Stock Options Trading Strategies - Lean
Professional stock options traders use the term lean to refer to one's perception about the directional strength of the stock. When you own a stock option and intend to hold it for a period of time, you are aware that you will probably be holding it while it goes up and while it goes down.
This means that at any given moment in time, you might have a different opinion of the potential movement of that stock. Knowing this, there is a way to address your present level of confidence or "lean." You do this by your choice of which option you sell.
While it is true that the at-the-money option has the most amount of extrinsic value, it might not always be the ideal option to sell in every situation.
For instance, if you feel that the stock itself has a very high chance of producing capital appreciation above the potential amount of premium you could receive from selling an at-the-money call, then sell an out-of-the-money-call so you can allow yourself a little more room to the upside on the stock.
For example, let's say the stock is trading at $27.00. Normally, you would sell the 27.5 calls at say $1.00. If the stock were to rise quickly and eclipse the $28.50 mark, then with the buy-write strategy, your position would have maxed out at $28.50, and you would have a $1.50 one month gain. Not bad, but if the stock went to $29.50 then you would have missed out on another $1.00 profit. However, if we had sold the 30 calls for $.30 then we would have another outcome. You bought the stock at $27.00 and sold the 30 calls for $.30 and the stock goes to $29.50.
You would have made $2.50 in capital appreciation and $.30 in option premium for a total of a $2.80 return.
So, if you feel the stock has a real good shot at taking a run up, you can lean your position long by selling an out-of-the-money call.
If you have a more neutral view on your stock you would sell an at-the-money-call in order to receive a bigger premium which allows for greater downside protection if the stock trades down and higher potential profit if the stock becomes stagnant.
This strategy also works on the downside. If, by chance, you feel that the stock may trade down a bit during the life of the option, then you can sell an in-the-money-call. The effect of this would be to provide you with a little extra premium to cover more downside risk.
Remember when you sell an option you seek to capture extrinsic value. An in-the-money option not only has extrinsic value but also some intrinsic value.
When you feel that you want to lean your covered call strategy (buy-write) a little short, choose to sell an in-the-money call so you can also have some intrinsic value to cover your downside.
As an example, say your stock is trading at $29.00 and you feel that your stock may trade down a little but still remain in an uptrend cycle. You don't want to get rid of the stock but you also don't want to lose any money so you sell the 27.5 call at $2.00.
The stock starts to trade down and finishes at $26.00. If you had owned the stock naked, then you would have lost three dollars since you owned the stock at $29.00 and it closed at $26.00 on expiration.
However, because you sold the 27.5 calls at $2.00, you would only realize a $1.00 loss in the stock. The premium received will offset the loss due to the fact that you identified and adjusted for a likely move.
As you can see, the buy-write strategy can be altered to fit any directional view you have on your selected stock.
Finally, if you intend to use the buy-write strategy successfully, you generally need to sell the calls against your stock on a consistent, recurring interval, over a period of time.
This means that you will have to be prepared to roll your calls out to the next month come expiration. Sometimes, all you'll need to do is to sell the next month out call.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
If You Would Like to Learn More About Stock Options
Responsibilities Then Discover How to Protect Your Investments
With the Leveraged Power of options & Learn How to Trade options
Like the Pros..
Click Here --> http://www.options-university.org
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
More Resources
Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exitingMore Stocks & Mutual Funds Information:
Related Articles
Bottoms Ups
If you have talked to a stock broker or financial planner in the last few days I will bet they all agree that there are some great bargains out there and now is the time to start buying in anticipation that the market will go back up. You will also find agreement from the talking heads on CNBC and those talk radio station stock mavens.
Stock Options Trading Strategies - Lean
Professional stock options traders use the term lean to refer to one's perception about the directional strength of the stock. When you own a stock option and intend to hold it for a period of time, you are aware that you will probably be holding it while it goes up and while it goes down.
