The Option Block

Trading Block: Earnings and major moves

• Oracle Corporation (ORCL) after the bell - $49.25, ATM straddle: $2.75, approx. 5.5%
• FedEx Corporation (FDX) after the bell - $255.25, ATM straddle: $8.50, approx. 3.3%
• Reefer madness hits the options markets as cannabis shares continue to climb. $TLRY $CORE $MJ

Odd Block: Tesla Inc. (TSLA) put summary, call love in KKR & Co Inc. (KKR), put love in Meet Group Inc. (MEET) and call love in Delek US Holdings Inc. (DK).

Mail Block: Options question of the week

Some people look to analysts for their market outlook. We prefer to analyze actual #options positions. This week we're looking at $SPY. In a nutshell - what do you think is the largest #options position in $SPY right now? No cheating - what does your gut tell you?

• SPY Mar 255.0 P
• SPY Oct 272.0 P
• SPY Dec 31st 320.0 C
• SPY Sep 300.0 C

Listener questions and comments:

• Question from Gallion - I need an income trade that produces about 7-8% per year, what should I be looking at?
• Question from Salsot - Pennies! Did they help or hurt options?

Around the Block/This Week in the Markets

• Sep 20: Jobless Claims, Existing Home Sales, Fed Balance Sheet

Trading Block: Trade war concerns are renewed as Trump keeps turning up the rhetoric. $AMZN in Chicago! A new Amazon Go store opens down the street from our studio - the first outside of Seattle. Amazon spinoff AWS heats up. FedEx (FDX) - $255.23, ATM straddle: $8.50 approx. 3.3%. Oracle (ORCL) - $49.25, ATM straddle: $2.75 approx. 5.5%.

Odd Block: Call love in Cigna Corporation (CI), calls trade in Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY), and call love in Antero Resources Corp (AR).

Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses how to trade the Wheel strategy.

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Liznder -If you had to start over with learning about and trading options what would you do differently?
• Question from Tamavil - Does it make sense for an active trader to become a member of the exchanges anymore or are those days gone?

Around the Block/This Week in the Markets:

• Sep 18: Treasury International Capital
• Sep 19: Housing Starts
• Sep 20: Jobless Claims, Existing Home Sales, Fed Balance Sheet

Trading Block: Volatility Flash Poll!

VIX is threatening 15 and $VXX is back above 30. Is this the return of volatility or just a blip? Quite simply - where will we be at the end of next week?

• 14% - Here: VIX=14, VXX=30(ash)
• 32% - Low: VIX=
• 15% - Lower: VIX=
• 39% - Higher: VIX=

Earnings!

• Kroger, Adobe, Radiant
• Apple unveils iPhone 10plus

Odd Block: Call love in Caesars Entertainment Corp (CZR), XRX Call weirdness in Xerox Corp (XRX), call sweep in MGM Resorts International (MGM).

Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses the joys and dangers of gamma

Mail Block: Listnener questions and comments

• Question from TNKA - I 've got about $25k worth of SPY. How many puts do I need to protect myself?

Around The Block/This Week In the Markets

• Sep 13: Retail Sales, Consumer Sentiment

Trading Block: VIX is back to 14, and VXX is back below 30. Earnings. If Apple made phone in U.S. they would cost 20% more, according to BAML analyst. SEC rejects bitcoin ETFs.

Odd Block: Upside calls in Altice USA Inc. (ATUS), short puts in PagSeguro Digital Ltd (PAGS) from 4-16, and size calls in Regions Financial Corp (RF) from 2-26.

Mail Block: Listner questions and comments

• Question from EB18 - What do you think of $FB calls profiled on Options Action last week?
• Question from Anzew - If I go out of the money with my options are they more sensitive to price movements in the stock? I've had out of the money positions move over 25% when the stock only moved 5%.

Around the Block/This Week in the Markets

• Sep 10: JOLTS
• Sep 11: PPI
• Sep 12: CPI, Jobless Claims, Treasury Budget
• Sep 13: Retail Sales, Consumer Sentiment

Trading Block. There are still names reporting earnings. Namely, Barnes & Noble and GameStop.

