Where Directional Traders Come to be Cured

TESTIMONIALS . . .

Mike – There is not a day that goes by that we do not think of you and are thankful for the introduction to this world of non directional trading. I urge all traders to take your course and then begin to think and trade for themselves – and use the creative license you allowed us to receive.  – Ron


Mike – You should be very proud of your performance, and I just wanted to thank you for teaching me your strategies. – Lee


Mike – I fully value and appreciate your candor, strategies and insight.  You simplify what others try to complicate.  I have gleaned a wealth (full pun intended) of information from both your newsletter and class.  – Gene

June 26, 2011 – Market Still Bouncing Around

MARKET STILL
BOUNCING AROUND
Happy Sunday Everyone,
What do protective puts and condoms have in common?
It’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.”
That’s an old trader’s joke, but I thought it might be an interesting way to start a Sunday column.
Weekly Updates
We were 50% successful in trying to put on our Weekly trade
ideas.  The premium disappeared early Friday from the GLD options and the trade was no longer viable – even though we were willing to adjust strikes.
On the other hand, our AAPL Weekly Iron Condor was a little easier.  We filled the 345/350 bear call spread early for $.25.  Then, the market started down, so we waited a little while.
We moved our strikes on the bull put spread down to 310/305 and we were filled at $.25.
New Educational Trade
Idea – Going Both Ways
Amazon (AMZN) is setting up for what might be a nice bounce back up to its May high. Let’s use an SRS Ratio Spread.  With AMZN at 192.55, if it moves up, and holds, 193.95, we will:
Buy one AMZN August 190 call
Sell one AMZN August 200 call
Debit of about $4.80
Sell two AMZN August 165 puts
Credit of about $4.50
Net debit of about $.30
Initial maintenance is about $3,750.  There is solid support above the 165
level.  The trade has a pretty good chance of making us some money.  The above prices were based on Friday’s closing.  You know things will be different on Monday.  Be careful.
We’re going to try an experiment with this trade.  We’re going to monitor it two different
ways.
We’ve had dozens successful Educational SRS trades and subscribers have made a very nice piece of change as a result.  However, I’ve been asked this question more than once.  If we’re going to sell one or two puts to generate premium to buy the bull call spread, why not just simply sell the puts?
In the above trade, if we sold the two August AMZN puts (at $2.25 each), we’d have taken in  $4.50 ($900).  The initial maintenance would be the same – about $3,750.
The difference between the strategies depends on the individual trader’s preference.  A trader could benefit more with the SRS – if AMZN moves through the bull call spread and closes above it.  The profit could be the full $10 difference between the long and short strikes.
If we’re just selling the puts, our maximum potential profit is the $4.50 we took in initially when we put on the position.  But, if we’re just looking to snatch a few dollars of profit and GTFO quick (which we often do), just selling the short puts might be the better approach.  So, let’s just monitor this trade both ways and see where it takes us.  We may have to make some interesting decisions along the way.  Stay tuned . . .
Finally!!
I finally found a computer guy who was able to fix one of my website problems.  At least now I’m able to post the column to the website.  I posted all the ones we missed over the last few weeks.  We still have more work to do on the site, but the columns are up.
Have You Ever Been To Myrtle Beach?
Last year I bought a once bedroom oceanfront condo on Myrtle Beach that I spend some time enjoying.  Those of you who are familiar with Myrtle Beach know how beautiful it is.  It’s a great place to spend a few days or a week.  I’m making it available to subscribers for substantially less than the market price.
If you’d like to see what it looks like, go to www.mymyrtlebeachcondo.com.  Check out the photos and description.  It’s peaceful.  It’s relaxing and it’s right on the ocean.  Give me a call if you’re interested.  It has free internet, so, yes, you can trade there.
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OPEN CORE PORTFOLIO
POSITIONS
Core Portfolio July Position #1 – RUT Sweet-Spot Condor – 797.79
On 5/27, we bought 2 RUT
July 740 puts, sold 10 RUT July 730 puts, bought 8 RUT July 710 puts.  We also bought 2 RUT July 900 calls, sold 10
RUT July 910 calls and bought 8 RUT July 930 calls for a net credit of
$1,290.  Maintenance is $16,000.
Core Portfolio July Position #2 – RUT Iron Condor – 797.79
On 6/6, we sold 10 RUT
July 710/700 bull put spreads for $.65 ($650).
We also sold 10 RUT July 870/880 bear call spreads for a credit of $.65
($650).  Net credit of $1.30
($1300).  Maximum profit range is 710 to
870.  The maintenance is $10,000.
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EDUCATIONAL POSITION
PORTFOLIO

