My Stock Value Strategy Starts Now (3 Viewers)

[TheWalkmen]

Can someone explain how to execute a covered call or just how to sell calls.

Lets say I want to buy 800 shares of C and also sell 8 call option contracts sometime in September. How would I actually execute the trades and read the call prices? Scottrade seems to be a little confusing, the only thing that seems clear (to me anyway) is the strike price.

 

[siffoin]

Can someone explain how to execute a covered call or just how to sell calls.Lets say I want to buy 800 shares of C and also sell 8 call option contracts sometime in September. How would I actually execute the trades and read the call prices? Scottrade seems to be a little confusing, the only thing that seems clear (to me anyway) is the strike price.

Well typically a CC is used when one has owned a stock and has a gain (often a significant gain) in the position AND believes that stock is going to trade down or sideways through the expiration of the written call.I'm trying to figure out why you would want to open a position as a covered call. Doing so means that you very minimally lower your downside risk (cost basis on the long stock is lower) while severely limiting your upside potential (your gain will be limited to the strike of the written call).Regardless.You have it correct.Long 800 shares of C..then write (or sell) a call Sept. contract.C is currently at $5.01. I'd guess you'd look at the Sept $6 strike trading at $.10.So you lower your costs basis to $4.90...and max gain would be $1.10 because if C goes above $6.00...you'd be forced to sell your shares at $6.00. Opening the position to lower cost basis by $.10 just doesn't make any sense to me.But good luck with it.

 

[TheWalkmen]

Can someone explain how to execute a covered call or just how to sell calls.Lets say I want to buy 800 shares of C and also sell 8 call option contracts sometime in September. How would I actually execute the trades and read the call prices? Scottrade seems to be a little confusing, the only thing that seems clear (to me anyway) is the strike price.

Well typically a CC is used when one has owned a stock and has a gain (often a significant gain) in the position AND believes that stock is going to trade down or sideways through the expiration of the written call.I'm trying to figure out why you would want to open a position as a covered call. Doing so means that you very minimally lower your downside risk (cost basis on the long stock is lower) while severely limiting your upside potential (your gain will be limited to the strike of the written call).Regardless.You have it correct.Long 800 shares of C..then write (or sell) a call Sept. contract.C is currently at $5.01. I'd guess you'd look at the Sept $6 strike trading at $.10.So you lower your costs basis to $4.90...and max gain would be $1.10 because if C goes above $6.00...you'd be forced to sell your shares at $6.00. Opening the position to lower cost basis by $.10 just doesn't make any sense to me.But good luck with it.

Thanks, I'm just trying to get a better idea of the details regarding how the trade would work, not necesarily going to do it.So with the $6 strike on the September call, I'd get 8x100x.10 = $80 for selling the calls, correct? Do I get that premium right away, or when the option expires? And to make the trade I would sell symbol .CIX, correct?Calls Symbol LastTrade Last Net Change Bid/Size Ask/Size Volume Open Interest Delta Gamma Rho Theta Vega Implied Volatility Strike Price .CIT 4 Min ago 4.00 +0.35 4.00/221,300 4.10/335,400 24 1,225 1.000 0.000 0.001 0.000 0.000 0.00 1.00 .CIU 9 Min ago 3.05 +0.42 3.00/337,700 3.05/25,000 3,650 78,462 0.987 0.015 0.001 -0.002 0.000 185.86 2.00 .CIV 3 Min ago 2.03 +0.39 2.02/257,000 2.05/100 16,523 705,653 1.000 0.000 0.002 0.000 0.000 0.00 3.00 .CIW 1 Min ago 1.09 +0.39 1.07/32,500 1.09/50,000 68,730 562,366 0.905 0.176 0.002 -0.004 0.002 76.23 4.00 .CIP 1 Min ago 0.35 +0.17 0.34/43,400 0.35/87,500 346,693 1,370,759 0.555 0.481 0.002 -0.007 0.005 65.05 5.00 .CIX 1 Min ago 0.10 +0.05 0.10/305,800 0.11/163,300 63,041 200,436 0.205 0.300 0.001 -0.006 0.004 75.09 6.00

 

[majarrek]

Can someone explain how to execute a covered call or just how to sell calls.Lets say I want to buy 800 shares of C and also sell 8 call option contracts sometime in September. How would I actually execute the trades and read the call prices? Scottrade seems to be a little confusing, the only thing that seems clear (to me anyway) is the strike price.

