Option Block 123: Like a Virgin

Trading Block: Apple blows the doors off earnings again ? long premium going into earnings was the way to play it. JC Penney up $6.50 today, but is it best to still keep a short position? Netflix on the comeback trail? Odd Block: Unusual activity in Deutsche Bank AG (DB) and DeVry Inc. (DV).Xpress Block: Tim Navabi breaks down the recent activity at OX. Have the recent round of earnings and a move to the upside started to lure back degenerate premium sellers back to Netflix? Have people continued to dive back into the short end of Google? Strategy Block: In this rare opportunity, Mark Sebastian takes over the strategy block to discuss what he thinks about the VIX.Around the Block: Keeping an eye on Ford and Apple – again. Very interesting to see oil still around the 100 mark – gold and silver are also moving. Earnings: Jan 31 – Amazon, Feb 1 – Chipotle (stealth Apple), Exxon Mobile & UPS – next week.

read more

Option Block 122: Option Block After Dark

Trading Block: Greek debt swap is keeping the market in neutral. S&P and VIX both up today, but overall a slow trading day. Natural gas and Google are both gathering interest among traders. It is an interesting time to looking at long premium. Odd Block: Usual activity in Melco Entertainment (MPEL), Alexza Pharmaceuticals (ALXA), and Ingersoll Rand (IR).Xpress Block: Tim Navabi discusses the most recent strike of the widowmaker, Google, and some of the calls received by customers last Friday, unhappy with their positions. Around the Block: Big earnings tomorrow! Apple, AMD, and Ford to name a few of the biggest. How much more can Apple rally on earnings? Ford, a wheel of fun candidate, is not risky enough for a collar.

read more
Volatility Views 37: Volatility: How Low Can It Go?

Volatility Views 37: Volatility: How Low Can It Go?

Volatility Review: Might we see VIX below 20 for some time to come? Euro vol up slightly since last week — Bob Krause called it correctly. Two weeks to go in the Feb VolContract.Volatility Viewpoint: Don gets a chance to give his views on last week's topics and talking points from Nikunj Kapadia, Associate Professor at the UMass Eisenberg School of Management. Mailbag: VolContracts on the NASDAQ!!!Crystal Ball: Vol could stay below 20 for a while, VIX futures are even on sale. Is volatility at 12 realistic for the Euro going forward?

read more
Volatility Views 37: Volatility: How Low Can It Go?

Volatility Views 37: Volatility: How Low Can It Go?

Volatility Review: Might we see VIX below 20 for some time to come? Euro vol up slightly since last week — Bob Krause called it correctly. Two weeks to go in the Feb VolContract.Volatility Viewpoint: Don gets a chance to give his views on last week's topics and talking points from Nikunj Kapadia, Associate Professor at the UMass Eisenberg School of Management. Mailbag: VolContracts on the NASDAQ!!!Crystal Ball: Vol could stay below 20 for a while, VIX futures are even on sale. Is volatility at 12 realistic for the Euro going forward?

read more

Option Block 121: Degenerate Options Traders

Trading Block: Ho hum day on the street, but VIX makes it below 20 after much dancing in the area. Looking at a sleepy creep up of the general markets and for a dedicated selling of volatility. Uncle Mike's patience has paid off in Ford. Mark rolls in the Wheel of Fun. The gang fixes the issues with weeklys, but are the exchanges listening? Playing around in earnings season. Kodak throws in the towel and declares bankruptcy. Odd Block: Unusual activity in Safeway, Inc. (SWY).Strategy Block: Uncle Mike takes us through win-loss ratios. High probability does not equal guaranteed money. Premium selling is not an annuity; you still have to prepare for risk. Around the Block: Earnings dominating the horizon.

read more
Volatility Views 36: The VIX vs. Black Swan: Analyzing Tail Risk in the VIX

Volatility Views 36: The VIX vs. Black Swan: Analyzing Tail Risk in the VIX

Volatility Review: Another interesting week in general volatility. Although predicted to settle around the new mean of 23-25, VIX is down to 19. Where will it go next? CBOE has finally put out an adjustment to their settlement process. Euro VolContract review. Volatility Viewpoint: This week's guest, Nikunj Kapadia from UMass, sits down with Mark and Bob to discuss Black Swans, volatility pricing, tail risk, and buy-writes.Crystal Ball: VIX may be headed towards 19 from heavy pressure on VIX Jan and Feb futures. Could we really see an explosion to the upside? Big news at VolX!

read more
Volatility Views 36: The VIX vs. Black Swan: Analyzing Tail Risk in the VIX