This
portfolio highlights trades using alternative strategies – beyond our standard
Iron Condor and basic credit spreads.
WEEKLYS
AAPL Weekly Iron Condor – 326.35
On
6/24 we sold 5 AAPL Weekly 345/350 bear call spreads for $.25 and sold 5 AAPL
Weekly 310/305 bull puts for $.25.  Total
net credit is $.50 ($250).  Max profit
range is 310 – 345.  Maintenance is
$2,500.
UPSIDE
Educational Portfolio #1 –
JOYG SRS Ratio Ladder Spread – 86.65
On
4/29, with JOYG at about $99.85, we bought one JOYG July $97.50 call and sold
one JOYG July $105 call for a debit of $3.60. Then, we sold one July $87.50 and
one July $85 put for a total credit of $3.60.
Initial maintenance is about $2,086.
Educational Portfolio #2 -
NKE SRS Ratio Ladder Spread – 81.18
On 2/16, with NKE at about
86.15, we bought one NKE July $85 call and sold one NKE July $90 call for a
debit of $2.30. Then, we sold one NKE July $75 put and one NKE July $70 put for
a credit of $2.30 – a wash.   Initial maintenance is about $1,690.
Educational Portfolio #3 -
FFIV SRS Ratio Spread – 106.10
On 2/11, with FFIV at
about $126.50, we bought one April FFIV 125 call and sold one April FFIV 135
call for a debit of $4.50.  We now own 200 shares of FFIV at an average
cost per share of $107.50.  Sold 2 July
$100 calls for $7.80.
Educational Portfolio #4 – AAPL Beat-the-Bank (Long Term) – 326.35
On 4/27, with Apple about
$348, we sold 10 January 2012 235/225 bull put spreads for $.83 ($830).  Maintenance $10,000.   Get
comfortable.  We’ll be in this one for a
long time.
Educational Portfolio #5 – BIDU Diagonal Calendar – 128.68
On 5/18, with BIDU near
132, we bought two Jan. 2012 110 calls for $31.55 ($6310), sold one June $140
call and one June $145 call for a total of $4.75 ($475).  This is similar to a covered call position,
using the Jan. 2012 call instead of owning the stock
.
We sold the July 135 & 140 calls for $2.51 and $1.46
respectively, for a total of $3.96.  It
cost us a total of $.10 to buy back the short June 140 & 145 calls.  Our net premium credit was $3.86 ($3.96 -
$.10).  We’ve taken in $4.75 in June plus
the $3.86 for July for a total of $8.61.
We paid $31.55 for the Jan. 2012 110 call.  Our new cost basis for the 110 call is
$22.84.
DOWNSIDE
Educational Portfolio #6 – SPY Put
Butterfly – 126.81
On 6/15, we
bought five June Quarterly 128 puts, sold ten June Quarterly 126 puts, and
bought five June Quarterly 124 puts for a net debit of $.32 ($160).
Educational Portfolio #7 – SPX “Sure
Thing” Spread – 1268.45
On 6/17, we
sold two July SPX 1310 calls and bought two July 1330 calls for a net credit of
$7.20.  Maintenance is $5,000 ($2,500 per
contract).
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ZERO PLUS POSITION –
Exploring New Positions
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ONGOING LONG-TERM
PORTFOLIO (Background & Results)