A covered call is really just the opposite of short selling. Instead of borrowing a share, selling it at a higher price, and rebuying it later and then returning the share, as in a short sale, you are hoping the price increases, thereby borrowing a share, buying it and then committing to selling it down the road. You gain and pocket the difference if the stock increases. If it drops though, then you have to sell it at a lower price than what you purchased it at. The losses are limited (unlike short sales) to the amount you purchased the stock at that date. The main advantage is that you can buy on margin for stocks which are expensive (think Google). Instead of having to shell out $400+ a share, you don't pay a dime and if it increases, you get to keep the difference (as if you purchased it outright). If it drops, you pay the difference, but you are essentially buyinging on margin (a form of credit extended by whoever actually owns the shares).Now, to sell a call option, you can either exercise it or close it. Since most calls trade in 100 share increments, people typically don't exercise them because it can get expensive. Instead watch the spot prices on a site such as Yahoo finance or Scottrade (once you feel comfortable). Enter in the ticker symbol and then click on options to the left. This will show all the calls/puts available and the bid/ask price for each exercise price. You can close out the contract by selling it at the bid price (if you've already got a gain), or trying to sell it at the ask price, hoping the bid moves up to the ask. Keep in mid the 100 share increments, so if the call is listed at $0.20, it's really $20.Hope that helps

 

[siffoin]

Can someone explain how to execute a covered call or just how to sell calls.Lets say I want to buy 800 shares of C and also sell 8 call option contracts sometime in September. How would I actually execute the trades and read the call prices? Scottrade seems to be a little confusing, the only thing that seems clear (to me anyway) is the strike price.

Well typically a CC is used when one has owned a stock and has a gain (often a significant gain) in the position AND believes that stock is going to trade down or sideways through the expiration of the written call.I'm trying to figure out why you would want to open a position as a covered call. Doing so means that you very minimally lower your downside risk (cost basis on the long stock is lower) while severely limiting your upside potential (your gain will be limited to the strike of the written call).Regardless.You have it correct.Long 800 shares of C..then write (or sell) a call Sept. contract.C is currently at $5.01. I'd guess you'd look at the Sept $6 strike trading at $.10.So you lower your costs basis to $4.90...and max gain would be $1.10 because if C goes above $6.00...you'd be forced to sell your shares at $6.00. Opening the position to lower cost basis by $.10 just doesn't make any sense to me.But good luck with it.

Thanks, I'm just trying to get a better idea of the details regarding how the trade would work, not necesarily going to do it.So with the $6 strike on the September call, I'd get 8x100x.10 = $80 for selling the calls, correct? Do I get that premium right away, or when the option expires? And to make the trade I would sell symbol .CIX, correct?Calls Symbol LastTrade Last Net Change Bid/Size Ask/Size Volume Open Interest Delta Gamma Rho Theta Vega Implied Volatility Strike Price .CIT 4 Min ago 4.00 +0.35 4.00/221,300 4.10/335,400 24 1,225 1.000 0.000 0.001 0.000 0.000 0.00 1.00 .CIU 9 Min ago 3.05 +0.42 3.00/337,700 3.05/25,000 3,650 78,462 0.987 0.015 0.001 -0.002 0.000 185.86 2.00 .CIV 3 Min ago 2.03 +0.39 2.02/257,000 2.05/100 16,523 705,653 1.000 0.000 0.002 0.000 0.000 0.00 3.00 .CIW 1 Min ago 1.09 +0.39 1.07/32,500 1.09/50,000 68,730 562,366 0.905 0.176 0.002 -0.004 0.002 76.23 4.00 .CIP 1 Min ago 0.35 +0.17 0.34/43,400 0.35/87,500 346,693 1,370,759 0.555 0.481 0.002 -0.007 0.005 65.05 5.00 .CIX 1 Min ago 0.10 +0.05 0.10/305,800 0.11/163,300 63,041 200,436 0.205 0.300 0.001 -0.006 0.004 75.09 6.00

On a written option...the $ collected will be deposited into your account immediately (minus brokers commission). That $ is your to keep forever. As the writer you do have an obligation to the position, and that's why they pay you the premium (whereas if you are the buyer of an option you posses a right (not an obligation). And yes CIX is the Sept $6.00 call.But seriously...writing any option for anything less than 10% (more or less) of the underlying is a foolish endeavor.Of all the possible plays for C, utilizing options as a foundational component for entering the trade, September Covered Calls would probably be the absolute worst one.

 

[TheWalkmen]

Can someone explain how to execute a covered call or just how to sell calls.Lets say I want to buy 800 shares of C and also sell 8 call option contracts sometime in September. How would I actually execute the trades and read the call prices? Scottrade seems to be a little confusing, the only thing that seems clear (to me anyway) is the strike price.

Well typically a CC is used when one has owned a stock and has a gain (often a significant gain) in the position AND believes that stock is going to trade down or sideways through the expiration of the written call.I'm trying to figure out why you would want to open a position as a covered call. Doing so means that you very minimally lower your downside risk (cost basis on the long stock is lower) while severely limiting your upside potential (your gain will be limited to the strike of the written call).Regardless.You have it correct.Long 800 shares of C..then write (or sell) a call Sept. contract.C is currently at $5.01. I'd guess you'd look at the Sept $6 strike trading at $.10.So you lower your costs basis to $4.90...and max gain would be $1.10 because if C goes above $6.00...you'd be forced to sell your shares at $6.00. Opening the position to lower cost basis by $.10 just doesn't make any sense to me.But good luck with it.

