I had another Coca-Cola option expire worthless over the weekend.  I recently had one expire in May collecting $177 in premiums and I’m collecting even more premiums this time.

The original trade:

01/23/14 Sold 1 KO Aug 16 ’14 $39 Put @ 2.00; posted here

Since KO was trading above the $39.00 on 08/16, this option expired worthless and I get to keep $200 in options premiums.

I currently have 7 open options positions and profit for 2014 of $1602.

My options page has been updated accordingly.

I’m reporting an option that expired worthless and a new options trade.

I had a Mattel option expire worthless while on vacation on 07/19/14.

The original trades:

02/03/14 Sold 1 MAT July 19 ’14 $36.00 Put @ 2.42; posted here

Since MAT was trading above $36.00 on 07/19/14, this option expired worthless and I got to keep $242 in options premiums.

In light of recent weakness in shares of MAT, I decided to take the opportunity to sell two more puts.  

new trade:

07/28/14 Sold 2 MAT Jan 17’15 $36 Put @ 2.55

This trade could turn out a few ways:

1) I hold shares until expiration and shares are trading above $36.00.  I will get to keep the $510 in options premiums.

2) I hold shares until expiration and shares are trading below $36.00.  I will get assigned 200 shares of MAT at a cost of $33.45.  This would correspond to a yield on cost of 4.5%.

3) Shares of MAT go on a run and I decide to buy back the put early for a profit less than $510.

I currently have 8 open options positions and profit for 2014 of $1402.

My options page has been updated accordingly.

I had a KMI option expire worthless over the weekend on 06/21/14.

The original trade:

12/11/13 Sold 1 KMI Jun 21 ’14 $32.50 Put @ 2.40; posted here
Since KMI was trading above $32.50 on 06/21, this option expired worthless and I get to keep $240 in options premiums.

My position in KMI is fairly large at 4.25% of my portfolio.  KMI is also up $5 from their low of around $35 and now above my cost basis.  I don’t plan to add any more to KMI for a while and I still have two puts with January ’15 expiration that I’m still holding onto.

I currently have 8 open options positions and profit for 2014 of $1140.

My options page has been updated accordingly.

This is a strategy I’ve used previously.  Basically when you roll an option forward you are replacing a short option with one expiring later.

I originally sold 1 TGT $60 July 19 ’13  Put back on 12/23/13 for 2.83.  This put was coming up for expiration next month and I decided to close it out early to avoid getting assigned since it was in the money.

On 06/16 I was able to purchase back this put for 2.63 and then I simultaneously sold 1 TGT Jan 17 ’15 $57.50 Put @ 3.52.

I accomplished a couple things.  I avoid getting shares assigned next month.  I also set myself up for a much lower cost basis if this new put is assigned.  I’ll get to buy 100 shares of TGT for $53.98 vs paying $57.17 next month.  That’s a big difference.  I’ll also get to collect more premiums if the put expires worthless.

The Trades:

I BTC 1 TGT July 19 ’14 $60.00 Put @ 2.63 which with commissions ended up being a wash.

I then Sold 1 TGT Jan 17 ’15 $57.50 Put @ 3.52

This trade could turn out a few ways:

1) I hold shares until expiration and shares are trading above $57.50.  I will get to keep the $352 in options premiums.

2) I hold shares until expiration and shares are trading below $57.50.  I will get assigned 100 shares of TGT at a cost of $53.98.  Shares are currently at $58.74 so this is a nice discount.

3) Shares of TGT go on a run and I decide to buy back the put early for a profit less than $352.

I currently have 9 open options positions and a total options profit of $920 for 2014.

My options page has been updated accordingly.

My options trading has been a little quiet over the past few months.  Activity should continue to pick up the second half of the year when I usually have more funds available for investing.

If you remember, VZ purchased the remainder of their share of Verizon Wireless from VOD.  This resulted in several transactions and adjusted cost basis.  My VOD cost basis went up quite a bit and I mentioned how I calculated that here and also about the initial transaction and purchase of more VZ stock after the deal went through here.

I plan to still keep VOD as a full position as well as VZ.  I haven’t decided if I want to add a third communications company to the mix, possibly one of the Canadian carriers at some point.  My Telecom exposure is still fairly low compared to other sector weights and I’m hoping to use puts to purchase more shares.

