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THE WEEK AHEAD: ROKU EARNINGS; GDXJ; VXX, UVXYA real quick and dirty here between checking off items on the honey-do list ... . Here's the cream of the crop: ROKU (83/94) announces earnings on Wednesday after market close and with rank/implied greater than 70/50, it's an ideal play for volatility contraction post-announcement. The pictured setup is a September 20th 75/80/135/140 iron condor, paying 1.67 at the mid price (one-third the width of the wings). Look to take profit at 50% max (.83/$83 assuming a mid price fill). Taking the top spot again this week for rank/implied among the exchange-traded funds is GDXJ (92/37) with the >70% probability of profit September 20th 36/45 short strangle paying 1.31 (.75/$75 at 50% max) and delta/theta metrics of 2.02/3.16. Lastly, with the pop in volatility last week, consider a bearish assumption play in either VXX or UVXY (i.e., either short call verticals or long put verticals) with the short leg in the money, the long out and that pays at least one-third of your spread in credit (or for which you have to pay less than two-thirds the width in debit). For example, the VXX Sept 20th 25/27 short call vertical is paying .67 at the mid price with a break even at 25.67. Conversely, the VXX Sept 25/27 long put vertical costs 1.36 to put on with a 25.64 break even and a max profit potential similar to that of the same-strike short call vertical (.64/$64). For the bolder at heart, the VXX Sept 22/24 long put vertical costs .95 to put on, making it a risk one/make proposition on the notion that volatility implodes fairly quickly back to its pre-pop levels, taking the VIX derivatives with it.
NASDAQ:ROKU
by NaughtyPines
THE WEEK AHEAD: AAPL, GILD, X, BIDU; GDXJ, /NGEARNINGS On initial screen for high rank/high implied, here are next week's potential winners for earnings-related volatility contraction plays: AAPL (31/27) (Tuesday after market close), X (52/54) (Thursday after market close), GILD (30/27) (Tuesday after market close), and BIDU (50/41) (Tuesday, but unspecified as to before or after market close). Because background implied on both AAPL and GILD are <50% (not what I like to see to play an earnings-related volatility contraction), those are cut from the list, leaving X and BIDU. Pictured here is a tight short strangle in the September cycle paying 1.11/.56 at 50 max as of Friday close, with break evens at 12.89/18.11, and delta/theta metrics of 2.59/1.74. You can naturally go full on short straddle, but giving the setup some room between the put and call will give you the ability to adjust the strikes intra-trade without going inverted to do so, as you might have to if you went with the September 20th 15 short straddle, which is paying 2.29/.57 at 25 max with break evens at 12.71/17.29, and has delta/theta metrics of -10.62/1.99. The rather unfortunate thing about BIDU is it's an ADR, so the precise announcement date and time is always up in the air until the last moment. That being said, the Sept 20th 95/100/130/135 iron condor is paying 1.46 at the mid (.73 at 50 max), has break evens at 98.54/131.46, and has -.17/1.82 delta/theta metrics. Naturally, I'd ordinarily like to collect one-third the width of the wings in credit, but it's hard to see what that will actually pay with markets showing wide in off hours. BROAD MARKET IWM (11/15) EEM (7/16) QQQ (6/15) SPY (6/12) EFA 0/11 VIX 12.16 Because of low implied in "local expiries" (<45 days 'til expiry or less), I've been going out a little farther in time than usual, taking advantage of implied volatility term structure,* which currently slopes from longer-dated expiries into this current state of affairs, (See RUT Iron Condor Trade, below), with the small added bonus being that longer-dated expiry implied volatility tends to expand less relative to shorter-dated implied volatility in the event of a "local" volatility pop, which is the usual concern with selling premium in low volatility environments. Naturally, I'm not going all crazy with these longer-dated setups, but staying small and keeping powder dry for more favorable volatility metrics in shorter duration expiries. SECTOR EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS Top Funds By Rank: GDXJ (78/35), GDX (53/29), SLV (48/20), GLD (39/12), TLT (25/10), SMH (25/24), USO (23/32), XOP (20/30). GDXJ continues to have ideal exchange-traded fund metrics of >70 rank, greater than 35 implied for premium selling ... . IRA TRADES I pulled the trigger on a couple of "not a penny mores" last week in XLP and XLU. Suffice it to say, I did not get stellar credit collection/cost basis reduction for these, since we're far away from the prices at which I want to acquire, but will look to roll out on weakness and/or in increased volatility. It's either stick something out there and get paid to wait or wait for lower and get paid nothing ... . HONORABLE MENTIONS /NG, UNG: Natural gas is around 52-week lows here. Generally, I look for a seasonality play where "peak injection" has historically set up, but it's generally a crap shoot as to where that will occur (that pesky Mother Nature), and it's usually later in the year. I'm watching it, but won't get particularly excited to enter something bullish until we break 2.00. Ideally, I'm looking to get in at around that 2016 low ... . * -- You can see this in RUT, with August implied at 15.3%, September at 16.1%, October at 16.7%, and December at 17.6%.