Thanks, I'm just trying to get a better idea of the details regarding how the trade would work, not necesarily going to do it.So with the $6 strike on the September call, I'd get 8x100x.10 = $80 for selling the calls, correct? Do I get that premium right away, or when the option expires? And to make the trade I would sell symbol .CIX, correct?Calls Symbol LastTrade Last Net Change Bid/Size Ask/Size Volume Open Interest Delta Gamma Rho Theta Vega Implied Volatility Strike Price .CIT 4 Min ago 4.00 +0.35 4.00/221,300 4.10/335,400 24 1,225 1.000 0.000 0.001 0.000 0.000 0.00 1.00 .CIU 9 Min ago 3.05 +0.42 3.00/337,700 3.05/25,000 3,650 78,462 0.987 0.015 0.001 -0.002 0.000 185.86 2.00 .CIV 3 Min ago 2.03 +0.39 2.02/257,000 2.05/100 16,523 705,653 1.000 0.000 0.002 0.000 0.000 0.00 3.00 .CIW 1 Min ago 1.09 +0.39 1.07/32,500 1.09/50,000 68,730 562,366 0.905 0.176 0.002 -0.004 0.002 76.23 4.00 .CIP 1 Min ago 0.35 +0.17 0.34/43,400 0.35/87,500 346,693 1,370,759 0.555 0.481 0.002 -0.007 0.005 65.05 5.00 .CIX 1 Min ago 0.10 +0.05 0.10/305,800 0.11/163,300 63,041 200,436 0.205 0.300 0.001 -0.006 0.004 75.09 6.00

On a written option...the $ collected will be deposited into your account immediately (minus brokers commission). That $ is your to keep forever. As the writer you do have an obligation to the position, and that's why they pay you the premium (whereas if you are the buyer of an option you posses a right (not an obligation). And yes CIX is the Sept $6.00 call.But seriously...writing any option for anything less than 10% (more or less) of the underlying is a foolish endeavor.Of all the possible plays for C, utilizing options as a foundational component for entering the trade, September Covered Calls would probably be the absolute worst one.

Thanks. Again, I'm just trying to figure out how these trades would work, not really looking to get into a CC position on citigroup. So if I just wanted to sell the calls, and not buy any C shares, I would just get my $80 and if the price isn't above the strike price at expiration, I pay nothing, right? But if the exercise price is .20 above the strike price, I pay .20x100 x 8 contracts, correct? So essentially I'd be down $160 - $80 = $80?As far as the strategic move on C at this point, what play would you recommend?

 

[majarrek]

Can someone explain how to execute a covered call or just how to sell calls.Lets say I want to buy 800 shares of C and also sell 8 call option contracts sometime in September. How would I actually execute the trades and read the call prices? Scottrade seems to be a little confusing, the only thing that seems clear (to me anyway) is the strike price.

Well typically a CC is used when one has owned a stock and has a gain (often a significant gain) in the position AND believes that stock is going to trade down or sideways through the expiration of the written call.I'm trying to figure out why you would want to open a position as a covered call. Doing so means that you very minimally lower your downside risk (cost basis on the long stock is lower) while severely limiting your upside potential (your gain will be limited to the strike of the written call).Regardless.You have it correct.Long 800 shares of C..then write (or sell) a call Sept. contract.C is currently at $5.01. I'd guess you'd look at the Sept $6 strike trading at $.10.So you lower your costs basis to $4.90...and max gain would be $1.10 because if C goes above $6.00...you'd be forced to sell your shares at $6.00. Opening the position to lower cost basis by $.10 just doesn't make any sense to me.But good luck with it.

Thanks, I'm just trying to get a better idea of the details regarding how the trade would work, not necesarily going to do it.So with the $6 strike on the September call, I'd get 8x100x.10 = $80 for selling the calls, correct? Do I get that premium right away, or when the option expires? And to make the trade I would sell symbol .CIX, correct?Calls Symbol LastTrade Last Net Change Bid/Size Ask/Size Volume Open Interest Delta Gamma Rho Theta Vega Implied Volatility Strike Price .CIT 4 Min ago 4.00 +0.35 4.00/221,300 4.10/335,400 24 1,225 1.000 0.000 0.001 0.000 0.000 0.00 1.00 .CIU 9 Min ago 3.05 +0.42 3.00/337,700 3.05/25,000 3,650 78,462 0.987 0.015 0.001 -0.002 0.000 185.86 2.00 .CIV 3 Min ago 2.03 +0.39 2.02/257,000 2.05/100 16,523 705,653 1.000 0.000 0.002 0.000 0.000 0.00 3.00 .CIW 1 Min ago 1.09 +0.39 1.07/32,500 1.09/50,000 68,730 562,366 0.905 0.176 0.002 -0.004 0.002 76.23 4.00 .CIP 1 Min ago 0.35 +0.17 0.34/43,400 0.35/87,500 346,693 1,370,759 0.555 0.481 0.002 -0.007 0.005 65.05 5.00 .CIX 1 Min ago 0.10 +0.05 0.10/305,800 0.11/163,300 63,041 200,436 0.205 0.300 0.001 -0.006 0.004 75.09 6.00

On a written option...the $ collected will be deposited into your account immediately (minus brokers commission). That $ is your to keep forever. As the writer you do have an obligation to the position, and that's why they pay you the premium (whereas if you are the buyer of an option you posses a right (not an obligation). And yes CIX is the Sept $6.00 call.But seriously...writing any option for anything less than 10% (more or less) of the underlying is a foolish endeavor.Of all the possible plays for C, utilizing options as a foundational component for entering the trade, September Covered Calls would probably be the absolute worst one.

