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May 23, 2013

Risk/Reward is Ever Changing

Filed under: Options Education — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Dan Passarelli @ 1:35 pm

There are quite a few option strategies have defined maximum rewards that are approached as a result of the passage of time, changes in implied volatility (IV), and/or movement or lack of movement in price of the stock.  Examples of such strategies include the sale of naked options  and vertical spreads.

As the positions “mature” by virtue of various combinations of changes or lack of change in these three main forces, the initial risk:reward calculation often changes and sometimes even dramatically.  The successful trader with a proper options education is aware of these changes, because the risk to gain the last bit of potential profit is often dramatically out of whack to the magnitude of the profit he or she seeks to obtain.

Let us consider the hypothetical example of a trader who has elected to open a position as a naked put seller.  This trader has chosen to sell out-of-the-money (OTM) puts, the June $385 strike, on AAPL which currently trades at $440 in this example.  His risk in the trade is that he is obligated to buy AAPL at the strike price at any time between opening the trade and June expiration.  For taking the risk of writing these puts, his account receives a credit of $1.10 and margin is encumbered based on SEC rules.  The credit received when the trade is opened is the maximum amount of money that can or will be received as a result of the trade.

As June expiration approaches, the stock remains at the $440 level and the market price of the puts he has sold decreases as a result of time (theta) decay.  As the price of the puts decreases and the profits increase, the risk:reward increases.  As the price declines below the often used 20% re-evaluation benchmark of the initial credit received, the risk incurred to gain the remaining residual premium is potentially substantial and may no longer be appropriate given the reward.

The experienced options trader will many times take profits and find opportunities to invest his or her money in other trades that appear to be much more attractive from a risk/reward standpoint than to remain in the existing position.

John Kmiecik

Senior Options Instructor

Market Taker Mentoring

May 16, 2013

Reviewing Strangles with AAPL

Filed under: Options Education — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Dan Passarelli @ 11:49 am

There is no doubt we have discussed straddles in the past in this blog. A straddle is an option strategy that traders  can use when the market is volatile but direction is uncertain. Another play similar to the straddle is the option strangle. In a straddle, the trader is betting on both sides of a trade by purchasing options with the same strike price and the same expiration date, on the same underlying. A trader can create a similar trade, but with a lower price by trading a strangle instead. Rather than purchasing a put and a call at the same strike (which makes up a straddle), the trader purchases a put and a call at different strikes, still with the same expiration. By using a put and a call that are out-of-the-money (OTM), a trader pays a lower initial price. However, this comes with a price so-to-speak; the stock will have to make a much larger move than if the straddle were implemented. The trader is, arguably, taking a larger risk (because a bigger move is needed than with a straddle), but is paying a lower price. Like many trade strategies there are pros and cons to each. If this all sounds a little overwhelming to you, I would invite you to checkout the Options Education section on our website.

The Particulars
Like a straddle, a strangle has two breakeven points. To calculate these points simply add the net premium (call premium + put premium) to the strike price of the call (for upside breakeven) and subtract the net premium from the put’s strike (to calculate downside breakeven).  If at expiration, the stock has advanced or dropped past one of these breakeven points, the profit potential of the strategy is unlimited (yes, unlimited). The position will take a 100% loss if the stock is trading between the put and call strikes upon expiration. Remember that the maximum loss a trader can take on a strangle is the net premium paid.

Example Trade
To create a strangle, a trader will purchase one out-of-the-money (OTM) call and one OTM put. We can use Apple (AAPL) as an example which at the time of this writing  is trading at around $432 after a volatile couple if weeks. The trader would buy both a June 435 call and a June 430 put. For simplicity, we will assign a price of $13 for both – resulting in an initial investment of $26 for our trader (which again is the maximum potential loss).

Should the stock rally past $435 at expiration, the 430 put expires worthless and the $435 call expires in-the-money (ITM) resulting in the strangle trader collecting on the position. If, for example, the intrinsic value of the call at expiration is $29, the profit is $3 (intrinsic value less the premium paid).  The same holds true if the stock falls below $430 at expiration, it then is the put that is ITM and the call expires worthless. The danger is that the stock moves nowhere by the time option expiration occurs. In this case, both legs of the position expire worthless and the initial $26, or $2,600 of actual cash, is lost.