The I Word is Coming to a Town Near You
Hello Inflation, it has been awhile, I see you on your way back again. Inflation? What inflation? Oh things like; Energy, diesel fuel, Aviation Fuel, Gasoline, Natural Gas, Milk, Wheat, Corn, Beef, Poultry, Hogs, Soy Beans, Building materials, paper, housing, Auto Prices, Health Care, Insurance, etc.
The Club
Yesterday I received my monthly issue of MONEY magazine. This issue has the special feature called "The Ultimate Investment Club" that highlights their picks for the top mutual fund managers.
Smart Day Trading Strategies to Help You Make Money in the Stock Market
Stock trading can be a very profitable activity. You can make big amounts of cash in a short period of time.
Play another Day
Money management starts with protecting your capital, realizing profits and cutting losses. As I have stated in the past, without cash, you can't invest.
NASDAQ 800?
In November of 2000 when the NASDAQ was trading at 3000 I wrote in this column that the NASDAQ Index would fall to 1500 and I got lots of heat for saying it. Microsoft had fallen from $129 to $60 per share.
A Good Fund Manager
Every Wall Street analyst, financial planner and broker will tell you that the right way to pick a mutual fund is find a good money manager of a fund that has a long time record.Yes, I believe that too, but it is amazing that when you go back in time to see what this genius did with the mutual fund, you will find years he has had some terrible losses.
The Information Age
It is wonderful to be alive in the information age. We know in a matter of seconds the change in the value of gold in Switzerland, the death of a world leader or the birth of a peasant in Israel.
Trading For A Living - Part 1
There can't be many traders who haven't at least considered the idea of telling the boss what they think of him, throwing it all in and going off to trade the stock market for a living. It's a big risk financially, and that uncertainty is what stops most from jumping ship.
Advisory Service for You?
It depends on your level of understanding of the market and the amount of money you have.If you a sophisticated investor with a substantial amount invested you are probably already receiving more than one.
Stock Insurance
You have a lock on your house. You have a lock on your car.
Historical Briefing: Stocks, Finance and Money
The World Bank claims that some two billion of the world's citizens live on $1 per day or less! That fact absolutely shocked me. With this statistic in mind it becomes important to focus on all of the things that have served as money over the history of civilization.
Buy and Hold Investment Strategy
"Buy and hold" is one of the most heralded investment strategies promoted today. "Buy and hold" is also one of the few investment methods where you are guaranteed to lose money 2 out of every 5 years.
The Cub; II
We keep hearing about this bear market and that the bottom is "in" or "very close" so we should be invested in these bargain basement prices to take advantage of the next bull so we won't lose out on the expected huge profits.This is not a big bear market - yet.
Economists
In today's volatile and confusing stock markets everyone is searching for a guru who knows which way the market is going and when. Ask any economist and he will have an answer.
What Our Investment Advisor Wont Say Off The Bat
Most advisors will tell you they can beat the market. They may even point to years in which they did.
The Stock Market is a Roller Coaster: Prepare for the Ups and Downs
IT'S REMINISCENT OF THE OLD children's tale about an old Chinese farmer who tells his friends his story, and they enjoin with "That's good" or "That's bad" on alternating lines:Farmer: My horse ran away.Friends: That's bad.
Choosing a Stock Broker
If you were to find that you had some severe illness that required surgery, would you attempt to perform that surgery upon yourself? What if your car broke down and needed a valve job? Would you get out the Craftsman tool set you got for Christmas three years ago and start tinkering under the hood even though you know absolutely nothing about engines? Of course you wouldn't do either of these things because there are times in life when we know we must seek the assistance of a professional. So why is it that so many people try to make their own investment decisions without consulting a professional stock broker?A stock broker is a trained financial professional who knows how to watch the trends of the stock market, is kept up to date on financial developments by her brokerage firm, and knows how to make wise and sound investment decisions.
Dont Fight The Fed
One of the great truisms of Wall Street is "Don't fight the Fed". For the long term investors this has resulted in greater profits.