Thanks. Again, I'm just trying to figure out how these trades would work, not really looking to get into a CC position on citigroup. So if I just wanted to sell the calls, and not buy any C shares, I would just get my $80 and if the price isn't above the strike price at expiration, I pay nothing, right? But if the exercise price is .20 above the strike price, I pay .20x100 x 8 contracts, correct? So essentially I'd be down $160 - $80 = $80?As far as the strategic move on C at this point, what play would you recommend?

Wait a minute...so hypothetically, you'd actually own some regular C calls, I assume, cause you can't sell calls you don't have. If the strike price moves above the exercise price, you can still just close out the contract without having to pay for the shares. You'd just pocket a higher premium than what you purchased the calls for to begin with. That premium continues to increase as the stock increases (as a function of time). You wouldn't ever have to exercise unless you really wanted to (you believed the increase in share price in the future will be more significant than the increase in the premium of the call over the life of the contract). But if you're asking if the strike price above the exercise price triggers automatic exercise of the contract, usually not, unless it's specified in the contract.

 

[Mose]

PRGN appears a buy again.

Why would you think that?I am still trying to get out at around $4. The lowering BDI and increased competition make me think that this will hit 3.50 long before 4.50. Keep in mind they are authorized to dilute like 100 million more shares. He said that it was dumb to do the first 20 million shares, but they could blindside us with a new dilution. There are oppotunities to buy ships out there if they raise the cash to do it. That would crush this price.Good luck in whatever you decide.

I assume you got out when it surged past $4.00 earlier today.All the shippers are up big today.

 

[itriple]

PRGN BLOWING UP.

 

[Norman Einstein]

AIG would have been a nice one month holding...

 

[TheWalkmen]

Wait a minute...so hypothetically, you'd actually own some regular C calls, I assume, cause you can't sell calls you don't have. If the strike price moves above the exercise price, you can still just close out the contract without having to pay for the shares. You'd just pocket a higher premium than what you purchased the calls for to begin with. That premium continues to increase as the stock increases (as a function of time). You wouldn't ever have to exercise unless you really wanted to (you believed the increase in share price in the future will be more significant than the increase in the premium of the call over the life of the contract). But if you're asking if the strike price above the exercise price triggers automatic exercise of the contract, usually not, unless it's specified in the contract.

Okay, so I need to be holding C shares in order to sell calls on the shares? I can't just sell calls and then pay the difference between the exercise/strike price at expiration, if the call buyer wants to exercise?Additionally, if I entered a covered call position today, I'd have to buy shares of a stock, sell call options, and hold all of my shares until expiration? Apologies if I sound ignorant, I'm just trying to get a clear understanding.

 

[siffoin]

Wait a minute...so hypothetically, you'd actually own some regular C calls, I assume, cause you can't sell calls you don't have. If the strike price moves above the exercise price, you can still just close out the contract without having to pay for the shares. You'd just pocket a higher premium than what you purchased the calls for to begin with. That premium continues to increase as the stock increases (as a function of time). You wouldn't ever have to exercise unless you really wanted to (you believed the increase in share price in the future will be more significant than the increase in the premium of the call over the life of the contract). But if you're asking if the strike price above the exercise price triggers automatic exercise of the contract, usually not, unless it's specified in the contract.

Either you're not following his questions correctly or I'm not.Originally he was talking covered calls. Long Stock...Short Calls (in this case Sept).Now he's talking naked call writing (Short Calls to open the position)....or at least I thought so.I'll assume I'm not following his questions correctly...and just back off out of here and let you two figure it out. Walkman...are you marrying the girl in that photo? If so...Good for you!

 

[TheWalkmen]

Wait a minute...so hypothetically, you'd actually own some regular C calls, I assume, cause you can't sell calls you don't have. If the strike price moves above the exercise price, you can still just close out the contract without having to pay for the shares. You'd just pocket a higher premium than what you purchased the calls for to begin with. That premium continues to increase as the stock increases (as a function of time). You wouldn't ever have to exercise unless you really wanted to (you believed the increase in share price in the future will be more significant than the increase in the premium of the call over the life of the contract). But if you're asking if the strike price above the exercise price triggers automatic exercise of the contract, usually not, unless it's specified in the contract.

Either you're not following his questions correctly or I'm not.Originally he was talking covered calls. Long Stock...Short Calls (in this case Sept).Now he's talking naked call writing (Short Calls to open the position)....or at least I thought so.I'll assume I'm not following his questions correctly...and just back off out of here and let you two figure it out. Walkman...are you marrying the girl in that photo? If so...Good for you!

Siffoin, you're following what I'm asking. And no, that's Marisa Miller in my avatar, and I'm unfortunately not marrying her.

