Friday, October 19, 2012

AAPL calls

I filled out my AAPL $800 2015 call position; my average buy price is $70.99/share.  Again, the volatility on these out-of-the money calls is dizzying.  Daily price movements are somewhat mitigated because the strike date is so far in the future, but it's still a roller-coaster ride.

I think using an investing strategy which fits your personality and habits is an important factor in staying profitable and solvent.  In this case, that means a combination of being able to see volatility without overreacting and panic-selling, and also not under-reacting and being willfully blind to a risky position.  I definitely experienced both of those during the 2008/9 crash.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Bought AAPL calls (yes, again. shut up.)

Bought $800 strike 2015 AAPL calls for $85 per share.  Unfortunately, only half my order triggered at my limit price; eh, c'est la vie.

On another note, using these way-out-of-the-money calls has been a different experience from a psychological standpoint.  The volatility even on the long dated calls is stunning.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Bought AAPL calls

Bought AAPL 2014 $660 calls for $101.50 per share. Including the $800 strike calls I purchased earlier, my portfolio is now 5% invested in AAPL calls.  5% is the maximum principal I'm willing to risk on a single position (excepting big macro positions like an index).

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Bought TFSL calls

Bought April 2013 $10 strike calls on TFSL for $0.40.  If exercised, TFSL would be 4% of my portfolio.  This is a volatile special situation stock.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Bought OTM AAPL calls

Bought way OTM AAPL calls, Jan 2013 $800 strike, for $5.85

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Sold AAPL calls

Sold all AAPL calls. I still really like the stock, and may repurchase later. I'm selling to hold cash due to macro concerns.

Sold $600 for $93.40
Sold $590 for $97.35
Sold $570 for $106.20
Sold $490 for $147.00
Sold $380 for $219.00

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Sold SSYS

Sold SSYS for $54.00

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Bought put on CRM

Bought a $150 strike put on CRM, expiring January 2013. Purchase price was $18.90 per share.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Bought AAPL call

I should just make a template for this. I bought a $570 strike 2014 AAPL call for $113.10 per share. The stock has dipped sharply ahead of earnings Tuesday. I've read a lot of negative sentiment about Apple lately, but no actual news. I bought because I believe the sentiment is dropping the price, rather than a change in prospects. It's psychologically attractive for a pundit to predict a disaster. However, the size of the position within my portfolio is making me uncomfortable. More profits aren't worth a good night's sleep. Proof either way will come Tuesday.

Monday, April 16, 2012

AAPL call

Bought another AAPL call; $590 strike, 2014 expiration, $113.90 per share. Is there a twelve-step program somewhere I can join?

Friday, March 30, 2012

Bought yet another AAPL call

Bought another Jan 2014 AAPL call. Yes, I can't believe it either. This one has a strike price of $600 and I paid $109.60 per share.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Bought IRE

Bought a small (1%) position in IRE.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Bought PHYS and PSLV

Bought PHYS at $14.54
Bought PSLV at $14.21

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Sold DDD

Sold DDD for $24.84. DDD was TDSC, before it changed it's name and did a (if I recall correctly) 3 for 1 split. I sold because the stock had jumped 20% on great earnings; I may buy again after sentiment settles down. It's a small-cap ($1.25B market cap) so it can be volatile. I still own its competitor, SSYS, which has not jumped in sympathy with DDD.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

ATVI calls expire

ATVI calls expired worthless; curses!

Sold PSLV on weird price action

Sold PSLV at $14.71 due to strange price action. PSLV jumped up 5% while silver was up just 1%. I may buy it back later.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Bought AAPL calls

Today I bought another Jan 2014 call on AAPL. This one has a strike of $490 and cost $87 per share.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Bought more PPP

The rest of my buy order on PPP triggered at $3.00

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Sold GILD, PHYS

I received shares of GILD from calls over option expiration day. I sold the shares for $47.06.

I sold my PHYS for $14.75, ahead of the gold options expiration day this Thursday. This was an error on my part; if I'd been paying proper attention, I'd have sold them Monday ahead of the traditional monthly bear raid.