NYSE:X
by NaughtyPines
THE WEEK AHEAD: TWTR, TSLA; GDXJEARNINGS There are a bunch of heavy-hitters reporting this week, but I'll cull it down to the most options liquid underlyings amenable to a decent volatility contraction play ... . Pictured here is a TWTR (40/52) Aug 16th 39/42 short strangle camped out around the 20 delta strikes. Paying 1.30 (.65 at 50 max) with break evens of 31.70/43.30, it's got a delta/theta metric of .73/5.42. Also reporting: SBUX (52/25), FB (45/36), FCX (31/45), CAT (29/29), TSLA (20/60), and AMZN (20/29). As you can see, the rank/implied metrics aren't "ideal" (>70 rank/>50% implied) in any of these, so would probably pass if I was truly picky, and lean toward a play in TSLA out of this group if I was less so, since at least its implied is >50% with the downside being that even that high background implied is at the low end of its 52-week range. The TSLA Sept 20th 205/215/300/310 iron condor is paying slightly more than one-third the width of the wings if mid-price filled at 3.42 with break evens at 211.58/303.42 and delta/theta metrics of -1.14/3.14. BROAD MARKET TLT (34/11) SPY (18/13) IWM (15/16) QQQ (15/17) EFA (11/11) EEM (8/16) As with last week, broad market still pretty crappy here, with pretty much everything at the low end of its 52-week range and background 30-day implied all sub-20. SECTOR EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS For yet another week, premium selling opportunities are in gold and the miners ... . Top 5 By Rank: GDXJ (98/38), SLV (90/35), GLD (80/15), GDX (70/32), and TLT (34/11). And, as with last week, the most "ideal" play is in GDXJ. The September expiry should open up and populate tomorrow, which is the expiry I'd probably sell in with August winding down to 26 days 'til expiry. IRA TRADES XLU, XLP: waiting for lower or, at least, the ability to sell not a penny more short puts for something decent that are also not incredibly ridiculously out in time. I may have to reevaluate the price at which I'm willing to take on shares if we stick in here at these levels.