 

[Gamma1210]

Wait a minute...so hypothetically, you'd actually own some regular C calls, I assume, cause you can't sell calls you don't have. If the strike price moves above the exercise price, you can still just close out the contract without having to pay for the shares. You'd just pocket a higher premium than what you purchased the calls for to begin with. That premium continues to increase as the stock increases (as a function of time). You wouldn't ever have to exercise unless you really wanted to (you believed the increase in share price in the future will be more significant than the increase in the premium of the call over the life of the contract). But if you're asking if the strike price above the exercise price triggers automatic exercise of the contract, usually not, unless it's specified in the contract.

Okay, so I need to be holding C shares in order to sell calls on the shares? I can't just sell calls and then pay the difference between the exercise/strike price at expiration, if the call buyer wants to exercise?Additionally, if I entered a covered call position today, I'd have to buy shares of a stock, sell call options, and hold all of my shares until expiration? Apologies if I sound ignorant, I'm just trying to get a clear understanding.

You don't have to hold the shares to sell a call. It is known as writing an uncovered call. You collect the premium and if the options expire under the strike price then you made the commission. If the options are exercised, you have to pay the difference between the strike price and the current market price. So there is in theory unlimited downside and the upside is the comission collected.

 

[Mose]

PRGN BLOWING UP.

I bought some at $3.80 yesterday and just sold for $4.10 today! Hope it pulls back now and I can do that again!

 

[TheWalkmen]

Wait a minute...so hypothetically, you'd actually own some regular C calls, I assume, cause you can't sell calls you don't have. If the strike price moves above the exercise price, you can still just close out the contract without having to pay for the shares. You'd just pocket a higher premium than what you purchased the calls for to begin with. That premium continues to increase as the stock increases (as a function of time). You wouldn't ever have to exercise unless you really wanted to (you believed the increase in share price in the future will be more significant than the increase in the premium of the call over the life of the contract). But if you're asking if the strike price above the exercise price triggers automatic exercise of the contract, usually not, unless it's specified in the contract.

Okay, so I need to be holding C shares in order to sell calls on the shares? I can't just sell calls and then pay the difference between the exercise/strike price at expiration, if the call buyer wants to exercise?Additionally, if I entered a covered call position today, I'd have to buy shares of a stock, sell call options, and hold all of my shares until expiration? Apologies if I sound ignorant, I'm just trying to get a clear understanding.

You don't have to hold the shares to sell a call. It is known as writing an uncovered call. You collect the premium and if the options expire under the strike price then you made the commission. If the options are exercised, you have to pay the difference between the strike price and the current market price. So there is in theory unlimited downside and the upside is the comission collected.

Thanks, that's what I thought.

 

[Otis]

Was holding C Sept. calls until this morning. Sold this morning. The stock immediately jumped 10%.

The Otis hex is on. FML

 

[bigfishboy]

PRGN appears a buy again.

Why would you think that?I am still trying to get out at around $4. The lowering BDI and increased competition make me think that this will hit 3.50 long before 4.50. Keep in mind they are authorized to dilute like 100 million more shares. He said that it was dumb to do the first 20 million shares, but they could blindside us with a new dilution. There are oppotunities to buy ships out there if they raise the cash to do it. That would crush this price.Good luck in whatever you decide.

I assume you got out when it surged past $4.00 earlier today.All the shippers are up big today.

One sell triggered at 4.07, another at 4.20 missed. I am trying to wean myself off of PRGN in 20% lots. I am so far underwater in it that it is hard to sell. I will look to add around 3.50, otherwise I think there are better options out there.BDI was up a bit today, economic news was generally positive. Anyone have positive news that is shipper specific? I couldn't come up with any.

 

[This is LJ]

Good TA on the Oil, Dollar and Gold sector. I tend to agree with all these assumptions. Really bullish on Oil.

 

[JaxBill]

I lost my patience with FREE and ditched it at 1.65 this morning before the afternoon surge. Bought YTEC at 7.45.

 

[Otis]

What do folks think of semiconductor companies these days? I'm pretty sure KennyL is bullish and bought some wireless and semicon folks recently. A buddy of mine likes VTSS and thinks it's super undervalued. Looks like it's way down in recent weeks, and I'm thinking I'll dip my toes and see what happens. If it goes further south I will ditch and move on to something else. Maybe I'll eventually get something right.

 

[KennyL]

What do folks think of semiconductor companies these days? I'm pretty sure KennyL is bullish and bought some wireless and semicon folks recently. A buddy of mine likes VTSS and thinks it's super undervalued. Looks like it's way down in recent weeks, and I'm thinking I'll dip my toes and see what happens. If it goes further south I will ditch and move on to something else. Maybe I'll eventually get something right.

