Posted on November 3, 2018
by Alan Ellman
in Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Stock Investing
One of the BCI guidelines for selling covered call and cash-secured put options is that we require a bid-ask spread of $0.30 or less and/or an open interest of 100 contracts or more. Typically, options with large open interest will also be associated with smaller spreads. This makes it easier to close short positions at […]
Posted on August 27, 2016
by Alan Ellman
in Fundamental Analysis, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Stock Option Strategies
When selling call and put options, the liquidity of these securities must be evaluated to determine their eligibility. There are two measures of investor interest in options, Vol(ume) and Open Interest (OI). Vol represents the number of times a particular contract is bought or sold in a particular day. Open interest, on the other hand, […]
Posted on May 23, 2015
by Alan Ellman
in Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Stock Option Strategies
Check the options chain before selling a covered call or cash-secured put. In addition to determining the premiums and returns we will generate we also need to make sure the interest or liquidity in these options will be adequate enough for favorable trade executions. Below is a typical options chain showing both Vol(ume) and open interest (OI): […]
Posted on February 22, 2014
by Alan Ellman
in Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Stock Option Strategies
Our stock options strategies have a new product to consider: mini options. These options have a deliverable 10 shares of underlying security instead of the traditional 100 shares. The options symbol for these minis begin with the security ticker followed by the number 7: AAPL7 AMZN7 GOOG7 GLD7 SPY7 The 5 securities above are the […]
Posted on March 16, 2013
by Alan Ellman
in Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Stock Option Strategies
Several of our Premium Members have requested we provide sample portfolios based on the CURRENT Premium Watch List as a guide to assist in mastering the strategy of covered call writing. In today’s article I will use the watch list dated 3-8-13 (stats taken on Wednesday, 3-13-13). The stocks we select in general are based […]
Posted on January 12, 2013
by Alan Ellman
in Option Trading Basics, Stock Option Strategies
When we sell a covered call option, we are undertaking an obligation for which we are well paid. Should the option holder decide to exercise that option, we must sell our shares at the specified strike price at or prior to the expiration date. This is the nature of American style options as opposed to […]
Posted on September 8, 2012
by Alan Ellman
in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Option Trading Basics
When considering covered call exit strategies on or near expiration Friday we compare the market price of our stock to the strike price sold. If the share value is even one penny above the strike, the option will most likely be exercised and our shares sold. We may not want this to occur and we […]
Posted on June 9, 2012
by Alan Ellman
in Option Trading Basics
As covered call writers, we have all looked at options chains. That’s where we determine how much cash will be generated into our accounts when we sell our options. It’s fun! We first inspect the current price of the underlying security (stock or ETF). Then we check out the closest strike prices (I-T-M, A-T-M and […]
Posted on October 1, 2011
by Alan Ellman
in Option Trading Basics
So how much cash can we generate selling options on the stocks that have passed our fundamental and technical screens? The answer lies in the option chain. This is a list that quotes option prices for a given security. For each underlying security, the option chain lists the various strike prices, option premiums, expiration dates […]
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