Wiki Selling TSLA Options - Be the House

[ZsoZso]

Are these shares bought in the last couple days that haven't settled yet?

Edit: Actually, seems like a bug in IBs trading platform. Lots of Reddit threads on IB sometimes needing margin for CCs. This thread mentions trying to put the order in through TWS instead of the app:

https://www.reddit.com/r/interactivebrokers/comments/ubq3dw

The shares are several years old.
I use the web interface or the phone app, the UI on TWS is very cumbersome to use and it is also very sluggish / slow to respond, show data.
When I click to see a daily chart of an option, it takes literally minutes for the chart to show up. The web and phone-app are much more responsive.

 

[intelligator]

The 885 can be rolled to 9/16 890 for $11 per week ($44) today. The support breaking has me thinking a roll out now might be best rather than taking assignment today at 882 or so effective with credit. That could also put these DITM if post split we stall.

EDIT: Wait, what am I thinking? They can be rolled down to 8/26 850 for better than $6 ...

I didn't want to sit around and babysit the position, we rolled down and out to 8/26 855 CCP for $8.75

GLTA !

 

[ReddyLeaf]

……. To help goose the SP a little, I also sold a tight strangle -p905/-c920 for $25 total. I almost went with a 910 straddle, but eventually decided that it was too much risk for an extra $5. The MMs have kept a lid on things so well, trading is pretty muted. Knowing my timing, that probably means the SP will take off in 3…2….1….. Edit: and there it goes, up $5 in 5 min. I’m amazing.

Update on the strangle -p905/-c920: STO $25, BTC $17. Added another -p912.50/-c920 later, but unfortunately no profit on it (in/out at $25). Rolled down and out to 8/26 -p900s at $32 & $33.40, so adding $7-$15. Have not sold the CC side for obvious reasons.

Finally, STC Nov +c600 at $325 on Wednesday (used the cash to buyback one Sept -p1100 and roll back down to the -p912.50). After selling the CC side of the strangle, thereby adding cash+premiums, I was then able to put in a BTO order for Dec +c600 at $315, which hit this AM. The opposite order from PapaFox’s recommendation, but effectively rolling out a month and get $10 for the privilege. Since I’m low on cash again (damn couldn’t resist a few shares at $882-$884), I may need to STC another Nov +c600 next week to roll the -p900s.

 

[Max Plaid]

If there's one thing I've learned playing this game, it's patience. Set this order hours ago and sat on it: STO 30x -c900 @$21.1

Beauty of this is that the calls are all against shares. Shares that were mostly assigned from puts, also had calls sold against them at least once already - and come to think of it, straddles too, so double-whammy there!

The upshot is I don't really care where the SP ends-up next week:

- ATM or OTM next Friday (-c300, of course) then I'll close out, sell the same strike
- ITM then they can exercise and I'll sell -c300 puts instead, or similar
- dOTM then will see what's what, but preference is -c300's if possible, but can go lower if feels "safe"

It's "The Wheel" on steroids, folks! Remember...?

 

[MikeC]

The shares are several years old.
I use the web interface or the phone app, the UI on TWS is very cumbersome to use and it is also very sluggish / slow to respond, show data.
When I click to see a daily chart of an option, it takes literally minutes for the chart to show up. The web and phone-app are much more responsive.

But using TWS may be the only way you can sell CCs without margin at IB

 

[Drezil]

The shares are several years old.
I use the web interface or the phone app, the UI on TWS is very cumbersome to use and it is also very sluggish / slow to respond, show data.
When I click to see a daily chart of an option, it takes literally minutes for the chart to show up. The web and phone-app are much more responsive.

Guess its a good time to point to my signature ..

 

[MikeC]

Tried to sit on my hands today but couldn’t help selling -p830/730 and -c1000 for next week. Looking like a 900 close today is still realistic.

 

[strago13]

Finally, STC Nov +c600 at $325 on Wednesday (used the cash to buyback one Sept -p1100 and roll back down to the -p912.50). After selling the CC side of the strangle, thereby adding cash+premiums, I was then able to put in a BTO order for Dec +c600 at $315, which hit this AM. The opposite order from PapaFox’s recommendation, but effectively rolling out a month and get $10 for the privilege. Since I’m low on cash again (damn couldn’t resist a few shares at $882-$884), I may need to STC another Nov +c600 next week to roll the -p900s.

Are you doing this to get the Sept P-1100's off your books? I am looking for ways to get rid of my JUN 2024 1100's without just letting them expire worthless.

 

[phantasms]

It's pennies but I bought several C1100 for next week at 0.44 average. I made way more on calls this week than my "budget" so figured I'd gamble some of the extra profits. Not thinking we hit 1100 but hopefully I can sell these Monday morning on a rip up.

EDIT: I'm just regurgitating nonsense I hear/read but my guess is this is the final big bear trap before we rip up hard and then game over for now. Hopefully I can time that peak to offload these 100 shares [or write aggressive in the money calls] as my 920 for this week certainly isn't hitting.

EDIT2: Picked up a 995 as well for $2.35.

 

[Yoona]

i see no corresponding position. Can you disable filter on the date, but filter volume >100 for that timeframe?

vol > 100

 

[Yoona]

today's Close = 50 SMA = 20 SMA

and just 2 above PM Low

 

[phantasms]

$890.0000000000 close. Nothing to see here. lol

Let’s hope we fly on Monday. Have a great weekend all.

 

[ZsoZso]

$890.0000000000 close. Nothing to see here. lol

Let’s hope we fly on Monday. Have a great weekend all.

I'll drink to that! Let's get into the 4-digits on Monday one last time for a good while...

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Are you doing this to get the Sept P-1100's off your books? I am looking for ways to get rid of my JUN 2024 1100's without just letting them expire worthless.