I think you have to pick and choose your tech names here. I'm still holding TECD and SWIR as I think they're buys and they've done relatively well. Offline I was telling OTIS that I like RIMM above it's 50 day ma here. On the chip side, I don't like the chart of VTSS. Also, tell your buddy to compare the income statement to the cash flow statement and look at the accrual differences. I'm not sure what's going on there, but the two will always catch up to each other and it's telling me that the increasing income isn't as real as it seems. Don't know anything except a superficial look at it.If you're into chips, I really like the AMD chart here, I also think the NVDA chart doesn't look too bad, followed by INTC being alright. I may actually start a position in AMD after looking at the chart. Looks to have broken to the upside out of a long downtrend. Just my 0.02.

 

[Mose]

What do folks think of semiconductor companies these days? I'm pretty sure KennyL is bullish and bought some wireless and semicon folks recently. A buddy of mine likes VTSS and thinks it's super undervalued. Looks like it's way down in recent weeks, and I'm thinking I'll dip my toes and see what happens. If it goes further south I will ditch and move on to something else. Maybe I'll eventually get something right.

VTSS is a pink sheet stock...Boooo. :throwspopcorn:

 

[KGB]

What do folks think of semiconductor companies these days? I'm pretty sure KennyL is bullish and bought some wireless and semicon folks recently. A buddy of mine likes VTSS and thinks it's super undervalued. Looks like it's way down in recent weeks, and I'm thinking I'll dip my toes and see what happens. If it goes further south I will ditch and move on to something else. Maybe I'll eventually get something right.

Why try to catch the falling knife? wait for it to turn around and then jump in.

 

[Mose]

One of my buddies is all over the SPNG bandwagon now. I KNOW to stay away from OTB and PK stocks, but I see an advertisement for them behind the backdrop on the Astros game. I did a little digging and they seem so legit and profittable and cheap. Talk me out of buying some.

 

[The Ref]

Still in a holding pattern here. Have half my investment money active, half in cash. and my trading account is all dry with the exception of 500 free hEB shares.

Nothing really has me excited right now.

 

[Revo]

What do folks think of semiconductor companies these days? I'm pretty sure KennyL is bullish and bought some wireless and semicon folks recently. A buddy of mine likes VTSS and thinks it's super undervalued. Looks like it's way down in recent weeks, and I'm thinking I'll dip my toes and see what happens. If it goes further south I will ditch and move on to something else. Maybe I'll eventually get something right.

VTSS is a pink sheet stock...Boooo. :throwspopcorn:

I hadn't even realized this company still existed. Take a look at a 10-year chart of VTSS when you get a chance.

 

[Jefferson the Caregiver]

What do folks think of semiconductor companies these days? I'm pretty sure KennyL is bullish and bought some wireless and semicon folks recently. A buddy of mine likes VTSS and thinks it's super undervalued. Looks like it's way down in recent weeks, and I'm thinking I'll dip my toes and see what happens. If it goes further south I will ditch and move on to something else. Maybe I'll eventually get something right.

Semiconductor segment has been hurting for a while but they finally had a good quarter 2. I have been looking around myself, might be a good time.

 

[optionmaven]

Still in a holding pattern here. Have half my investment money active, half in cash. and my trading account is all dry with the exception of 500 free hEB shares.Nothing really has me excited right now.

Same here. Holding small positions in MS, X, TMO, ACLS, TLAB, PALM, and RIMM. Still long and a little more overweighted in C, BAC, LVS, and MGM. I hope to start selling/writing options on BAC and LVS in the near future. Really want to be back in on apple but don't see any option numbers that move me. ACLS (thanks kgb) is still moving pretty solidly. Bought in at .49. I think I Saw it hit .80 sometime yesterday. At .76 presently.

 

[Mose]

One of my buddies is all over the SPNG bandwagon now. I KNOW to stay away from OTB and PK stocks, but I see an advertisement for them behind the backdrop on the Astros game. I did a little digging and they seem so legit and profittable and cheap. Talk me out of buying some.

 

[Snotbubbles]

Still in a holding pattern here. Have half my investment money active, half in cash. and my trading account is all dry with the exception of 500 free hEB shares.Nothing really has me excited right now.

I've been cleaning up on Citigroup and Merck the past few months.

 

[KennyL]

Hey everybody. Have a look at GENZ. I like it above 50.85. Was trying to post yesterday, but it takes time to get registered/okayed. I think it's worth $70-75 and it's been beaten down because of some production problems and concerns about healthcare reform. Looks like these short term question marks created a nice buying opportunity to get in near multi-year lows. GENZ focuses on biologic orphan drugs, which decreases competition in the space. Their pipeline is strong going forward.Another pick I like is NOV if you're looking to play any oil/nat gas drilling increases. Big oil isn't drilling and as you probably know, nat gas rig counts are way down with respect to a year ago. The contango in the nat gas market allows producers to hedge for the future at much higher prices than current $3 per mmcf which decreases their incentive to entirely shut down operations in spite of current nat gas prices. With that said, I believe that the cap-ex in this space is at or near a relative low point in this cycle. NOV benefits from the ramp up. I believe it's a double from here. with a $75 target.Both of the above valuations come from DCF analysis, but if you look at comp ratio's you can get in the same ballpark. Both of these are longer term plays, but they're on my radar. Happy trading.