Notice that the maximum loss is the initial premium paid, setting a nice limit to potential losses. Potential profits on the strangle are unlimited which can be very rewarding but as always, a traders needs to decide how he or she will manage the position.

John Kmiecik

Senior Options Instructor

Market Taker Mentoring

May 9, 2013

Stock Option Picks Require Analyzing the Overall Market as Well as Individual Stock Assessment

Filed under: Options Education — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Dan Passarelli @ 2:31 pm

Making stock option picks with huge profit potentials, whether the market is up or down, depends on diligent market research and a thorough understanding of stock option fundamentals.

Finding profitable trading opportunities can be tough. But you don’t have to do all the work yourself. Some professional trader services, such as Market Taker’s Group Options Coaching, make stock option picks that they share with protégés, saving individual traders time and effort.

But whether you do your own research or rely on a seasoned professional for your stock option picks, its essential to understand some basic facts about options trading.

Making stock option picks based on individual stock assessment requires an understanding of specific fundamental parameters. Traders may learn how to read an annual report and 10K stockholders report for income statements, past earnings, sales, assets, new products, and overall industry trends.

Stock option picks based on technical analysis is essential for success and requires the investor to examine the historical price movement and volume in order to determine price patterns and extrapolate future price movements. The single most important technical analysis technique is the simplest: Support and resistance lines. Specifically, horizontal support and resistance lines at the same price level in two or more time frames.

Stock option picks based on broad market analysis examines overall activity based on performance indices. Is the overall market bullish (moving up), bearish (moving down) or neutral (moving sideways)? The broad market will affect individual equities.

Stock option picks based on psychological market indicators attempts to interpret the facts and gauge whether a change from bullish to bearish (or vice versa) is in the wind. Successful options traders are frequently contrarians who buy puts in a bullish market and purchase calls in a bearish market — against convention.

Bottom line, a lot goes into stock option picks. The help of a professional with experience in “putting it all together” can make the process easier and can result in better trade ideas with greater profit potential.

Right now, you can get 20 trade ideas a day by attending the Market Taker LIVE Advantage Group Coaching at an incredible. This might just be the best trade you make this year!

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With the limited-time coupon codes, the 3-month class is an incredible value. You’ll get over 1,200 trades in that three months you sign up for. That’s less than 50 cents a trade idea given to you by a 25-year options industry veteran. Save even more with the 6-month enrollment.

Enroll today and take a step towards better trading.

May 2, 2013

Delta Explained in Simple Terms

Filed under: Options Education — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Dan Passarelli @ 1:06 pm

If you have been on an options trading floor, you may have heard comments like these for example. “What’s your delta of of the Cubs winning today?” (not good of course) or “What’s the delta the broker comes back and buys more of these?” Option traders have probably used the word delta in this context every single day of their life and if you learn to trade options like a professional, you may too.

It’s the “traders’ definition” of delta—that is, delta is the likelihood of an option expiring in-the-money. Though this definition actually has a few mathematical and theoretical shortcomings, making it not entirely technically correct, every professional option trader I know or Dan knows thinks about delta this way. Many if not most traders borrow the concept of delta being the likelihood of success and adapt into their every-day speech.

The idea is every option has an associated delta figure attached to it. Like, at the time of this writing, the Google Inc. (GOOG) May 830 calls have a 0.30 delta. That means that they change in value 30 percent like the GOOG stock. But it can also be interpreted by traders to mean that the GOOG May 830 calls have a 30-percent chance of expiring in-the-money.

This practical and “traders” use of delta helps guide traders’ expectations and helps them make better trading decisions by factoring probability into their decision-making process. I encourage retail traders to think about option delta this way. You should start today and see if it affects how you think about options and the possible different strategies that can be implemented. I’m 100 delta that you’ll be happy you did.

John Kmiecik

Senior Options Instructor

Market Taker Mentoring

April 18, 2013

Front-Month Puts May Not be the Best Solution

Filed under: Options Education — Tags: , , , , , , , — Dan Passarelli @ 8:48 am

With the market threatening to move lower after a bullish run to start the year and earning’s season upon us, it might be a good time to talk about put options. If a trader buys a put option, he or she has the right to sell the underlying at a particular price (strike price) before a certain time (expiration). If a trader owns 100 shares of stock and purchases a put option, the trader may be able to protect the position fully or to some degree because he or she will have the right to sell the stock at the strike price by expiration even if the shares lose value.