Yes, but I made a mistake in my posts. I have -p1000s Jan and -p1100s Sept. I’ve been pulling back the Jan 1000s. Because they are cash-secured, buying back releases $100k/contract so I can roll them backwards to p900s. I paid $178 to get out, and if I can sell weeklies at $10/week, it’s more premium x 20 weeks.

The ROTH account is in great shape. I’ve got shares, +c600s Nov/Dec, -p1000s Jan, -p900s 8/26, small cash but no CCs. Unfortunately, the regular IRA is a disaster with -p1100s Sep, -c750s Sept, and very little cash. I’m definitely in trouble there and will need to call the brokerage to roll/fix. Probably will lose out on both sides, but I’ll take it one month at at a time, maybe I can pickup $10 strike improvement each month.

 

[llirk]

Page 1000! Thank you @adiggs for bringing together the most eclectic group of TSLA options investors for the benefit of us all. I started with the wheel, added in BPS, and have now added in buy/writes. Definitely my go to thread on TMC!

 

[Drezil]

vol > 100

View attachment 842735

Thank You!
But i still dont see what the spread is supposed to be ...

Normally you expect something like the 3x 200 at 10:11:44. Where somewone turned their (worthless = 0.01) 700p insurace into a 730/680 put-spread for next week. We dont see if that was bullishor bearish - but as this replaces a 700p-insurance i would bet it is a bear-spread to insure the same downturn. Only a 5000$ insurance (~0.25 * 200) - that can even be someone from this thread

I suspect that these 1050c-spread orders were a "REL + LMT"-Order or something like that. You can set up a spread, so that leg 1 fires on condition (i.e. spread worth x) and the other leg is then MKT (default, creating the spread instantly) or REL (current price +- offset) or LMT..
So maybe all those 1050 were fired as soon as the spread hit the target - but the other leg not opening until the SP runs a bit ino the "right" direction. So maybe the other half was opened hours afterwards on a rebound.

Also interesting: All of them were "midprice" - not the usual "one at the ask, the other at the bid" like the 10:11:44 trade.


tl;dr: We still don't know if that was bullish or bearish :/

 

[adiggs]

Page 1000! Thank you @adiggs for bringing together the most eclectic group of TSLA options investors for the benefit of us all. I started with the wheel, added in BPS, and have now added in buy/writes. Definitely my go to thread on TMC!

You're welcome.

Just the way I was planning it when I originally posted

 

[Boomer19]

I think the issue is that the shares are currently your collateral for your margin. If you sell CCs against them, the CCs are using the shares, leaving no/less collateral for your margin. (You can't use the same share value to cover two different positions.)

yep

The only orders I had open were for closing some long positions, so those would not have margin requirement either.


This explanation makes sense. I have very little cash so my margin all comes from shares owned and I do have some put spreads which require margin. Removing the shares to cover the CC would reduce that base. Thanks for clearing this up. The message I got from IBKR did not make this connection, it was claiming my "Initial Margin" would go up.

are you using Reg-T or Portfolio Margin?
you can sign up for PM and will probably loosen up the requirement a bit. although the concentration of composition of your acct still holds a lot of weight in the buying power and margin calc’s (for example, if you have a handful of positions and all of them are TSLA stock and TSLA options, vs. a more “diversified” portfolio.

Are these shares bought in the last couple days that haven't settled yet?

Edit: Actually, seems like a bug in IBs trading platform. Lots of Reddit threads on IB sometimes needing margin for CCs. This thread mentions trying to put the order in through TWS instead of the app:

https://www.reddit.com/r/interactivebrokers/comments/ubq3dw

im unsure if it’s a bug…one would have to examine the exact use case to figure that out. meaning look at all the positions and values in the acct and the credit profiling output, etc.

the first answer in that reddit string you pasted explains loosely how it works, in theory, although in reality it’s much more complicated than that…and automated at IB.

and it doesn’t surprise me the IB may increase the requirement for meme stocks (as someone mentioned).
although i’m not sure what’s the current requirement is on TSLA, i’m pretty sure it’s not elevated at the moment (i haven’t received an email on this in a while — which probably means it’s around ~30% day to day)

i also find it hard to believe that orders from mobile don’t work, while orders from desktop TWS do. sounds fishy. IBs automated credit manager system, by design, overlays all trading platforms. it has to, because that’s what determines all the critical values (pos value, buying power, net liquidation value, margin requirement, excess liquidity, etc, in real time). it can’t be different set of calcs just because i’m placing order from my phone.

i’ve never seen this in many years of trading at IB (and Fidelity), which of course, doesn’t make it untrue either.
but that would be a big bug in my opinion, and one that would be fixed very quickly due to the severity of outcomes if true.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Vacation weekend graphs, musings, and predictions. MMs will once again hit MaxPain dead on Friday, this time at 899.99. Furthermore, the SP will drop Monday (because I didn’t sell CCs Friday and I’ve set sells too high for Monday so that I can sleep in), followed by a Wednesday bounce, testing 950. That prediction, and the dime that I found in the Tillamook parking lot, will not even get you a cup of coffee.

My rudimentary TA: unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock, it’s pretty obvious that the market and TSLA have been on a recent monthly rise, but in a yearly down trend. Last week was pivotal and it appears that the bears won, so 6 more weeks of winter. Really, I don’t know, and hope that I’m wrong, but it sure feels that way. One positive is that the SP was down 4d in a row, and the last time that happened in July, we had a nice little pop. Anyway, here’s to a rocket Monday. Edit: prices pre-split.

 

[mongo]

Vacation weekend graphs, musings, and predictions. MMs will once again hit MaxPain dead on Friday, this time at 899.99.

299.997?

Return of the meme...