This portfolio highlights long-term positions that we monitor for
conservative traders.
A few years ago, I outlined a Zero-Plus strategy based on an initial investment
of $100,000. At that time, $74,000 was spent on zero coupon bonds maturing in
about seven years at a value of $100,000. The principal $100,000 investment is
guaranteed. We’ve been trading the remaining $26,000 to generate a “risk
free” return on the original investment. We are not compounding our profits
by dramatically increasing the number of contracts we trade. After June’s 100%
profitable trade, our new cash total is $82,330 ($81,180 + $1,150).  ______________________________________________________________
RECENTLY CLOSED EDUCATIONAL
POSITIONS
SPX Weekly – Bull Put
Spread – 1295.52
On
6/17, we sold one Weekly SPX 1315/1335 bull put spread for a net credit of
$1.90.  Maintenance is $2,000 per
contract.  Closed 6/23 for $.05. Net
Profit of $1.85 ($185)
Educational Portfolio -
UUP SRS Ratio Strategy
On 10/25, we sold two June
UUP $21 puts, bought one $22 call and sold one $24 call for a debit of
$.10.  Maintenance is $670.  This is a bet on the strengthening of
the dollar in the next six months.  All options
expired worthless.  Cost was only a dime.
Educational Portfolio  – SPY Butterfly
On
6/8 with the SPY at 129, we put on a 5/10/5 128/126/124 put butterfly for a
debit of $.28 ($280).  Closed 6/15 for
$.62, a net Profit of $.34 – a double.
Educational Portfolio – V
Put Ratio Ladder Spread
On
3/14, with V at about $71.50, we bought one V June $75 put and sold one V June
$70 put. Then, we sold one June $65 put and sold one June $60 put for a net
credit of $.71.  Initial maintenance is
about $1,600. Closed 6/15 for a total net Profit of $1.31.
AAPL Weekly Iron Condor
We
sold 10 Apple 330/325 bull put spreads and 10 Apple 360/365 bear call spreads
for a credit of $.68.  Maintenance is
$5,000.  On 6/10, closed at $1.39.  Net loss of $.71 ($710).
QQQ Weekly – Boston Strangle
On 5/27, with
the QQQ at about $57.35, we bought 10 QQQ Weekly $58 puts and bought 10 Weekly
$57 calls for a debit of $1.47.  Risk is
only $.47 ($470).  Closed 6/1 for $1.49,
just over breakeven.
SPX Weekly – SPX Weekly Bull Put
Spread
On 5/20 we
sold 10 SPX Weekly 1300 puts and bought 10 SPX 1290 puts for a credit of $.50
($500).  The maintenance $10,000.  Profit of $500 = 5.26%
Educational Portfolio –
OIH SRS Spread
On
5/23, with OIH about 145, we bought the July 144/150 bull call spread and sold
the July 135 put for a net credit of $.10.
Closed 5/27 for net Profit of $2.95.
QQQ Weekly – QQQ Weekly Boston
Strangle
On 5/20, we
bought 10 Weekly QQQ 59 puts and bought 10 QQQ 58 calls for a debit of $1.57.
Risk is $.57 ($570). Closed 5/23 for a Profit of $1.36 = 238% over the
weekend.
SPX Weekly – Bull Put
Spread
On
5/5, with the SPX at about 1351, we sold a 1375/1400 bear call spread for a
credit of $1.35.  Maintenance is $2,500
per contract.  Closed 5/11 for $.10.  Net Profit of $1.25
Educational Portfolio –
AMZN SRS Ratio Spread
On
5/9, we bought one July 195/205 bull call spread and sold two July 175 puts for
a net debit of $.10.  On 5/12, we closed
the position for a net Profit of $2.35 in only four days!
Educational Portfolio  – OIH Put Spread
On
4/11, we bought one May OIH 164 put and sold one May 159 put. Then, we sold one
May OIH 148 put for a net debit of $.40.
Closed 5/11 for credit of $2.55. Net Profit of $2.15.
Weekly – SPY Boston Strangle
On 4/29,
anticipating a large move, we bought 5 SPY Weekly (5/6) 137 puts and bought 5
SPY Weekly (5/6) 135 calls for a debit of $2.95. On 5/5, closed position for
$3.40, a Profit of 47% in less than a week.
Educational Portfolio –
IBM SRS Ratio Spread
On
4/21, with IBM at about 166.50, we bought one IBM July 165 call, sold one IBM
July 170 call and sold two IBM July 145 puts for a credit of $.10.  Initial maintenance is $3,160. Closed 4/29
for a net Profit of $2.23 in only 6 trading days!
Educational Portfolio –
SPY SRS Ratio Spread
On
4/21, with SPY at about 131.50, we bought one SPY June $130 call, sold one SPY
June $135 call and sold two June $124 puts for a credit of $.02.  Initial margin requirement is $4,000.  Closed 4/27 for a Profit of $2.18 in less
than a week!
Educational Portfolio –
SPY Put Ratio Spread
On
3/21, with the SPY at 129.80, we bought one April SPY 131 put and sold one
April SPY 127 put.  Then, we sold two
April SPY 121 puts for a net debit of $.04.