NYSE:TWTR
by NaughtyPines
2
THE WEEK AHEAD: IBM, JNJ, NFLX EARNINGS; GDXJ, GLD, SLV, GDXEARNINGS IBM (54/26; Thursday), JNJ (56/23; Tuesday before market open), and NFLX (35/41; Wednesday after market close) announce earnings next week. Unfortunately, all of them have less than ideal metrics for a volatility contraction play (>70% rank/>50% implied), so I'm likely to pass on all of them. That being said: Pictured here is an IBM 130/135/150/155 iron condor in the August cycle paying 1.53, break evens at 133.47/151.53, and delta/theta metrics of -2.47/2.80. The rank/implied metrics aren't ideal here (<70%/<50%), which is probably why it's also paying less than my idea one-third the width of the wings in credit. I would pass on it if you can't get filled for 1.67 or greater ... . BROAD MARKET TLT (31/11) QQQ (8/17) IWM (7/15) SPY (6/12) EEM (3/16) EFA (5/10) Short-term, broad market premium selling is about as crappy as it can get here. Your options are to (a) wait for a pop in volatility; or (b) sell something farther out in time where the expiry implied is higher. I will probably opt for the latter if we don't get an uptick in volatility by July opex, since waiting can be unproductive, particularly if low volatility has infected the entire market and it becomes a "protracted thing." SECTOR EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS Premium selling opportunities are in gold and the miners for yet another week ... . Top 5 By Rank: GDXJ (73/34), GLD (72/15), SLV (70/20), GDX (45/28), and TLT (31/11). Metrically, the most "ideal" play is in GDXJ (exchange-traded fund ideals: >50% rank/>35% background), although we're getting somewhat short in duration for another play in the August cycle. There isn't a September expiry available yet (there will probably be one after July expires), so it might be worth a look at GDXJ next week should volatility hang in there for a September play. IRA TRADES Not doing a ton here beyond managing my covered calls post-opex. Stuff on my shopping list (XLU, XLP, HYG) has all ground higher along with the rest of the market, so I just have to patient for another one of those December style "sell everything" dips or a major uptick in volatility in those instruments.* Although I have "not a penny more" short puts on in HYG, both XLP and XLU are out of range of that kind of play, it seems, unless I want to go far out in time and get paid very little ... . * -- XLU (10/14), XLP (29/11), HYG (13/6).
NYSE:IBM
by NaughtyPines
5
THE WEEK AHEAD: GDXJ, GDX, GLD, XLU, SLVEARNINGS FAST (41/31), PEP (19/18) and DAL (15/26) announce earnings next week, but the rank/implied metrics aren't there for me (>70 rank; >50 implied) for an earnings-related volatility contraction play. BROAD MARKET TLT (21/10) IWM (12/16) SPY (11/13) QQQ (10/17) EEM (7/17) EFA (5/10) Weak sauce. SECTOR EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS Premium selling opportunities remain in gold and the miners, with some decent background implied in the oil and gas sector and semicons: Top 5 By Rank: GDXJ (86/37), GLD (75/15), GDX (62/32), XLU (61/14), and SLV (56/19). USO (30/36), SMH (27/25), and XOP (21/31) follow thereafter ... . Pictured here, remarkably, is the exact same setup strike-wise that I posted last week in GDXJ in the August cycle -- the nearest the 20 delta 32/39 short strangle, paying 1.06 at the mid price with break evens at 30.94/40.06 and delta/theta metrics of 2.82/2.92. IRA TRADES XLU (61/14) is on my IRA shopping list with a current yield of 3.05%, but as a rate sensitive, it's ripped way higher on all this talk of cutting, cutting, cutting.* You'd think with that rank (61), it would be paying something, but the background's only at 14, so it's really no surprise that it isn't. I can either man up and sell something closer to at-the-money if I want in, and then manage the short put from there, wait for lower, sell a "Not a Penny More" at a price I'm comfortable with and then whittle away at cost basis from that point forward before taking on shares if I'm not happy with my cost basis (e.g., the Jan '20 18 delta 55),** or do something a little funkier like a 90/30 call diagonal with the long leg far out in time at a strike I'd be willing to exercise at.*** With the possibility of a no cut looming in the July cycle, I'm opting for waiting for lower. If that December "sell everything" dip is evidence of anything, it's that we'll probably have opportunities at some point going forward. * -- So have all the other rate sensitives -- IYR, XLP, TLT, HYG. ** -- I generally do that anyways as long as it's productive. *** -- I looked at a Jan '21 (no, that's not a typo) 50 long/Aug 16th 62 short call diagonal, but it's hard to price out in off hours with the setup being bid 7.78/ask 13.05. I'd be fine with the right to exercise at $50/share, but would need a Dick to sell me the setup for a price that results in a break even at or below where the underlying is currently trading to even consider that setup (i.e., not more 60.68 minus the 50 long strike or 10.68; the broker's saying the mid price for that setup is 10.42 with a resulting break even of 60.42 versus spot at 60.68). The additional benefit of that particular setup is that it's far more buying power efficient in a cash secured environment than short putting: the buying power effect of a 50 short put is the strike (50.00) minus any credit received with no right of exercise/assignment if the short put stays out of the money. It kind of begs the question of: "Why the hell don't I do that setup in the IRA more often as an acquisition strategy versus short putting?"
