Yearly Archives: 2013

no-cover
November 11, 2013
Other

Following Up On Previous Trade Ideas

Richard Croft

Just getting back from holidays makes this a great time to do some follow up on past trade ideas. Most notable among them being the calendar spread on Suncor (See “Calendar Spreads Trough October” – Sept 30–2013). The suggestion was to sell the Suncor November 38 call at 75 cents while simultaneously buying the...

1435
0
Like
10 years ago
no-cover
October 30, 2013
Other

Pop Goes Cameco

Jason Ayres

Today’s market open revealed a boost in activity on Cameco (CCO-TC) option contracts. So far this morning all of the action seems to be favoring the call side. As always, I will stress the importance of understanding that this does not suggest a specific directional bias as options are used to meet a number or investor...

1818
0
Like
10 years ago
no-cover
October 24, 2013
Other

Price Action Discounts Everything: A Look at Enbridge

Jason Ayres

I typically have CNBC running in the background as I go about my daily business. While it provides a certain amount of entertainment throughout the day, I am cautious of ever acting on the observations and recommendations shared by the anchors and guests with out the price action supporting the bias. Yesterday, they were doing...

1700
0
Like
10 years ago
no-cover
October 21, 2013
Other

A Review of the Implied Trading Range

Richard Croft

The price of an option reflects the markets best guess about future volatility. How much the underlying stock is expected to vary from its current price! It’s a fact lost on most traders, who buy calls if they are bullish or puts if they are bearish. But being right about whether the underlying stock will rise or fall...

1852
0
Like
10 years ago
no-cover
October 16, 2013
Other

Locking in Profits on the Canadian Banks

Patrick Ceresna

“October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to invest in stocks. Other dangerous months are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February – Mark Twain Here we are in the first week of October and my phone is ringing off the hook with concerned investors...

1547
0
1
10 years ago
no-cover
October 15, 2013
Other

Option Strategies when you lack Conviction

Richard Croft

Will markets ever get beyond political headlines and other self-inflicted emergencies? Without conviction, we will continue to see directionless markets propelled by emotions. So far we have escaped mass hysteria, which explains why there have been no sustained spikes in volatility. Clearly traders’ lack of conviction has...

1540
0
Like
10 years ago
no-cover
October 15, 2013
Other

Tim Hortons Serves Up Some Unusual Activity

Jason Ayres

On Wednesday October 9th, Tim Hortons (TSE:THI) caught my eye as one of the most active option series trading on the Montreal Exchange. As I cautioned in my previous blog entitled Interpreting Unusual Options Activity this is not a mechanism for establishing a directional bias, however, it can be a starting point for uncovering...

1587
0
Like
10 years ago
no-cover
October 09, 2013
Other

Talisman Buzzing with Options Activity

Patrick Ceresna

There has been no shortage of business media buzz around Carl Icahn (famous investor and businessman) over the last year. While he has a long history as an activist investor over the last 30 years, his bold move on Herbal Life has made him an outright celebrity. For those not familiar with the story, Bill Ackman (an American...

1525
0
1
10 years ago
no-cover
October 08, 2013
Other

Snapshots from the Edge

Richard Croft

I have always believed that a picture is worth a 1,000 words. It certainly makes life easier for writers, allowing them to explain so much more with so little input. Two charts come to mind. The first was on my OED presentation but does not show up on the presentation that can be downloaded from this blog. That chart compared...

1578
0
Like
10 years ago
no-cover
September 30, 2013
Other

Calendar Spreads Through October

Richard Croft

Calendar spreads allow traders to take advantage of time value decay; the only mathematical certainty in the options market. Options have a limited life and the premium that one pays to buy or receives when selling is made up 1) time value and 2) intrinsic value. Intrinsic value represents the in-the-money amount of the...

1552
0
Like
10 years ago
Scroll Up