Not sure if anyone got in on GENZ, but there is news today regarding their leukemia drug. FDA should make a decision next week, but the advisory panel is skeptical. I have a trailing stop limit in to exit the position. If you hold, just be aware of the risks and the catalyst (either positive or negative) associated with the decision next week. If you were in when I wrote about it, you're probably up close to 10%. Good luck.

 

[bigfishboy]

PRGN appears a buy again.

Why would you think that?I am still trying to get out at around $4. The lowering BDI and increased competition make me think that this will hit 3.50 long before 4.50. Keep in mind they are authorized to dilute like 100 million more shares. He said that it was dumb to do the first 20 million shares, but they could blindside us with a new dilution. There are oppotunities to buy ships out there if they raise the cash to do it. That would crush this price.Good luck in whatever you decide.

I assume you got out when it surged past $4.00 earlier today.All the shippers are up big today.

One sell triggered at 4.07, another at 4.20 missed. I am trying to wean myself off of PRGN in 20% lots. I am so far underwater in it that it is hard to sell. I will look to add around 3.50, otherwise I think there are better options out there.BDI was up a bit today, economic news was generally positive. Anyone have positive news that is shipper specific? I couldn't come up with any.

Changed the 4.20 trigger to 4.23 last night like a DOPE. If I liquidate another 1/5, I am planning on holding the rest no matter what. It the price falls to 3.80 I will start adding slowly again hpoing for a quarter end jump in a couple months.

 

[NYG Endzone]

Are we back on the way down for a month?

 

[siffoin]

Attempting to begin acquiring a short position in FAS via synthetic stock...expiration month is Jan and April 2010. In a perfect world I will be "short" 3000-5000 shares...so 30-50 contracts. But perfect worlds are rare...so in the end I'll probably wind up with a mish-mash of positions short anywhere from 70-90.

I'm definitely early on this position...it's also difficult getting filled at a fair price...so it's possible I won't be all-in for days/weeks because I will nibble very very slowly 1 set of contracts at a time until the market rolls over or I'm taken out of the position. When I look at stocks on my charts things are very much out of sync, while futures and forex are smooth(er). So taking this trade is going off more of trader intuition...and initiating the position via synthetic shares offers a low(er) risk when going against a very strong up trending market. There is a pit in my stomach doing this, and I won't let the position run away from me that is for sure.

At the end of the day I'm personally trending away from even looking at individual stocks....staying primarily focused on futures and beginning to "experiment" in forex.

Mark Davis...if you read this...I think you invest in Gold ETFs in your IRA. If that is true I read this regarding IRS and ETFs that invest in metals...it comes from my corporate accountant who specializes in taxes for individual traders trading in a corporate entity. The information might be useful...

Exchange traded funds that invest in metals do not qualify for the 15% rate on long-term capital gains. Instead their top top tax rate is 28%. it applies if the fund owned the metal for more than one year and the investor owned fund shares for over a year, IRS says privately. The fund's investors are deemed to own a share of the metal, such as gold, silver or platinum. The gain is treated as coming from the sale of a collectible.

The IRS takes a different stance for IRAs investingin these funds. If the metal is held by an independent trustee, the Service will not treat the IRA as owning a share of the fund's underlying metal. This favorable interpretation keeps the IRA from running afoul of the rule barring direct investments in bullion.

Although you can own almost any type of asset in an IRA, the IRS prohibits owning collectibles in an IRA, including metals and coins, except for certain kinds of bullion and certain coins minted by the U.S. Treasury. According to IRS Publication 590 , “If an IRA invests in collectibles, the amount invested is considered distributed in the year invested.” The account owner would have to pay a 10% penalty on the amount invested in a collectible since it would be considered an early withdrawal. Ouch! This makes it sound like owning precious metal ETFs in an IRA isn't such a good idea.

 

[Gamma1210]

Attempting to begin acquiring a short position in FAS via synthetic stock...expiration month is Jan and April 2010. In a perfect world I will be "short" 3000-5000 shares...so 30-50 contracts. But perfect worlds are rare...so in the end I'll probably wind up with a mish-mash of positions short anywhere from 70-90.

I'm definitely early on this position...it's also difficult getting filled at a fair price...so it's possible I won't be all-in for days/weeks because I will nibble very very slowly 1 set of contracts at a time until the market rolls over or I'm taken out of the position. When I look at stocks on my charts things are very much out of sync, while futures and forex are smooth(er). So taking this trade is going off more of trader intuition...and initiating the position via synthetic shares offers a low(er) risk when going against a very strong up trending market. There is a pit in my stomach doing this, and I won't let the position run away from me that is for sure.

At the end of the day I'm personally trending away from even looking at individual stocks....staying primarily focused on futures and beginning to "experiment" in forex.

Mark Davis...if you read this...I think you invest in Gold ETFs in your IRA. If that is true I read this regarding IRS and ETFs that invest in metals...it comes from my corporate accountant who specializes in taxes for individual traders trading in a corporate entity. The information might be useful...