AMEX:GDXJ
by NaughtyPines
2
Gold Already Moving to the All-Time-High - XAUWCU leading XAUUSDAfter discovering the World Currency Unit (WCU), essentially a basket of GDP-weighted currencies, and looking into how it was calculated, I realized it would likely serve as a better indicator of the Real Value of Gold & Silver. I've been following this exact chart for a while now; Very interesting how well it's lining up with fib levels, as you can see. I've noticed that almost every unexpected Bull/Bear move that has had no obvious cause (due to news, or technicals on XAUUSD) did have an obvious technical cause on XAUWCU. For example, when considering when Gold broke out of the long term downward trend from the 2011 top: XAUUSD : Jan. 25, 2019 XAUWCU : Dec. 17, 2018 Additionally, when considering when Gold broke out of the long term horizontal resistance dating back to 2013: XAUUSD : June 18, 2019 XAUWCU : as early as June 7, 2018 and backtesting while it waited for XAUUSD to break out.
FX_IDC:XAUWCULong
by liamcambra
3
THE WEEK AHEAD: GDXJ, GLD, GDX, SLV, XLVEARNINGS No options highly liquid underlyings announcing earnings this week. BROAD MARKET EEM (35/19) QQQ (23/20) IWM (21/18) SPY (21/15) EFA (15/12) SECTOR EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS There's gold premium to be had (in them there hills ... ), particularly in the miners: Top 5 By Rank: GDXJ (86/36), GLD(86/16), GDX (63/30), SLV (62/20), XLV (60/15). Pictured here is a delta neutral GDXJ short strangle in the August expiry, paying 1.28 (.64 at 50% max), break evens at 30.72/40.28, and delta/theta metrics of -2.5/2.9. For those of a defined risk bent, the August 16th 29/32/38/41 is paying .92, with break evens at 31.08/38.92, and delta/theta metrics of 1.08/1.02. The XLV August 16th 88/97 short strangle is paying 3.10 at the mid, but the markets are so wide, I'm not sure how that'll price out in the New York session. Moreover, the background implied is about that of the broad market (15 versus SPY 15), so I'm unsure of whether that's worth pulling the trigger on even if markets tighten up, even though implied's in the top half of its 52-week range. IRA TRADES This has been a tough market if you're looking to acquire either broad market (e.g., SPY), bonds (e.g., EMB, HYG, JNK, TLT), or other divvy generating underlyings (e.g., IYR, XLU), with your basic options being to (a) wait for lower; (b) sell "not a penny more" puts and get paid to wait; or (c) throw some caution to the wind, take some risk, and sell closer to at-the-money and manage those trades reactively (i.e., rolling out for credit, duration, and cost basis reduction). I've opted for a few "not a penny mores," although the return on those isn't all that compelling even though it beats the basically 0% you get for staying in cash. (See, e.g., the HYG, SPY "Not a Penny More" Trades, below). Given my particular proximity to retirement, I'm not all that keen on acquiring a bunch of stuff at near all-time-highs, so I'm pickier and probably way more risk adverse than most, so naturally the "Not a Penny Mores" will not be for everyone since you're tying up quite a substantial piece of cash secured buying power to generate fairly mundane returns.* But just because I've kind of thrown in the towel over acquiring stuff in the short to medium term doesn't mean I'm not managing what's already there. Inevitably, there's always a covered call that may need to be looked at and/or a hedge that might be sensible to erect to cut covered call net long delta that is inevitably there. (See, e.g., Overwriting Post, below). * -- Although it's apparent that you can collect sufficient premium to emulate or exceed the dividend returns on some of these underlyings without actually being in the stock itself. It kind of begs the question: "Why be in stock at all?"
