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Tag Archives: Open Interest
option liquidity and bid-ask spreads

After-Hours Bid – Ask Spreads Can Be Deceiving

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 […]

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option liquidity showing Volume and Open Interest

Open Interest: How it’s Calculated and Why it’s Important

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, […]

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contract adjustments and covered call writing

Spin-offs and How they Impact Option Chains and Calculations

Corporate events can impact our covered call writing and put-selling positions in many ways. In today’s article we will focus on spin-offs and how to read an options chain after the event and calculate to moneyness of our options based on the specifics of that event.  Thanks to one of our members, Richard V., who shared […]

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Option selling/ open interest and Volume

Option Liquidity: When Is Vol(ume) Greater Than Open Interest?

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): […]

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Covered call writing with mini options

Mini Options: The Impact Of Commissions And Liquidity On Final Returns

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 […]

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Calculating covered call returns

Sample Covered Call Portfolio Using The Current Premium Watch List

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 […]

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Early assignment of options

Early Exercise and Assignment of Options

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 […]

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Explaining "pinning the strike"

“Pinning the Strike”: A Covered Call Writing Consideration

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 […]

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Open Interest and Volume plus Non-Standard Options

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 […]

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How to Read an Option Chain

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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