A lot of traders especially those who are just learning to trade options can be smitten by put options especially buying the shortest-term, or front month put for protection. The problem, however, is that there is a flaw to the reasoning of purchasing front-month puts as protection. Front-month contracts have a higher theta (time decay) and relying on front-month puts to protect a straight stock purchase is not necessarily the best way to protect the stock. If you were to continually purchase front-month puts as protection, that can end up being a rather expensive way to by insurance.

Although front month options are often cheaper, they are not always your best bet. The idea may be sound, the trader purchases a number of shares of the stock and purchases out-of-the-money puts to protect his or her position; but sound reasoning does not always lead to good practice. Here’s an example.

We will use a hypothetical trade. The stock is trading a slightly above 13 and our hypothetical trader wants to own the stock because he or she thinks the stock will beat its earnings’ estimates in each of the next two quarters. This investment will take at least six months as the trader wants to allow the news events to move the stock higher.

Being a smart options trader, our stock trader wants some insurance against a potential drop in the stock just in case. The trader decides to buy a slightly out-of-the-money October 13 put, which carries an ask price of $0.50 (rounded for simplicity purposes). That 0.50 premium represents almost 4 percent of the current stock price. In fact, if the investor rolled option month after month, it would create a big dent in the initial outlay of cash. To be sure, after about seven months (assuming the stock hangs around $13) the trader would lose more than 25 percent on the $13 investment.

If the stock drops in price, then the ultimate rationalization for the strategy is realized; protection. The put provides a hedge. The value of the option will increase as the stock drops, which can offset the loss suffered as the stock drops. Buying the put is a hedge and and a solid insurance policy – though, albeit, an expensive one. Investors can usually find better ways to protect a stock.

John Kmiecik

Senior Options Instructor

Market Taker Mentoring

April 11, 2013

Trading a Long Call or Trading a Bull Call Spread AAPL

Filed under: Options Education — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Dan Passarelli @ 1:17 pm

Purchasing a Call vs. Bull Call Spread
With the market moving higher at unprecedented levels recently, it probably made sense to have at least a moderately bullish bias towards many stocks. The market is due for some type of pullback but whose to say it won’t continue on its bullish pace. Is there a way that you can take advantage of this bullish investing scenario while limiting risk? Certainly, there are a couple. One that may be a better option compared to the rest is the bull call spread. To learn to trade this strategy and more in detail please visit our website for details.

Definition
When implementing a bull call, a trader purchases call options at one strike and sells the same number of calls on the same company at a higher strike with the same expiration date. Let’s use Apple Inc. (AAPL) which is currently trading around $435 as an example. In this case you would purchase May calls at the 435 at-the-money strike at the ask price of $18. You would then sell the same number of May calls with a higher strike price, in this case 455 at the bid, $10.

The Math
The trader’s maximum profit in the bull call spread is limited; he can make as much as the difference between the strike prices less the net debit paid. For simplicity, let’s assume that he purchased one May 435 call and sold one May 455 call resulting in a net debit of $8 (that’s $18 – $10). The difference in the strike prices is $20 (455 – 435). He would subtract 8 from 20 to end up with a maximum profit of $12 per contract. So if he traded 10 contracts, you could make $12,000.

Although he limited his upside, the trader also limited the downside to the net debit of $8 per contract. To simply breakeven, the stock would have to trade at $443 (the strike price of the purchased call (435) plus net debit ($8)) at expiration.

Advantage versus Purchasing a Call
When trading the long call, a trader’s downside is limited to the net premium paid. If he simply purchased the at-the-money May 435 call he would have paid $18. The potential loss is, therefore, greater when implementing a call-buying strategy. If he had moved to a call with a longer time frame to expiration, he would have even paid more for the option. This would also increase his potential loss per option.

Conclusion
By implementing a bull call spread, traders can hedge their bets – limiting the potential loss. This is the advantage when comparing to purchasing a call outright. Remember that there are no sure-fire ways to make money by using options. However, knowing and understanding the strategy is a good way to limit losses.

John Kmiecik

Senior Options Instructor

Market Taker Mentoring

March 28, 2013

Buying Calls Instead of Apple Stock

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , — Dan Passarelli @ 12:21 pm

You have been watching  Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) and you believe this downtrend for the stock is about to end. You believe that this stock, despite its high price, now has potential and could easily make it back to $500 soon. The problem is that you don’t want to shell out $450 for one share of the technology giant. What can you do to maximize your money and cash in on A potential move to the upside? Simple, buy a call option rather than the stock.

