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Special Cash Dividends and Equity Distributions: Understanding Contract Adjustments

Contract adjustments to the terms of our covered call writing and put-selling options are due to corporate actions like mergers and acquisitions, special dividends and stock splits. This article will highlight the contract alterations resulting from special dividends and equity distributions.   Special cash dividends: 2 adjustment techniques   1. Ticker remains unchanged Number of […]

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“Hitting a Double” on the Last Day of a Contract

Exit strategies for covered call writing are critical components to our overall success. One of the strategies available to us is hitting a double. This is where we buy back the short call and wait for the stock price to recover allowing us to re-sell the same option. This creates 2 income streams in the […]

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What Do Covered Call Writing and Steroids Have in Common?

Most investors view covered call writing as a singular strategy where we buy a stock and then sell an option leveraging that security. In reality, educated option-sellers realize that one of the most remarkable advantages of using this strategy is that it can be crafted to achieve multiple goals and meet the trading style and […]

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Automating the 20%/10% Guidelines

Position management is the 3rd required skill for achieving the highest level of option-selling success. One of the most important of the BCI protocols for covered call writing are the 20%/10% guidelines which assists us is closing short calls when those opportunities are presented. This allows us to mitigate situations when share price declines. These […]

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Reverse Stock Splits: Understanding Contract Adjustments

Contract adjustments to the terms of our covered call writing and put-selling options are due to corporate actions like mergers and acquisitions, special dividends and stock splits. This article will highlight the contract alterations resulting from a reverse stock split.   What is a reverse stock split? This is a reduction in the number of […]

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Myths and Misunderstandings About Covered Call Writing

Covered call writing education must include debunking the myths associated with this strategy. When certain concepts are repeated often enough, they become accepted as truths whether they are accurate or false. The purpose of this article is to refute five of the most egregious of these misrepresentations.   1. Covered call writing should be used […]

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Buyers Have Rights, Sellers Have Obligations: Covered Call Writing in a Nutshell

Covered call writers get paid cash when selling call options. Call buyers pay cash to own the options. This article will highlight the reasons options are bought and sold as it relates to covered call writing. We will use a real-life example with CarMax, Inc. (NYSE: KMX), a stock on our Premium Stock Report on […]

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REITS: Good Covered Call Writing Candidates? A Real-Life Example with PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE: PMT)

REITs (real estate investment trusts) invest directly in income-producing real estate and is traded like a stock. In September 2019, Clifton wrote to me about PMT inquiring if it would make a viable covered call writing candidate. He pointed out that this security offered an 8.5% annualized dividend yield. To evaluate, we will examine the […]

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Strike Selection Using Technical Analysis and Market Assessment

Stock and option selection are 2 of the 3-required skills essential to successful covered call writing (position management is the 3rd). There is no one factor that will dictate our choices but rather a mosaic of bits of information which will lead us to the best choices. In this article, I will discuss two of […]

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technical analysis for covered call writing

Technical Charts: A Picture is Worth 1000 Words- A Real-Life Example with The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ: WEN)

Technical analysis is one of the 3 screens we use for stock selection when selling options. The other two are fundamental analysis and common-sense principles (like minimum trading volume). In August 2019, Nick wrote to me about a trade opportunity he thought he missed with WEN. He attached a technical chart followed by a question. […]

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