Optos Share Discussion Threads

[alphorn] 20/10/2014 11:21

You will need to ask Profitaker.

[harvester] 20/10/2014 09:31

MJ: Short Oct 5600calls? Presumably you collected a big up-front premium when selling the calls . I would not dare to sell DITM options myself.

[praipus] 20/10/2014 08:22

Thanks Alphorn thats what I've been assuming too.

[mayjuli] 19/10/2014 19:44

Harv.

It was not as painful as it looks.
Unfortunately they were "covered" by short 5600 calls so what I was losing on one, I was gaining on the other.
Ideally I would have liked not to have had the losing side this month but in the previous 2 years the puts have been useful in offsetting the costs of running the losing calls.

On Friday expiry I managed to roll the calls over for no cost. If I had done it Thursday lunch time it would have been a decent credit.

mj

[alphorn] 17/10/2014 21:22

Good question. Not being a techie I would say calendar days.

[praipus] 17/10/2014 19:53

Greeks: Delta

Read a couple of references to Delta being used as a rudimentary form of probability. Looking through old posts I can see we've discussed Vega (volatility) time frames.

Having seen a written PUT option with only 5% Delta/probability of being ITM (in the money) bloon by 500% I can vouch for it not being a reliable safety measure.

However in the Delta calculation for time would you use calendar days or trading days?

[alphorn] 16/10/2014 17:32

Harv - probably safe with AZN; a risk of some other sort of transaction in the absence of an outright bid? They could bring in Shire!

[harvester] 16/10/2014 17:22

ALP:
I have numerous written stock calls running , all of which look good right now .
Today I sold AZN Dec 5000calls @ 38 , adding to several existing short positions in AZN . Not expecting a renewal of a Pfizer bid .
Also today rolled down 3X AZN dec 3800P to 3700 puts @ 28 debit .

[harvester] 16/10/2014 17:16

Mayj: sounds painful . Hope that you can offset it somehow .

Prof: sorry to hear that it did not work out this month . At least you have had quite a long run of successful trades in previous months .

I had a little bet on the FTSE in October which resulted in a loss.
Sold 1x Oct 6200puts @ 8 credit; then after sharp market dip last week rolled it down to 61oo puts for debit of 6 .
Since it was only a small position I held on to late today to let time decay work in my favour.
Closed the position around 16:00 for 9 debit; hence overall loss.

Had much greater losses on shareholding and written puts. Spent >£3K buying put spreads , mostly december, to shore up option positions and to safeguard shareholding .
This morning sold 4K shares of SSE @ 1500 to stop erosion of long-term profits .
Also bought 4x March SSE 1500P/1450P @ -28 to safeguard some of the remaining SSE shares . Expensive but its not easy buying puts or put spreads in this volatile down market .
SSE is good defensive share with high divi payout but not immune in this market .
Similar defensive moves to protect National Grid shares . I like to hang on to my high divi earners a bit longer .

[profitaker] 16/10/2014 10:45

Bought to close the 6100P at 72.5 what a disaster!

[mayjuli] 15/10/2014 09:42

I closed my Oct 6700 puts yesterday for 375, and then saw the ftse rise again.
Fotunately it is down lower now.

[alphorn] 14/10/2014 11:46

Rolling various puts forward to June, hopefully out of trouble with this down turn. Once again the naked calls seem to be the safer bet to earn premium; just must not be caught out with a bid.

[mayjuli] 10/10/2014 12:44

PT.

At least at this rate the volatility for next month should be better, except for me where the strike will be in the middle of the gut.

[profitaker] 02/10/2014 16:03

Tell me about it MJ !

This market is falling too fast for my liking so legged down 6250P >> 6100P for a debit of 11.5

Small loss on the initial trade and that is providing the 6100P hold good, but better safe than sorry.

[mayjuli] 30/9/2014 21:30

PT.

I sold the 6700 puts on Sept expiry.
Since then it has gone down down down.

MJ

[younasm] 26/9/2014 18:18

£15 per trade -- seems quite expensive to me unless its a flat fee to purchase say, 10 contracts etc.

[praipus] 26/9/2014 18:07

TD Ameritrade software "Think or Swim" looks fantastic but is not available to UK citizens. An Account application re-directs to TD Waterhouse and they dont do options.

Is the UK technologically backward?

[zastas] 26/9/2014 13:42

I don't know whether any of you have already done so too, but I can report that FXCM now allows option writing online. It's working fine so far imo, after some initial incomplete option displays. In my case a significant saving, and it allows you to easily adjust any unfilled orders. Selling fee is now just £15 per trade.

I have sold some SBRY now; well share price can always go down further, with or without the ( true or maliciously placed ) rumours. I will be happy to accept shares in the low 200s.

[harvester] 26/9/2014 13:37

STO 1x FTSE Oct 6200puts @ 8 credit
Barring major bad news will probably not drop 450 in 3 weeks .
I considered a strangle but premiums for 7000C too low .

[alphorn] 26/9/2014 09:01

Harv - yes, some very strange posts on the Tesco thread!

It looks as though the Debenhams option goes out 12mths so we will have to see what this Tesco one has as a time frame.

[harvester] 26/9/2014 08:23

ALP:
"not the clearest view" is an understatement. Barclays are being investigated over the lack of transparency of their public statement on the Quatari deal in 2008 .
This is my view: Blackrock which has a big shareholding in Tesco but can not unload in present market conditions fast enough appointed Goldman Sax fo assistance. GS arranged an OTC private option trade with Sportsdirect on special contract terms including unusual settlement .
The trade was a sale by SD of the options providing hedging for the beneficial buyer of the options (presumably Blackrock) . That shows a bullish market view by Sports Direct , at least to the extent that SD don't expect further massive falls .
You can even work out or make an approximate educated guess of the trade details they don't want to reveal. I think it is a near-term trade with October or November expiry at a strike price at or above 190 . (They have disclosed a max exposure of £43 million which includes the premium they gained from the option sale . Hence strike price is 43/23=190+ approx) . My guess is that they sold Nov 190 put for a premium of about 10 or October 195 puts for similar premium .
Before their deal I recently sold 4x Tesco dec 200/180 put spread @ 8.5 debit but suffered losses on my tesco shareholdings . Not in the same league as the above option deal which was for 23 million shares !!

[profitaker] 26/9/2014 08:15

MJYou must have got more than 20 for the 4700's ??? Or did you sell the Septs on expiry ?AllI've been looking at Tesco's too. The SD RNS is vague. But they're posting collateral and receiving premium therefore they've sold Puts. Unless it's hedged with a short in the underlying, it's a bullish position. No strike / expiry given. Seems like a strange move for a retailer! Given the Vol on offer verses the uncertainty I decided to give it a miss. SBRY looks a better bet, but will wait for the trading update on Wednesday.

[praipus] 25/9/2014 21:56

I'm now trying to get SPAN for ICE to work.......luckily I use to be a computer programmer!

[alphorn] 25/9/2014 09:37

"less than an agreed exercise price.......Sports Direct has the right to elect whether to settle the Put Option by acquiring ordinary shares in Tesco at the Exercise Price or by paying the cash settlement value of the Put Option".

Not the clearest of RNS's; looks as though SD have written puts to me; they receive a premium.

The view on the Tesco thread is that this a bearish position.

[mayjuli] 24/9/2014 17:17

I must say PT, your timing is impecable.
I sold the 6700 puts on Friday for 20.
Expiry is rarely the best time to sell options, but I have also found that if I wait for a better opportunity it sometimes does not arrive.