Exchange traded funds that invest in metals do not qualify for the 15% rate on long-term capital gains. Instead their top top tax rate is 28%. it applies if the fund owned the metal for more than one year and the investor owned fund shares for over a year, IRS says privately. The fund's investors are deemed to own a share of the metal, such as gold, silver or platinum. The gain is treated as coming from the sale of a collectible.

The IRS takes a different stance for IRAs investingin these funds. If the metal is held by an independent trustee, the Service will not treat the IRA as owning a share of the fund's underlying metal. This favorable interpretation keeps the IRA from running afoul of the rule barring direct investments in bullion.

Although you can own almost any type of asset in an IRA, the IRS prohibits owning collectibles in an IRA, including metals and coins, except for certain kinds of bullion and certain coins minted by the U.S. Treasury. According to IRS Publication 590 , “If an IRA invests in collectibles, the amount invested is considered distributed in the year invested.” The account owner would have to pay a 10% penalty on the amount invested in a collectible since it would be considered an early withdrawal. Ouch! This makes it sound like owning precious metal ETFs in an IRA isn't such a good idea.

Does anyone know if this is true in a ROTH IRA as well since it is post-tax money?

 

[Ripley]

Still in a holding pattern here. Have half my investment money active, half in cash. and my trading account is all dry with the exception of 500 free hEB shares.

Nothing really has me excited right now.

I've been cleaning up on Citigroup and Merck the past few months.

 

[Mose]

KERX #####ed anyone that was still holding it after hours on friday.

 

[bigfishboy]

KERX #####ed anyone that was still holding it after hours on friday.

I don't see any news on Yahoo to explain the drop. What happened? And it is not some whacky one time after hours trade, there was quite a bit of volume.

 

[Mose]

KERX #####ed anyone that was still holding it after hours on friday.

I don't see any news on Yahoo to explain the drop. What happened? And it is not some whacky one time after hours trade, there was quite a bit of volume.

$40,000,000 shelf offering. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/111...v159057_s-3.htmI'm thinking of maybe one day trading this. Buy in this morning at the open, which should be low, and try to sell later in the day.

That may be a bad idea though if the news gets out more in the day and then it drops further.

 

[Gadfly]

UNG is brutal.

 

[Jefferson the Caregiver]

If TRMA drops below $6.50, it is a good time to get in. They received a bunch of new contracts at the end of Q1, had a great Q2 and their best quarters are traditionally 3 and 4. They have some debt which is holding this stock down but the outlook for this company going forward is very positive.

$8 is a conservative estimate of where this stock will be by end of Q3.

 

[parasaurolophus]

Bought more IFSL today. Now holding 1,387,251 @ avg cost $.002131. Holding for $1.00

I love the enthusiasm.

this stock is now at .0104has been a fun ride.

 

[bigfishboy]

Bought more IFSL today. Now holding 1,387,251 @ avg cost $.002131. Holding for $1.00

I love the enthusiasm.

this stock is now at .0104has been a fun ride.

Wow, Nice!What is the future prognosis? Still $1?

 

[NYG Endzone]

Great day to unload some HEB

 

[playin4beer]

Great day to unload some HEB

Had 1500 shares at $1.94... i hate watching this thing go up, only to plummet the next day... i sold 1000 yesterday at $2.25...Holding 500 right now, probably unload that today...

 

[parasaurolophus]

Bought more IFSL today. Now holding 1,387,251 @ avg cost $.002131. Holding for $1.00

I love the enthusiasm.

this stock is now at .0104has been a fun ride.

Wow, Nice!What is the future prognosis? Still $1?

no chance in hades this hits a buck. .03 short term is very realistic. .05 is probably the max spike.Just too many shares.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Great day to unload some HEB

Out @2.36

 

[parasaurolophus]

Great day to unload some HEB

Out @2.36

the psychology of HEB investors would be a fascinating case study. There have to be so many who are so ready to pull their hair out.

 

[siffoin]

Attempting to begin acquiring a short position in FAS via synthetic stock...expiration month is Jan and April 2010. In a perfect world I will be "short" 3000-5000 shares...so 30-50 contracts. But perfect worlds are rare...so in the end I'll probably wind up with a mish-mash of positions short anywhere from 70-90.

At this point am only short 600 shares. In the Jan and April...strikes are from 78-80. Got 1 set on Friday and another 5 yesterday. Putting the play on surprised me in how ThinkorSwim sucked up so much of my buying power...shorting 600 synthetic shares of FAS initially reduced my buying power by $22k...as the position has moved further ITM today...it is now reduced by about $15k. That seems pretty steep.Right now I'm up about $4k on the trade...I was looking for this to be a big home run with 3000 shares...but I don't think I can afford having my ability to trade limited...so I'll probably just stick to what I have...if it runs back up may short another 400 synthetic shares to have a 1000 (10 contracts). If it just continues to drop and I nailed a high...I'll be more than satisfied with the -600 shares I hold.This thing swings wildly...so profits/losses really shouldn't be counted until booked. My thought here is this play is a hold for weeks-months...so day-to-day I'm less concerned with where I stand...meaning I'm more focused on where I'd get stopped out right now than where I'll take profits.