Odd Block: Cheapie calls in Northern Oil & Gas, Inc. (NOG) from 5/21. Crazy put palooza in Dean Foods Co (DF) from 4/30. Call love in Devon Energy Corp (DVN) from 4/16

Mail Block: Listener questions and comments

• Question from Jason Anstey: Would you or your followers have a recommendation on best discount brokerage? Ideally low cost per contract and the ability to enter spread orders on a mobile device. Thanks. Appreciate it.
• Question from Florence: When trades go against you do you close or roll the whole thing out or only the losing parts?

Around The Block/This Week In the Markets:

• Sep 4 - Construction Spending
• Sep 5 - International Trade
• Sep 6 - Jobless Claims, Productivity and Costs, Factory Orders
• Sep 7 - Unemployment

This episode was originally posted on August 29th, 2017

Trading Block: A quiet day in the market.

Odd Block: Ratio put spread in Expedia Inc. (EXPE), ratio risk reversal in Dollar General Corp. (DG), and put-palooza in Pure Storage Inc. (PSTG).

Mail Block: Options Question of the Week

Look at #MayweatherMcGregor as #Options traders. @TheNotoriousMMA calls cost $1, pay $3. #Floyd calls cost $4, pay $1. Your trade?

• 30% - Buy #Connor Calls?
• 32% - Buy #Floyd Calls?
• 16% - I'd rather sell premium
• 22 - Whoever Wins We Love

Listener questions:

• Question from Allan8 - Did Mark cash any calls on Floyd?
• Question from LAXX - Is it me or do the Vegas odds makers do a very similar job to options market makers?

Another Options Question of the Week:

Let's get cheap! If you had to buy "lottery ticket" December calls for $.05 in one name - which would you choose? #HomeRun

• AMZN
• AAPL
• Tesla
• VIX

MORE listener questions:

• Comment from The_Quantum_Revloution - Which options are trading at $0.05 though that's the question?
• Comment from Randy Wright - AAPL, and I just might join you.
• Question from NTT - Can you clarify the question from last show. Was that SPX put-call spread guy asking about selling OTM calls vs. OTM puts or same strike?
• Comment from Dennis Lyrintzis - Wow over 15,000 Jan 55 calls bought for AAL. Thanks for the Alert.
• Question from ReallyG? - Love your #podcasts! Question: market profile displays limit orders. Is there a service that displays stop orders? Just wondering
• Question from KBX32: What is the cheapest way to hedge my portfolio w options?

Around the Block: Upcoming Earnings LULU (8/31)

This episode was originally posted on April 25th, 2017

Trading Block: Earnings today

• Alcoa: $33, ATM Straddle $2 - approx. 6%
• Chipotle: ATM Straddle $25.25, approx. 5.4%
• VIX 'fear' gauge plummets as French election results spark global relief rally.

Odd Block: Calls and puts trade in GGP Inc. (GGP), puts trade in Exelon Corp. (EXC) and calls trade in MGM Resorts Intl. (MGM).

Mail Block: Question of the Week:

Earnings Season is upon us. Big names are reporting soon. Which is your pick for the largest % move post-earnings?

• $AMZN
• $GOOGL
• $CMG
• $MSFT

Listener questions and comments:

• Follow-up comments from GameDay Dog:

You nailed it. I was assigned on 2 of the options. I knew that, but the (-) in my margin account was "alarming". My main thought was losing more than my spread safety net. The math did not make sense immediately. Glad to ask a question that made others ask questions. My bad...just heard episode 608...Yeah, I got assigned 2 of 3 my put spread. Way too early! I will get into better detail next time. Episode 208 had an excellent answer. That big negative number was stupid scary! I closed all the positions & sold the stock. The 1 short put & 3 long puts made it a back ratio spread when I closed it. It's funny now! PS - thanks for managing to get my questions on air. Once I closed the positions, I was able to sleep that night!!! Feels like I lost more than $300 though. By getting assigned the shares, it felt like I had more at risk and loss was influenced by the price of the underlying instead of the option. If that makes sense. Seeing the large margin number was not pleasant. My credit spread had a 30% chance of being ITM when I sold it too! Hahaha.

