I blew it a few times in the past 24 hrs. I flat out blew it, and the market rubbed my face in it 3 times:
AEO – I made just a little, when I I could have made alot (and my graphs confirmed it). XLE – I just wouldn’t let myself chase the trade, as I missed it twice. And IWM – One of my trades would have been up 50%, the other 35% (the worst part is that I took a small loss on both). OK, I said it, and now it is done… I am ready to trade.
I exiting a few beautiful 100 and 200% winners today. And my acct is seeing new highs. Hooray!!!
Here is an interesting 5 part interview with Ayn Rand. She is the author of one of my favorite books, ATLAS SHRUGGED.
Exiting:
OMX – the position is now closed with 35p calendar for .20. This one had run away from me early, but it gave me the chance to put the 35p as a hedge. All positions were profitable.
CY – Exiting 3 units 25p calendar for .15. I still have 2 units on. I would like to see a nice spread and get out of the rest. Underlying is 1.40 above strike. Bullish for the stock. (rising as the general market falls)
LCAV – 30p calendars sold for .11. With the stock at 35, and my 35p calendars sold for nice profits it is time to get rid of this hedge. I made a few cents after commission on this trade. Very nice two week trade.
PGR – 1 unit sold for .15 @ 20p calendar. I still have 6 units. Underlying right on the strike.
ADBE – exited remaining spreads 40p calendars for .35. Basically a scratch of the trade (after commissions). With all the strength in Tech, this one took off. I was looking so good around 40 for a couple of weeks, oh well. It is approaching recent highs.
Enter:
DGX – 3 units of oct/nov 55p calendar. I put this one for a variety of prices, and they took prices only halfway down my ladder of prices. I am pleased with this trade, and the 3:1 reward to risk on this 45 day trade. The B/Es are 52 and 58.90.
Quest Diagnostics
I like the way this stock consolidates. i.e. Oct through May. Currently the 50 and 200 day MA supports. The trend is slightly up, we will see. I will put more contracts on if the underlying stays put and the spread doesn’t move out. It took me 2 days to get my first rounds of fills, then I piled more on until I stop being filled. I was the only one who traded it on Wednesday. So far my entries have me halfway to my full risk allocation of 4% of my portfolio. I don’t like being wrong on my trades, however if I am, then I have money management to help me trade for another day.
I have been down in my acct 1 month out of the past 20. The lesson I learned in that month was to trade my own acct with my own ideas. My down month, I took someone’s trade advice (who I thought had skills superior to mine), and he was wrong hence, I was wrong. The second piece of advice from that month is: Don’t add to losers, only add to winners. I added to my loser because this “expert” picked the trade, and that just compounded my errors.
That said, my trades are my trades. They may give the readers ideas, and that is good, but I am not an investment advisor or broker. Take ’em for what they’re worth, and get education.
I won’t be writing much in the next few days as I will be attending my Prepaid Legal Services Leadership conference. Educate yourself on the the PPL service as well as the Identity Theft Shield service. These are two of the worthwhile services I own, and have for 7 years. They have saved me time, money, and aggravation by owning and using the services.