The Trade:

I Sold 3 VOD Jan 17 ’15 $30.00 Puts @ 1.18

This trade could turn out a few ways:

1) I hold shares until expiration and shares are trading above $30.00.  I will get to keep the $354 in options premiums.

2) I hold shares until expiration and shares are trading below $30.00.  I will get assigned 100 shares of VOD at a cost of $28.72/share which corresponds to a 6.4% yield without an increase in their second payment.  This is a discount of over 12% from where the stock is currently trading and a huge discount to my cost basis of  $38.02.  Of course my basis was adjusted upwards after VZ bought out the rest of VOD’s stake in Verizon Wireless.  I mentioned that in the article I linked to at the top of the page.

3) Shares of VOD go on a run and I decide to buy back the put early for a profit less than $354.

I currently have 9 open options positions and a total options profit of $900 for 2014.

My options page has been updated accordingly.

I had a Coca Cola option expire worthless over the weekend on 05/17/14.

My last put option with KO was assigned when I got to purchase 100 shares of KO for a cost of $36.84/share that I posted about here.  Since then, KO shares have risen in price to over $40/share.

The original trades:

10/08/13 Sold 1 KO May 17 ’14 $36.00 Put @ 1.77; posted here

Since KO was trading above the $36.00 on 05/17, this option expired worthless and I get to keep $177 in options premiums.

I currently have 8 open options positions and profit for 2014 of $852.

My options page has been updated accordingly.

My options trading has been a little quiet over the past couple of months.  I expect this to change now that tax time is over.  Today, I closed a position with a very nice profit.

I decided to close out a put I had sold in February.  PM has gone on a run and I have a large position already.  I decided to go ahead and take some profits instead of waiting until next January. In less than 3 months, this put earned me a cool $557!

What I LOVE about selling puts is that I’m doing so mainly on companies I already own or want to own more of.  This way it’s a win-win for me.  I’m paid to wait or I get assigned the stock at a price cheaper than where it was trading the day I sold the put.

Here’s a look at a 3-month chart of this put since I bought it:

The Trade:

I mentioned the original trade here.

I originally sold an $80 PM Put on 02/03 for 9.00 that expired Jan 17 ’15 collecting $900 in premiums.

Today I Bought-To-Close 1 PM $80 Jan 17 ’15 Put @ 3.43′

I profited $557 before commissions.

I currently have 10 open options positions and a total options profit of $675 for 2014.

My options page has been updated accordingly.

Today I decided to close out a put I had sold last October.  TEVA has been on a huge run the last couple of months, up over 25%.  I decided to use this quick surge to close out my option cheaply and free up some cash for a down payment on my rental coming up.

I probably would have rode out this put had I not needed the extra cash this month.  I love the generics business and TEVA is poised for great growth ahead.  Fundamentally, they were undervalued for a while but they are now catching up.  They also recent announced a 15% dividend increase.

The Trade:

I mentioned the original trade here.

Today I Bought-To-Close 1 TEVA Jun 21 ’14 $37.50 Put @ .19

Since I originally sold the put for 3.00, I profited $281 before commissions.

I currently have 10 open options positions and a total options profit of $118 for 2014.
My options page has been updated accordingly.

With the recent weakness in the markets, it has opened up some new opportunities.  I already own PM and am in the processing of averaging down.  I also used to own Mattel (MAT) and I don’t mind picking up shares again when they are yielding over 4%.

A.) I Sold 1 PM Jan 17 ’15 $80 Call @ 9.00
B.) I Sold 1 MAT July 19 ’14 $36 Put @ $2.42

These trades could turn out a few ways:

1 a.)  I hold shares until expiration and shares are trading above $80.00.  I will get to keep the $900 in options premiums.

1 b.)  I hold shares until expiration and shares are trading above $36.00.  I will get to keep the $242 in options premiums.

2 a.)  PM is trading below $80.00 at or before expiration and shares are assigned.  I will receive 100 shares of PM at a cost of $71.00/share.  This is currently 16.9% below my cost basis.

2 b.)  MAT is trading below $36.00 at or before expiration and shares are assigned.  I will receive 100 shares of MAT at a cost of $33.58/share.  This is a YOC of 4.5%.

3 a.)  Shares of PM go on a run and I decide to buy back the put early for a profit less than case 1 a.)

3 b.) Shares of MAT go on a run and I decide to buy back the put early for a profit less than case 1 b.)

I currently have 12 open options positions and a total options profit of -$163 for 2014.

My options page has been updated accordingly.