I’m on a roll with selling strangles lately. I’ve sold one on CHK, TDW and today I did the same on AA. None of these is a pure strangle since I’m long the stock too, but that’s probably the best short description. The biggest difference is that I have more “positive delta” (measurement of the change in an option’s price based on the change in a stock’s price) with the long stock position in the middle of the option strikes. I’ve been doing this strategy more lately because I see more and more stocks trading sideways in a trading range and this gives me the opportunity to profit on both sides, the bottom floor and the top ceiling. (The options I sold on BNI are a “straddle” since the strikes are the same dollar and month.)
While AA was trading at $31.49 just before lunch, the limit order I placed an hour earlier hit. I sold two AA September 30 naked puts (AAUF) and received $178.49 after commissions. I might add new naked calls to this position, but not yet. The floor around $30.00 seems to offer better support than the nearby hindrance from ceilings. I’m eyeing the $35 strike, but the premiums aren’t where I want right now for the September. The October premiums are better considering the extra month of theta (time value). If I sell new calls, it will probably be for October, but I’d like to see AA a little higher first.