April 2009 Options Expiration

I did well on some of my positions for April’s option expiration and others left a lot to be desired.  Basically I lost on all of my long options (the ones I bought) and did well on most of short options (the ones I sold).  I’ve sold one vertical put spread, sold one covered call and rolled one naked put for May so far.  So I have some trading to do in the next few weeks if I want to keep my account growing, but I don’t have to over do it.  If I don’t lose on my option trades and my only remaining long position, JOYG, I should do well.  I’ve been hesitant still to get on this rally, but after April options expiration I won’t have much exposure at all if the rally continues.  I’m practicing patience to wait for my best entry point, but seem to only be missing out on gains by remaining on the sidelines.

Long Options

• 6 PCU Apr 15 Puts – This was my hedge on my PCU short puts.  It finished out of the money (OTM)
• 1 AAPL Apr 120 Put – This was my gamble on AAPL taking a dip.  It dipped, but rallied before I took a profit.  Now I’m taking a full loss on this option.  I even had a chance Friday morning to sell it for $0.75, but waited to see if it’d do better.  It didn’t.  At least I sold the AAPL April 115 naked put listed below to cut my losses.
• 1 MON Apr 85 Put – I bought this put when MON was trading at $78.02 which means I wasted an “insurance” payment since MON only gained in value after my purchase.  I lost on both intrinsic value and time value.  I bought this back on Friday afternoon.

Short Options

• -6 PCU Apr 17.5 Puts – I’m taking a full profit on these options since PCU closed above $17.50
• -1 AAPL Apr 115 Put – I’m taking a full profit on these options since AAPL closed above $115.00
• -1 MON Apr 85 Call – I’m taking a full profit on this option since MON closed below $85.00
• -3 JOYG Apr 25 Calls – I’m taking a full profit on these options since JOYG closed below $25.00 
• -1 MON Apr 80 Put – I’m taking a full profit on this option since  MON closed above $80.00 
• -5 NDAQ Apr 20 Puts – I rolled these options to a May expiration.  The way I chart NDAQ it looks like it’s at the bottom of its trading channel, so I’m expecting a bounce. 
• -2 TDW Apr 40 Calls – I took a profit on the calls, but could’ve made more on the shares if I didn’t have to sell at $40.  TDW closed on Friday at $43.15.  I sold my calls for $1.40 each.  I’ll pick another company in its sector to trade starting next week if I can find one I like.

Long Shares

• 300 JOY GLOBAL – JOYG – Covered calls expired OTM so I’m holding onto my shares and rewriting new covered calls.  This is my only long stock now.
• 100 MONSANTO – MON – I sold my 100 MON shares on Friday afternoon for $81.6305 and took in $8,152.85.  I might try working on POT or another stock or ETF in the same area.
• 200 TIDEWATER – TDW – Covered calls expired in the money (ITM) and my shares will be called away at $40.00 giving me approximately $7,980.00 after commissions