I exited one position, XLF, for a profit, and two for losses, SPX and COST.

I entered no new positions.

By Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, Jan. 5, 2017

 

No new positions in sight for Thursday. I’ll concentrate on evaluating existing positions to see which I should exit as their Jan. 20 expiration approaches.

The next earnings season begins Monday, Jan. 9, with the publication of AA’s results.

By Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, Jan. 4, 2017

 

I entered an earnings play on WBA.

I exited FXI and GLD, each for a profit.

The short puts in my FNSR position were assigned, and I exited the resulting shares and the long puts, leaving a bear call spread.

By Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, Jan. 4, 2017

 

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA)

Update 1/20/2017: WBA moved sideways after earnings were published and fell today after announcing that it would pay $50 million to resolve a prescription kickback case. (Reuters story) I exited at 25% of maximum potential profit.

Shares rose by 1.4% over 16 days, or a +31% annual rate. The options position produced a 33.3% yield on debit for a +760% annual rate.

WBA publishes earnings on Thursday before the opening bell.

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I shall be analyzing WBA as a potential earnings play.

I also intend to begin closing out my options positions expiring Jan. 20. The symbols from which I’ll be making exit decisions are CSX, PAY, SPX, FNSR, FXI, GS, IBM, MU, XLF and XLU.

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I shall consider WBA as an earnings play on Wednesday. Implied volatility for both the year and the most recent broad move is sufficiently high to support a trade.

By Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, Jan. 4, 2017

Late in the trading day I exited FXE for a profit.

As reported in the earlier Outcomes post, I entered a position on COST today.

By Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, Jan. 3, 2017

I entered a volatility play on COST.

By Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, Jan. 3, 2017

 

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST)

Update 1/5/2017: COST rose sharply after earnings were published, retraced a bit, and then resumed its rise. I got out quickly for a loss, figuring there was no way this position would improve.

In part, my willingness to exit so rapidly was to free funds for earnings season, which begins next week.

Shares rose by 2.7% over two days, or a +494% annual rate. The options position produced a 17.1% loss on debit for a -3,129% annual rate

COST is showing implied volatility sufficiently high to support a trade.

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COST continues to qualify as a potential high-volatility play, and I shall do an analysis today.

By Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, Jan. 3, 2017