Just over two months ago, shortly before Christmas, I suggested that you might consider making a bet that Google (GOOG) would be higher in one year than it was then.   I figured the chances were pretty good that it might move higher because it had done just that in 9 of its 10 years in existence.

I made this bet in my personal account and also in a real account for Insiders at Terry’s Tips to follow, or mirror in their own accounts.  The stock has moved up by about $90 since then and the bet is looking like it might pay off.

Today I would like to discuss either taking a profit early or doing something else with Google if you feel good about the company as I do.

Terry

Another Interesting Options Bet on Google

In my January 4, 2014 Saturday Report sent to Terry’s Tips Insiders, I set up a new demonstration actual portfolio that made long-term bets on three underlying stocks that I believe would be higher well out in the future than they were then.  This is what I said about one of them – “The most interesting one, on Google, will make just over 100% on the money at risk if Google is trading at $1120 or higher on January 17, 2015, a full year and two weeks from now.  It was trading at $1118 when we placed the spread, buying Jan-15 1100 puts and selling Jan-15 1120 puts for a credit of $10.06.  The stock fell to $1105 after we bought the spreads, so you may be able to get a better price if you do this on your own next week.

GOOG has gained in 9 of the 10 years of its existence, only falling in the market-meltdown of 2007.  If you were to make 100% in 9 years and loss 100% in the tenth year, your average gain for the ten-year period would be 80%.  That’s what you would have made over the past 10 years.  If the next 10 years shows the same pattern, you would beat Las Vegas odds by quite a bit, surely better odds than plunking your money down on red or black at the roulette table.

I have told many friends about this bet on Google, and most of them said they would not do it, even if they had faith in the company.  The fear of losing 100% of their investment seemed to be greater than the joy of possibly making an average of 80% a year.  I told them that the trick would be to make the bet every year with the same amount, and not to double down if you won in the first year.  But that did not seem to sway their thinking.  I find their attitude most interesting.  I am looking forward to 10 years of fun with the spread.  It is a shame that it will take so long for the wheel to stop spinning, however.

It is now almost two months later and Google’s latest earnings announcement has suggested that the company has continued to be able to monetize its Internet traffic better than anyone else, especially the social media companies who are drawing most of the market’s attention.  GOOG (at $1204) is trading almost $100 higher than it was when I wrote that report and sold that vertical put credit spread.

In the demonstration portfolio account, I had sold 5 of those vertical put spreads, collecting $10.06 ($5030 for 5 spreads) and there was a $10,000 maintenance requirement charged (no interest like a margin loan, just a claim on cash that can’t be used to buy other stocks or options).  My net investment (and maximum loss would be the maintenance requirement less the amount I received in cash, or $4970).

With the stock trading so much higher, I could now buy the spread back for $7.20 and pick up a gain of $1430.  It is tempting to take a 28% profit after only two months, but I like the idea of hanging on for another 10 months and making the full 100% that is possible.  Now I am in the comfortable position of knowing I can make that 100% even if the stock falls by $84 over that time.

Rather than taking the gain at this time, I am more tempted to buy more of these spreads.  If I could sell them for $7.20 my net investment would be $12.80 and I could make 39% on my money as long as GOOG doesn’t fall by more than $84 in 10 months.  This kind of return is astronomical compared to most investments out there, especially when your stock can fall by so much and you still make that high percentage gain.

Even better, since I continue to like the company, I am planning to sell another vertical put credit spread for the Jan-15 option series.  Today, I will buy Jan-15 1110 puts and sell Jan-15 1140 puts, expecting to receive about $11 ($1100) per spread.  My maximum loss and net investment will be $1900 and if GOOG manages to close above $1140 ($64 below its current level) on January 21, 2015, I will make 57% on my investment after commissions.

I like my odds here, just as I did when I made the earlier investment on Google.  I believe that many investors should put a small amount of their portfolio in an option investment like this, just so they can enjoy an extraordinary percentage gain on some of their money.  And it is sort of fun to own such an investment, especially when it seems to be going your way, or if not exactly going your way, at least not too much in the other direction.

Twice in the past three weeks I told everyone why I was bullish on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) and how I was playing the options prior to their earnings announcement last week.

If anyone noticed, the stock is trading about 40% higher now after the company announced a 10-year deal with Coke for selling single portions of Coke.

This was one of those sad times where I was right but didn’t make very much money from the great news, however.  Such is sometimes the plight of owning options.  Almost anything can happen, depending on what kind of a spread you put on.

Enjoy the discussion of three kinds of option spreads.