Quick Definition
A call option is a bullish strategy where a trader purchases the right (but not the obligation) to purchase a stock at a specified price within a specific time period. One advantage to buying a call option rather than purchasing a stock is that you can gain a much larger percentage return on your investment. To learn more advantages, please check out the Options Education section on our website.

The Example
If you want to purchase 100 shares of AAPL stock at $450 it is going to cost you (100 X $450) $45,000.  However, let’s say that you decide to purchase 1 call option on AAPL (each option represents 100 shares) with a strike price of, say, 450 with a May expiration, which carries a price tag of $22. Rather than shelling out $45,000 for 100 AAPL stock shares, you instead pay $2,200 for the options – a pretty sunstantial difference of $42,800 that you can use for something else or to purchase other options.

The Money
The cost savings of purchasing call options can be far greater than simply purchasing shares of a stock, especially when you are dealing with high-priced stocks like AAPL. Remember that one option contract is the right to purchase 100 shares of a stock at that price. So, rather than purchasing 100 AAPL shares at $450 at the massive cost of $45,000; you have dished out a more reasonable $2,200 for the transaction. Of course this is the scenario if you want to be simply bullish on AAPL stock.

Conclusion
As you can see, it is possible to spend far less money to purchase call options on a stock that to by the call itself. In fact, the earlier the expiration you choose, the lower the price you could pay. No matter what math you use, paying $2,200 is far better than paying $45,000 for the same product. What if you want to sell these options to someone who is willing to pay a higher ask price than you paid? That is another subject for another time. Remember, there is no fool-proof way to make money in the market – there is risk involved in any trading strategy. One way to make sure you maximize your cash is to make sure you study your subject, remember that knowledge is power is used correctly.

John Kmiecik

Senior Options Instructor

Market Taker Mentoring

October 4, 2012

Trading AAPL Option Strangles 101

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , — Dan Passarelli @ 2:25 pm

We have discussed the straddle options strategy in the past, a strategy that traders  can use when the market is volatile but direction is uncertain. Another play similar to the straddle is the option strangle. In a straddle, the investor is betting on both sides of a trade by purchasing options with the same strike price and the same expiration date, on the same underlying. A trader can create a similar trade, but with a lower price by trading a strangle instead. Rather than purchasing a put and a call at the same strike (as in the straddle), the investor purchases a put and a call at different strikes, still with the same expiration. By using a put and a call that are out-of-the-money, a trader pays a lower initial premium. However, this comes with a caveat – the stock will have to make a much larger move than it would if a straddle were employed. The investor is, arguably, taking a larger risk (because a bigger move is needed than with a straddle), but is paying a lower price. If this all sounds confusing to you, I would invite you to checkout the Options Education section on our website.

The Particulars
Like a straddle, a strangle has two breakeven points. To calculate these points simply add the net premium (call premium + put premium) to the strike price of the call (for upside breakeven) and subtract the net premium from the put’s strike (to calculate downside breakeven).  If at expiration, the stock has advanced or dropped past one of these breakevens, the profit potential of the strategy is unlimited (yes, unlimited). The position will take a 100% loss if the stock is trading between the put and call strikes upon expiration. Remember that the maximum loss an investor can take on a strangle is the net premium paid.

Example Trade
To create a strangle, a trader will purchase one out-of-the-money (OTM) call and one OTM put. We can use Apple (AAPL) as an example which at the time of this writing (October 2012) is trading at around $670. The trader would buy both an October 675 call and an October 665 put. For simplicity, we will assign a price of $12.50 for both – resulting in an initial investment of twenty-five bucks for our investor (which is the maximum potential loss).

Should the stock rally past $675 at expiration, the 665 put expires worthless and the $675 call expires in-the-money (ITM) resulting in the strangle trader collecting on the position. If, for example, the intrinsic value of the call at expiration is $29, the profit is $4 (intrinsic value less the premium paid).  The same holds true if the stock falls below $665 at expiration, it then is the put that is ITM and the call expires worthless. The danger is that the stock moves nowhere by the time option expiration occurs. In this case, both legs of the position expire worthless and the initial twenty dollars, or $2,500 of actual cash, is lost.