• Question from Lesnod -How do you get out of the straddles? One side of a straddle is always a loss correct?

Around the Block/This Week in the Market

• Apr 25: New Home Sales, Consumer Confidence
• Apr 27: Jobless Claims, International Trade, Pending Home Sales
• Apr 28: GDP, Consumer Sentiment

Trading Block: Trump trade war is back on the tape - China implemented more tariffs on U.S. goods.

Earnings:

• Thursday - HP, Intuit, Gap
• Friday - Foot Locker

Odd Block: Rolling calls in Union Pacific Corporation (UNP), bullish paper in Coty Inc. (COTY) and opening puts in CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. (CBL)

Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses investing in marijuana stocks.

Mail Block: Options question of the week

We're talking about #Crypto #Derivatives at the upcoming @BlockchainVoice Conference (register at http://VoiceOfBlockChain.com). So this week we want to know which #Crypto product you'd like to see listed on a major venue next.

• 72% - Bitcoin Options
• 8% - Ripple Options/Futures
• 15% - Ether Options/Futures
• 5% - Litecoin Options/Futures

Listener questions and comments: What's on your mind?

• Comment from TradingTrooper -$CGC begins trading weekly options today
• Comment from FContangotrader -@OptionPit @OptionVol greasy meatball and rock lobster combo lol
• Re: Olive Garden $300 all you can eat pass: Comment from Volatility Trading -Low carb diets be damned

Around the Block: What are we watching?

Trading Block: Earnings!

• Wednesday - Target, Lowe's, Barnes & Noble
• Thursday - HP, Intuit, Gap
• Friday - Foot Locker

Plus, TSLA has major issues - SEC investigation, drug cartels, etc.

Odd Block: Put roll in QEP Resources Inc (QEP), Roling puts in Flower Foods Inc (FLO), Call palooza in PayPal (PYPL)

Mail Block: Options question of the week

This week we would like to know more about your level of #options expertise. Quite simply - how would you describe yourself at a dinner party?

• 13% - Current/Former Pro
• 18% - Retail Options Wiz
• 47% - Retail Options Dabbler
• 22% - Looking to Get Started

ANOTHER Options question of the week: We're talking about #Crypto #Derivatives at the upcoming @BlockchainVoice Conference (register at http://VoiceOfBlockChain.com ). So this week we want to know which #Crypto product you'd like to see listed on a major venue next. Reply/DM w/others #Bitcoin $XRT $ETH $LTC

• Bitcoin Options
• Ripple Options/Futures
• Ether Options/Futures
• Litecoin Options/Futures

Listener questions and comments:

• Question From Cbade: Looking to sell some Ford weekly 9.50 puts for $.25. My broker says I don't have enough cash in my account to cover a 10 lot. How much money do I need to have to sell 10 puts on a $9 stock?

Around the Block: What's coming up this week?

Trading Block: A look back at the week from a trading perspective

VIX briefly back over 14.

Earnings:

• Wednesday - Macy's, Cisco
• Thursday - Walmart, JD.com, Nordstrom, Nvidia
• Friday - John Deere
• Walmart (WMT) had a blowout quarter and shares are surging.
• Nvidia (NVDA) - ATM straddle: $16.50, approx. 6%

Odd Block: Bullish risk reversal in Discovery Communications Inc. (DISCA) (From 7/19), Well-timed bullish stupid in Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CLF) (From 7/16), and earning bet in Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG) (From 7/16).

Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses bad practices in financial advisors who claim to know options.

Mail Block: Options question of the week

This week we would like to know more about your level of #options expertise. Quite simply - how would you describe yourself at a dinner party?

• 12% - Current/Former Pro
• 21% - Retail Options Wiz
• 48% - Retail Options Dabbler
• 19% - Looking to Get Started

Around The Block/This Week In the Markets:

• Aug 16 - Jobless Claims, Housing Starts
• Aug 17 - Consumer Sentiment