Option Block 153: Facebook Faceplant

Trading Block: The market had no real direction. The Euro got crushed and bonds had the only give back of the day. Sebastian looks at the correlation between TLT and VIX. Commodities rundown featuring gold, crude oil and natural gas.Xpress Block: Going over the tumultuous week/weekend of Facebook. What was the environment like over at OX? The financial media had a field day with the Facebook IPO. Going over the valuation of Facebook and the upcoming options on the 29th.Around the Block: Breaking news: On May 31st, the CBOE will extend the listings of their PM settled, SPX end of week options to include the following expirations: June 8th, June 22nd and July 6th. Keeping an eye on the crude inventories report. A long three-day weekend coming up.

read more
Volatility Views 54: Listener Mail Extravaganza, Part Two

Volatility Views 54: Listener Mail Extravaganza, Part Two

Volatility Review: NASDAQ one-month vol came in a little bit, and at the same time the three-month vol went up slightly. The risk premium between implied and realized volatility has widened further. A crazy scenario of implied vs. realized volatility in VIX. Listener Mail: Mark, Don, and Mark take on listener questions.Crystal Ball: We might start to see levels of realized vol taper off a bit in NASDAQ. The three-month vol of vol is actually lower than the vol of the S&P itself. VIX could reach 30 sooner than later. Bonds are in even worse condition.

read more
Volatility Views 54: Listener Mail Extravaganza, Part Two

Volatility Views 54: Listener Mail Extravaganza, Part Two

Volatility Review: NASDAQ one-month vol came in a little bit, and at the same time the three-month vol went up slightly. The risk premium between implied and realized volatility has widened further. A crazy scenario of implied vs. realized volatility in VIX. Listener Mail: Mark, Don, and Mark take on listener questions.Crystal Ball: We might start to see levels of realized vol taper off a bit in NASDAQ. The three-month vol of vol is actually lower than the vol of the S&P itself. VIX could reach 30 sooner than later. Bonds are in even worse condition.

read more

Option Block 152: Facebook: Buy, Sell, or Wait for Options?

Trading Block: Not a great day on the market, NASDAQ down significantly. The big grind toward summer begins, almost an exact replay on last year. OTM premium looks like a good buy. A rundown of commodities – gold is still getting whipped. Odd Block: Interesting and unusual activity in American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), Elan Pharmaceuticals, and Clean Energy (CLNE). Strategy Block: Facebook’s official price is $38, buy or sell? How high could this stock possibly go?Around the Block: Looking at Sears trading tomorrow after earnings today. The TLT may likely continue to go higher. More uneasiness in Greece. May we hit a temporary bottom tomorrow?

read more
Options Bootcamp 5: Spread Trading

Options Bootcamp 5: Spread Trading

Basic Training: Today we're going to dive into spreads. Spreads are really the defining characteristics of options. What is a spread? Why would you do a spread vs. trading an option outright? Max value of a spread is the differential between the two strike prices. Long call spread, aka vertical, examples with everyone's favorite stock XYZ. Spreads have components called legs – they are the individual parts of the spread Roll Call: Mark and Dan sit down with Christopher Newman, the Zecco Trading Vice President of Customer Service, and run him through a few questions.Mail Call: Answering listener questions.

read more

Options Bootcamp 5: Spread Trading

Basic Training: Today we're going to dive into spreads. Spreads are really the defining characteristics of options. What is a spread? Why would you do a spread vs. trading an option outright? Max value of a spread is the differential between the two strike prices. Long call spread, aka vertical, examples with everyone's favorite stock XYZ. Spreads have components called legs – they are the individual parts of the spread Roll Call: Mark and Dan sit down with Christopher Newman, the Zecco Trading Vice President of Customer Service, and run him through a few questions.Mail Call: Answering listener questions.

read more

Option Block 151: The After-Hours Trading Debate

Trading Block: Groupon earnings after the close, up by just a dollar. Red throughout most of the commodities today. Zynga had a little pop on the heels of the Facebook IPO news. Much like GRPN, a lot of legging opportunities. Ford re-tracing some of it lows in the recent months. Odd Block: Unusual and interesting activity in Groupon, Inc. (GRPN), Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. (DLTR), and Chico’s FAS, Inc. (CHS). Xpress Block: Tim Navabi takes the OX hot seat and discusses Facebook – options on Facebook will be available about 2-5 days after the IPO. Mail Block: Email question from Todd Dusaign.Around the Block: GRPN rallied a bit up to $13.25. Still keeping an eye on Greece. UN summit on its way to Chicago.

read more