with another company that you feel good about.
Please continue reading down so you can see how you can come on board as a Terry’s Tips subscriber for no cost at all while enjoying all the benefits that thinkorswim incentive offers to anyone who opens an account with them.
Tags: AAPL, Calendar Spreads, Calls, diagonal spreads, Earnings Announcement, Earnings Option Strategy, Earnings Play, Portfolio, Profit, Puts, Stocks vs. Stock Options, Terry's Tips, thinkorswim, Weekly Options
Posted in AAPL, Earnings Announcement Options Strategy, Monthly Options, Stock Option Trading Idea Of The Week, Stock Options Strategies, Terry's Tips Portfolios, Weekly Options |
October 26th, 2013
Two weeks ago I told you about an options investment I made in Google. This investment was made just before Google was scheduled to announce their earnings for the latest quarter. For that reason, the October options had skyrocketed in value as they usually do just prior to an announcement, especially the options that will expire shortly after the announcement is made.
Posted in Uncategorized |
October 7th, 2013
Way back when Google (GOOG) went public at $80 a share, I decided that I would like to own 100 shares and hang on to it for the long run. Obviously, that was a good idea as the stock is trading today at $870. My $8000 investment would now be worth $87,000 if I had been able to keep my original shares. Unfortunately, over the years, an options opportunity inevitably came along that looked more attractive to me than my 100 shares of GOOG, and I sold my shares to take advantage of the opportunity.
Many times my investment account had . . .
Tags: Auto-Trade, Calendar Spreads, Calls, diagonal spreads, GOOG, Google, LEAPS, Monthly Options, Portfolio, Profit, profits, Puts, Risk, shoot strategy, Stocks vs. Stock Options, Terry's Tips, thinkorswim, Volatility, Weekly Options
Posted in Monthly Options, Stock Option Trading Idea Of The Week, Stock Options Strategies, Terry's Tips Portfolios, Weekly Options |
September 24th, 2013
The options portfolio should make a double-digit gain in the next four weeks even if the stock falls by $3 or so. If you like Nike, you will have to like this options portfolio even more.
Read to the bottom of this letter to learn how you can become a Terry’s Tips Insider for absolutely no cost.
Terry
Tags: Auto-Trade, Bullish Options strategies, Calendar Spreads, Calls, COST, diagonal spreads, implied volatility, LEAPS, Monthly Options, NKE, Options Tutorial Program, Portfolio, Profit, Puts, Terry's Tips, thinkorswim, White Paper
Posted in 10K Strategies, Monthly Options, Stock Option Trading Idea Of The Week, Stock Options Strategies, Terry's Tips Portfolios |
September 9th, 2013
This week we will start a discussion about the “Greeks” – the measures designed to predict how option prices will change when underlying stock prices change or time elapses. It is important to have a basic understanding of some of these measures before embarking on trading options.
I hope you enjoy this short discussion.
Tags: Calls, delta, ETF, Greeks, implied volatility, intrinsic value, Monthly Options, Portfolio, Profit, profits, Puts, SPY, Terry's Tips, thinkorswim, VIX, Volatility
Posted in 10K Strategies, Monthly Options, SPY, Stock Options Strategies, Terry's Tips Portfolios |
August 28th, 2013
I performed a back-test of weekly SPY volatility for the past year and discovered that in just about half the weeks, the stock fluctuated at some point during the week by $3 either up or down (actual number 27 of 52 weeks). That means if you could have bought an at-the-money straddle for $2 (both an at-the-money call and put), about half the time you could sell it for a 50% gain if you placed a limit order to sell the straddle for $3. As long as the stock moves at least $3 either up or down at some point during the week you can be assured that the straddle can be sold for $3.
Here are the numbers for SPY for the past six months:
Tags: Auto-Trade, Calls, ETF, Market Crash Protection, Monthly Options, Portfolio, Profit, profits, Puts, Risk, SPY, Straddles, Terry's Tips, thinkorswim, VIX, Volatility, Weekly Options
Posted in Monthly Options, SPY, Stock Option Trading Idea Of The Week, Stock Options Strategies, Terry's Tips Portfolios, Weekly Options |
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