The chart on Crocs, Inc (NASDAQ: CROX) coupled with the juicy premiums make it worth consideration for writing naked puts. The implied volatility is at 47 for the June 65 strike and at 45.6 for the June 70 puts. Both of those options are currently out-of-the-money and based on the chart should be worthless by…
Time to reconsider Cisco Systems (CSCO)?
Cisco Systems, Inc (CSCO) is down 1.79 right now to 26.57. I’m glad I got out when I did. If I didn’t have the covered calls last month I might have held on. That’s just one more example of why I like writing options. It forces me to sell an equity if not at least…
Baidu (BIDU) Chart Looks Good
In a reply to another stock I was posting about on elitetrader.com I received another idea for looking at Baidu (BIDU). I’m attaching the chart below to show how I have drawn the chart. BIDU closed at 125.24 yesterday, off from its highs following earnings announcements. I see three possible (if not imaginative) trend lines…
Allegheny Tech (ATI) – Room for Growth Still
I put a limit in to sell a June 110 put on Allegheny Technologies, Inc (ATI). I’ve traded options on ATI before and continue to come out ahead. Even if assigned from the naked put, the call premiums are high enough to stay in the game easily. Looking at the ATI chart I see that not…
Speculative stock – INCY – Incyte Corp
Jim Cramer mentioned INCY last night in the lightening round. In short – the company is a drug discovery and development company and carries a lot of risk. That makes the premiums high. Apparently it has a lot of potential, but with drug companies that means nothing until it’s realized and then it means the…
Tempted by SLB – Schlumberger
Schlumberger Ltd Com (SLB) is tempting to jump in deeper with. I sold a naked put ITM a few months ago and bought 100 shares when assigned to me at 65. The day after expiration it started its current bull run. Since my trading model is all about cash flow from options, I didn’t hold on…
Beginner Investor Series – 5 Tips to Diversify your Portfolio
One of the greatest investing lessons I’ve learned is the power of diversification. Jim Cramer likes to close his Mad Money show by saying “there’s always a bull market somewhere”. I think he could continue to say there’s always a bear market somewhere, but that wouldn’t sound as fun. I doubt there has been a…
AET – Reader Requested Review
A reader asked me to take a look at Aetna (AET). I haven’t really followed the stock much so this is my early 2 cents worth. On 5/3, I wrote about DNA coming to a point on its chart and that usually means the stock is going to make a big move in one direction. …
FSLR – Is it time for being green to pay off?
First Solar Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) blew away revenue expectations and made it into the world of the profitable companies. Obviously there’s a lot of hype on solar companies, but this one could be legit. The fundamentals make it tough with a high p/e, but with such growth this could be one of those cases where…