AMEX:GDXJ
by NaughtyPines
1
THE WEEK AHEAD: GLD, GDXJ, GDX, SLV, USOEARNINGS No options highly liquid underlyings announcing earnings this week. BROAD MARKET EEM (15/18) QQQ (19/19) IWM (19/18) SPY (19/15) EFA (10/12) One word ... . Well, maybe two: "Weak sauce," with ranks in the low quarter of their 52-week ranges and background implied at sub-20 across the board. SECTOR EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS Top 5 By Rank: GLD (92/16), GDXJ (71/33), SLV (64/21), GDX (48/28), USO (47/43) TBT (52/24). Pictured here is a GLD Synthetic Reverse Jade Lizard, explained in the post, below. For those of a more nondirectional bent, the Aug 16th 127/140 short strangle is paying 1.72 with a 70% probability of profit, although I'd recheck that setup at New York open for delta balance ... . GDXJ: August 16th 34 short straddle, 3.45 credit with >expected move break evens, delta/theta -11.03/3.02. GDX: August 16th 25 short straddle, 2.12 credit with >expected move break evens, but a little on the weak side in terms of credit collection. Delta/theta: -10.52/1.84. SLV/USO: August has yet to populate ... . In petro, my go-to is generally XOP (34/35), but the August expiry has yet to populate. Given the size of the underlying, I would probably continue to short straddle it here, assuming that it's still paying greater than 10% of the price of the underlying (i.e., >2.70 or so in credit for the short straddle nearest at-the-money).
AMEX:GLD
by NaughtyPines
FED WON'T cut rates - gold will go back downI'm anticipating the FED not cutting rates - this will cause other central banks to cut, which will force the dollar $DXY up and gold down. Chart looks like a double-top is forming with momentum sliding. Again, the only way gold goes up if we start war with Iran which last week looked like it was going to happen. Doesn't look like most of the globe is accepting the false-flag narrative being espoused by necons. I think the FED will cut in September or December even. At which I see a risk-off happening where people will run into stocks while gold will look lackluster against it.
AMEX:GLDShort
by JustinBilyj
2
THE WEEK AHEAD: ORCL, GDXJ, TBT, TLT, SMH, OIHEARNINGS ORCL (50/29) releases earnings on Wednesday after market close, so look to put on a play in the waning hours of Wednesday's New York session. Pictured here is a non-standard short strangle, with the short call side doubled up in order to compensate for greater than one dollar wide strikes: 1.30 credit, break evens at 48.70/58.15, and delta/theta of -5.52/58.15. As of Friday close, the June 21st to July 19th monthly volatility contraction is from 46.6% to 29.3% or about 29.7%. Look to manage intratrade by rolling the untested side toward current price on approaching worthless with a 50% max take profit target. Generally, I don't play stuff this small that doesn't have dollar wides, since rolling intratrade can be a headache, as can rolling out, since there is limited strike availability. It's really another aspect of liquidity, which is not only about the width of markets intraexpiry, but also about the availability of expiries out in time, as well as strikes. BROAD MARKET EEM (27/20) QQQ (23/20); NDX (24/20) IWM (23/19); RUT (25/19) SPY (21/15); SPX (19/15) EFA (16/13) With 33 days to go in the July cycle and 61 to go for August, we're kind of in the "in between" for the 45 days 'til expiry sweet spot, so I would wait until August comes closer into view for either broad market or sector if you want to keep things in that 45 days 'til expiry wheelhouse. SECTOR EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS Top 5 By Rank: GDXJ (62/31), TBT (52/24), TLT (51/12), SMH (50/31), OIH (49/40). SINGLE NAME WITH EARNINGS IN THE REAR VIEW A lot of earnings start kicking off in the July cycle, so would wait to play these as earnings announcement volatility contraction plays instead of wading in here and getting caught in a volatility expansion. ME PERSONALLY To keep things simple, mundane, and boring throughout the summer months, I'm looking to just to play broad market for the next couple of cycles -- SPY/SPX, QQQ/NDX, and IWM/RUT. (See, e.g., RUT Sept Iron Condor below).
NYSE:ORCL
by NaughtyPines
2