Volatility Views 36: The VIX vs. Black Swan: Analyzing Tail Risk in the VIX

Volatility Review: Another interesting week in general volatility. Although predicted to settle around the new mean of 23-25, VIX is down to 19. Where will it go next? CBOE has finally put out an adjustment to their settlement process. Euro VolContract review. Volatility Viewpoint: This week's guest, Nikunj Kapadia from UMass, sits down with Mark and Bob to discuss Black Swans, volatility pricing, tail risk, and buy-writes.Crystal Ball: VIX may be headed towards 19 from heavy pressure on VIX Jan and Feb futures. Could we really see an explosion to the upside? Big news at VolX!

read more

Option Block 120: Doing Stuff

Trading Block: Another mild day on the market. Metals/Commodities rundown – GLD up a bit, but not much. Premium on the VIX futures is getting crushed. Corn and grains limit down after a USDA report this morning rocked the market.Odd Block: Unusual activity in Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. (NWL) and Research in Motion (RIMM). Xpress Block: Rob Kurzatkowski commands the OX desk today and discusses the ags from CME and Globex, limits and what you need to know before trading following reports. Strategy Block: Andrew Giovanazzi runs the strategy block and talks about doing stuff after trading Zenga and XLF.Around the Block: Earnings outlook: Goldman Sachs, Citi – 1/18, Intel – 1/19, as well as Apple – 1/24. Will we push through the 1300-level, or will it act as a level of resistance? Next Wednesday is VIX expiration for the Jan contracts.

read more

Option Block 119: The Fanboy Piggyback

Trading Block: Another mild day on the street. Apple hits a new high ahead of earnings, riding high on iPad 3 rumors. Apple's new high comes in spite of the fact that Android finally eclipsed IOS in the mobile market over the holidays. Netflix was up 14% today despite opting out of ultraviolet program. Is the widowmaker back? Nuance, perhaps a stealth play going into CES. Odd Block: Unusual activity in Perfect World Co., Ltd. (PWRD). Xpress Block: John Grigus runs the OX desk this week and discusses year-end topics, such as closing out worthless securities and most importantly, taxes. Listener Questions: Option margin Around the Block: Biotech and pharmaceutical stocks are lighting up the screens. Kodak closed and $0.40. What is their future? Looking forward to Alcoa. Lots of earnings and retail sales coming up.

read more
Volatility Views 35: Aggressively Selling Volatility in the New Year

Volatility Views 35: Aggressively Selling Volatility in the New Year

Volatility Review: After a holiday hiatus, Mark, Don, and Mark Sebastian discuss and review current and upcoming vol in 2012. The $64,000 question: Why is vol getting crushed? What's happening in the Euro zone? Volatility Viewpoint: A grab bag of volatility topics in this viewpoint section, including: VIX futures–how they trade, the nature of their term structure, contango, etc., and actual realized vol in the market for the past year. Mailbag: Best method of volatility measurement? Crystal Ball: Vol, S&P, VIX, EuroVol Contracts, and Jan futures–where are they moving this year? A few new contracts may be in the pipeline over at VolX.

read more
Volatility Views 35: Aggressively Selling Volatility in the New Year

Volatility Views 35: Aggressively Selling Volatility in the New Year

Volatility Review: After a holiday hiatus, Mark, Don, and Mark Sebastian discuss and review current and upcoming vol in 2012. The $64,000 question: Why is vol getting crushed? What's happening in the Euro zone? Volatility Viewpoint: A grab bag of volatility topics in this viewpoint section, including: VIX futures–how they trade, the nature of their term structure, contango, etc., and actual realized vol in the market for the past year. Mailbag: Best method of volatility measurement? Crystal Ball: Vol, S&P, VIX, EuroVol Contracts, and Jan futures–where are they moving this year? A few new contracts may be in the pipeline over at VolX.

read more

Option Block 118: Buying Cheapy Premium

Trading Block: Market mostly unchanged today. Vol off modestly – a decent day for gamma scalping in the VIX. Jobless claims modestly lower – the market shrugged it off. A Metals/Commodities rundown. Apple on a little bit of a tear which has rallied since mid-December, augmented by a lot of attention with the CES next week. A quick discussion of butterfly and iron butterfly positions. Odd Block: Unusual activity in Barnes & Noble, Inc. (BKS) and Fossil, Inc. (FOSL). Xpress Block: Tim Navabi discusses the recent surge in costumers buying risk, with Bank of America being the most popular. Around the Block: CES on the horizon and will impact the volatility of many tech stocks – be on the lookout for the next Nvidia, which rallied 50% in the weeks following CES last year. Where will oil go now that it's above 100?

read more