Terry

Follow-Up on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

This is what I wrote two weeks ago – “I bought a diagonal call spread, buying GMCR Jun-14 70 calls and selling Feb1-14 80 calls.  The spread cost me $9.80 at a time when the stock was trading at just below $80.  If the stock moves higher, no matter how high it goes, this spread will be worth at least $10 plus the value of the time premium for the 70 call with about 5 months of remaining value, no matter how much IV might fall for the June options. The higher the stock might soar, the less I would make, but I expect I should make at least 20% on my money (if the stock moves higher) in 17 days.”

While the spread could not lose money no matter how high the stock might go, this was not a great investment to make if you were as bullish on the company as I was.  The more it rose above $80, the less it would make.  A 40% move on an earnings announcement is highly unusual, but that is what happened.

When the stock traded down a bit last Friday, I sold that spread for $11.00, making $1.20 less commissions of $.05, or $1.15 ($115 per spread).  That worked out to about 12%.  I will never complain about making a gain, but this was a major disappointment when I was so right about how the stock would move after the announcement.  It just moved a whole lot more than I expected.

Last week I told you about another spread I placed on GMCR before earnings.  This was a calendar spread (same strike, buy one further-out month and sell a shorter-term option).  The trick was to pick the strike price you believed the stock would end up after the announcement.  With the stock trading at $80 before the announcement, I suggested to pick the 85 strike (buying April calls and selling March calls for about $.80 per contract).

The further away from $85 the stock traded after the announcement, the less well the calendar spread would do.  On the other hand, if you correctly picked the price, you could make 200% or more on your money.  When the stock soared $30 and was trading around $110, this spread lost about half its value (I actually bought 100 of these spreads at the 90 strike instead of the 85 strike, but this spread did not do much better – I am hanging on to most of the contracts just in case it reverses direction over the next 6 weeks).

Another spread which I did not report to everyone (except my paying subscribers) was a vertical put credit spread, selling 85 puts and buying 75 puts in the same month.  I placed these trades for June, collecting a credit of $5.20, making my investment $480 per spread (this is the amount that would be my maximum loss if GMCR closes below $75 in June).  If the stock closes above $85 (which it looks highly likely to do), I will make 108% on my investment.  (I also sold similar vertical put credit spreads for both March and June at others strikes, and every spread appears that it will make 70% or better at expiration).

This time around, the calendar spreads didn’t fare well because the stock skyrocketed so high.  It is really necessary to guess where the stock will end up with that kind of spread.  I was too conservative in my bullishness. Who would have ever guessed that the stock would soar by 40%?  Certainly not me.  But I was happy that I also bought some other directional spreads that profited from the upward move (these spreads would have done just as well, or better, if the upward stock price move had been smaller).

Today after the close, one of my favorite stocks, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMRC) , announces earnings.  I am taking quite a chance telling you about another option spread investment that I made this week because if the stock tanks after today’s announcement, I won’t be looking so good.The idea I am suggesting can be used for any stock you might have an opinion about, and it could easily double your money in about six weeks if you are approximately right about where the stock might be at that time.

Terry

An Interesting Calendar Spread Play

As you probably know, I love calendar spreads.  These spreads involve buying a longer-out option and selling a shorter-length option at the same strike price.  You only have to come up with the difference between the two option prices when you place the order.

When the short options expire, if the stock is very close to the strike price of your spread, you can expect to sell the spread for a great deal more than you paid for it.The further away from the strike price the stock is when the short options expire, the less valuable the original spread will be.

The trick is guessing where the stock might end up when the short options expire. This takes a little luck since no one really knows what any stock is likely to do in the short run.  But if it’s a stock you have followed closely, you might have an idea of where it is headed.

I happen to like GMCR.  I like knowing that insiders have bought millions of dollars worth of stock in the past few months and 30% of the stock has been sold short (a short squeeze could push the stock way up).  So I am guessing that the stock will be closer to $85 in six weeks compared to $80 where it closed yesterday (as I write this Wednesday morning it has moved up to about $81.50).

I bought a calendar spread on GMCR at the 85 strike, buying Apr-14 calls and selling Mar-14 calls.  I paid $.85 ($85) per spread for 10 spreads, shelling out $850 plus $25 in commissions.  Here is the risk profile graph for March 22 when the short options expire:

The graph shows that the stock can fall by as much as $5 and I will make a gain, or it can go up by more than $10 and I should expect a gain.  This seems to be a pretty large break-even range to me.  If I am lucky enough to see the stock end up near my $85 target, it is possible to triple my money in six weeks.

One nice thing about calendar spreads is that you can’t lose all of your investment.   No matter where the stock goes, the value of the April options will always be greater than the price of the March options at the same strike price.  When you are only risking $85 per spread, you can be quite wrong about where the stock ends up and still expect to make a gain.