Notice that the maximum loss is the initial premium paid, setting a nice limit to potential losses. Potential profits on the strangle are unlimited which can be very rewarding.

John Kmiecik

Senior Options Instructor

Market Taker Mentoring

September 20, 2012

Bull Call Spread vs. Purchasing a Call on AAPL

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , — Dan Passarelli @ 8:00 am

Bull Call Spread vs. Purchasing a Call
Let’s say that you have a moderately bullish bias toward a stock and the overall market is slightly bullish. Is there a way that you can take advantage of this investing scenario while limiting risk? Certainly, there are a few. One that is often superior to the rest is the bull call spread. To learn to trade more option strategies, please visit our website.

Definition
When executing a bull call, you purchase call options at one strike and sell the same number of calls on the same company at a higher strike with the same expiration date. Let’s use Apple Inc. (AAPL) which is currently trading around $700 as an example. In this case you would purchase October calls at the 700 at-the-money strike at the ask price of $20. You would then sell the same number of October calls with a higher strike price, in this case 720 at the bid, $11.

The Math
Your maximum profit in the bull call spread is limited, you can make as much as the difference between the strike prices less the net debit paid. For simplicity, let’s assume that you purchased one October 700 call and sold one October 720 call resulting in a net debit of $9 (that’s $20 – $11). The difference in the strike prices is $20 (720 – 700). You, therefore, subtract 9 from 20 to end up with a maximum profit of $11 per contract. So, if you traded 10 contracts, you could make $11,000.

Although you limited your upside, you also limited the downside to the net debit of $9 per contract. To simply breakeven, the stock would have to trade at $709 (the strike price of the purchased call (700) plus net debit ($9)).

Advantage versus Purchasing a Call
When trading the long call, your downside is limited to the net premium paid. If you simply purchased the at-the-money October 700 call you would have paid 20. The potential loss is, therefore, greater when employing a call-buying strategy. If you move to a call with a longer time frame to expiration, you would pay even more for the option. This would also increase your potential loss per option.

Conclusion
By implementing a bull call spread, you have hedged your bets – limiting the potential loss. This is the advantage when comparing to purchasing a call outright. Remember that there are no fool-proof ways to make money by using options. However, knowing your strategy is a good way to limit losses.

John Kmiecik

Senior Options Instructor

Market Taker Mentoring

September 13, 2012

To Buy Puts or Not to Buy Puts…

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , — Dan Passarelli @ 10:36 am

A lot of traders especially those who are just learning to trade options are enamored by the all mighty put – especially buying the shortest-term, or front month, put for protection. The problem, however, is that there is a flaw to the reasoning and practice of purchasing front-month puts as protection. Ah, yes; it’s true. Front-month contracts have a higher theta – and relying on front-month puts to protect a straight stock purchase is not, necessarily, the best way to protect an investment. If you were to continually purchase front-month puts as protection, that can end up being a rather expensive way to by insurance.

Although front month options are often cheaper, they are not always your best bet. The reasoning may be sound, the trader purchases a number of shares of the stock and purchases out-of-the-money puts to protect his position; but sound reasoning does not always lead to good practice. Let’s take a look at an example.

We will use a hypothetical trade today. The stock is trading a slightly above 13 and our hypothetical trader wants to own the stock because he/she thinks the stock will report blow-out earnings in each of the next two quarters. This investment will take at least six months, as the trader wants to allow the news events to push the stock higher.

Being a savvy options trader, our stock trader wants some insurance against a potential drop in the stock. The trader decides to buy a slightly out-of-the-money July 13 put, which carries an ask price of $0.50 (rounded for simplicity purposes). That 0.50 premium represents almost 4 percent of the current stock price. In fact, if the investor rolled option month after month, it would put a big dent in the initial investment. To be sure, after about seven months (assuming the stock hangs around $13) the trader would lose more than 25 percent on the $13 investment.

What if the stock drops? That is the ultimate rationale for the strategy in the first place: protection. The put provides a hedge. The value of the option will increase as the stock drops, which counterbalances the loss suffered as the stock drops. Buying the put is a hedge, a veritable insurance policy – though, albeit, an expensive one. Investors can usually find better ways to protect a stock.

Learn a better way to hedge with this FREE options report.

John Kmiecik

Senior Options Instructor

Market Taker Mentoring

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