Closed 4/15 for credit of $.20.  Net
Profit of $.16 ($.20 – .04).
Educational Portfolio -
DIA Put Ratio
On 1/27, with the DIA at
119.50, we bought 5 DIA April 120 puts and sold 5 DIA April 116 puts.  We
also sold 10 DIA April 109 puts.  Net credit is $.05.  All options expired worthless.  Profit:  $.05 (initial credit)
Educational Portfolio -
Weekly Trade  – Apple Iron Condor
On
4/8 we sold 10 April Apple 325 puts, bought 12 315 puts. Sold 10 April
Apple 350 calls and bought 12 360 calls for a net credit of $1,160.  Maintenance is $10,000. Closed 4/13. Net was
a Profit of $974.
Educational Portfolio -
Weekly Trade – SPY Butterfly
On
4/8 we bought 5 April SPY 132 puts, sold 10 April SPY 130 puts and bought 5
Alpril SPY 128 puts for a debit of $.21 ($105).
Closed on 4/13.  Net was a
profit of $240 ($.48 x 500).
Educational Portfolio #6 –
IWM Put Ratio Spread
On
3/29, with the IWM at 84, we bought one May IWM 85 put and sold one May 82 put.
Then, we sold two May IWM 75 puts for a net credit of $.06. Initial maintenance
is about $1,600.  Closed 4/14 for a
net Profit of $2.44 ($2.38 + $.06)
Educational Portfolio –
CRM SRS Ratio Ladder Spread
On
3/28, with CRM at $128, we bought one May CRM $125 call and sold one June $135
call. We sold one CRM $110 put and one CRM $105 put. Net credit = $.25.  Initial maintenance is $2,520.  Closed 4/8 for net Profit of $3.75.
Educational Portfolio –
SPX Weekly Bull Put Spread
On
4/1, with the SPX at 1336, we sold one Weekly 1300 put and bought one 1275 put
for a credit of $1.35.  Maintenance is
$2,500 per contract. Closed 4/6 for $.20 and a net Profit of $1.15.
Educational Portfolio -
SOHU SRS Ratio Spread
On 3/10, with SOHU at
about 82, we bought one SOHU June $80 call and sold one SOHU June $90 call for
a debit of $4.25.  Then we sold 2 SOHU June $65 puts for $4.10.  Net
debit of $.15.  Closed 3/29 for net
profit of $3.80.
Educational Portfolio –
BIDU SRS Ratio Ladder
On
3/23, with BIDU at 127.25, we bought 1 June BIDU 125 call and sold 1 BIDU 135
call. We also sold 1 BIDU June 105 put and one BIDU June 100 put for net credit
of $.30 ($30).  Initial maintenance was
$2,540. Closed 3/25 for net profit of $2.93.
Educational Portfolio -
Weekly SPX Bear Call Spread
On 3/18, with SPX at about
1315, we sold one SPX Weekly (3/24) 1325 call and bought one SPX Weekly (3/24)
1350 call for a credit of $1.30 ($130).  Maintenance is $2,500 per
contract.  Closed 3/22 for $.30 and
a net Profit of $1.00 – in three days..
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Renewal Process
The renewal process is
pretty simple.  We’ve done quite well this past year.   More
than likely, you will want to continue to receive our thoughts, insights, ideas
and trade suggestions.  We had a successful 2010 and are doing well in
2011, particularly with the new strategies we have introduced last year. When
your renewal date is hit, your subscription will automatically be renewed based
on the information you provided when you originally subscribed.  The rate
has not changed.  It’s still less than half the profit of a single
trade.  You will continue to receive all the subscriber benefits for the
same low bargain price ($495) as last year.  Thanks to all of you who make
this job a labor of love.
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OPTION
PROFITS: The Naked Truth

My
book “Option Profits: The Naked Truth” are now available at Traders
Press and Amazon.com.  The link to Traders Press to order the book is:
http://www.traderspress.com/detail.php?PKey=628
View the table of contents, a preface and actual reviews of the book (I’ll give
you a hint: – they like it – a lot).  Check it out.
________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer
Opinions and information in this newsletter are provided for educational purposes
only.  No statement in the newsletter should be construed as a
recommendation to buy or sell a security or to provide investment advice. It is
possible at this or some subsequent time, the editors or staff of Mike Parnos’
Options Newsletter may own, buy or sell securities discussed.  All
investors should consult a qualified professional before trading in any
security. Stock and option trading involves risk and are not suitable for all
investors. The information provided has been obtained from sources deemed
reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy and completeness.­