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Stock-Age: Stocks, Options and Dividends oh my!
- Thread starter koam
- Start date
Appears we successfully held onto >10k through close. I'm wondering if there's going to be any pullback now. I had my finger on S&P puts but decided to wait another day and see what happens.
Did manage to sell out of NFLX calls for 18% though. That one was terrifying since it plunged 30% two days after I bought it. I considered holding through earnings but figured I better not chance it.
Did manage to sell out of NFLX calls for 18% though. That one was terrifying since it plunged 30% two days after I bought it. I considered holding through earnings but figured I better not chance it.
Can you clear something up for me? Are you going to be contributing to your 401k plan and purchasing individual stocks through a separate account?Anno said:
Good call.kathode said:
It may pullback tomorrow with Citi reporting and all. Google reports after the close.kathode said:
Goldman reports tomorrow and their price movement will be affected by the number Citi puts out. I hope C at least meets analysts exceptions so that GS moves to $195 so that I can get out with a nice profit. I'm playing Goldman in the short term even though I know they will be over well over $200 in the long term.
Having closed my Jan 2011 short call position on UNG, I opened a new Jan 2012 short call position as well as a Jan 2012 short put position. Took the strike prices that maximize the time value, which means just slightly out of the money. Invested the cash that's securing the short put in 3-month Treasury TIPs.
Options being the zero-sum game that they are, it's awesome to be able to rig the table in your favor.
Options being the zero-sum game that they are, it's awesome to be able to rig the table in your favor.
Fucking A. NFLX up nearly 5% today and hit a new 52-week high. Should've held onto those calls for another day. Got 120 shares long, so I still benefit, but annoying as the calls probably would've gone up another 20 or 30% at least (I don't even want to look at this point).
But yeah, you called the red-green reversal day
But yeah, you called the red-green reversal day
Dolla Dolla
Member
Jumped into Mad Catz (MCZ) at about .43 cents a share.
I think this has potential to move within the next week.
I think this has potential to move within the next week.
I missed out on MCZ. I mentioned it about 2 weeks ago when it was below $0.35 (the perfect entry point). I didn't have any cash left to purchase any shares though. I should've played this stock instead of Goldman. I thought GS was the more conservative play and it turns out that it was.Dolla Dolla said:
Dolla Dolla
Member
tarius1210 said:
I wish I had been watching, I'm on a business trip out of the country so I missed it hit .54 cents, which is over a 20% move. I should've sold then. But I think I'll hold out until next week for a possible move higher.
OK, this is weird. I got a cash call. I called E*Trade and they said that they only allow 90% of the cash securing a short put position to be reinvested, even if it's in short-term treasuries that have the full faith and credit of the government. So I now have a naked short put and have to come up with extra money or see my assets sold to cover the call.
Ether_Snake
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Dolla Dolla said:
You can place a sell order at a certain price already in case you won't be there. It will go through if it hits the price. Better than missing it outright.
Dolla Dolla
Member
Ether_Snake said:
I think I might do a trailing stop, maybe 5-10%.
jamesinclair
Banned
NEW YORK (AP) -- One of America's wealthiest men was among six hedge fund managers and corporate executives arrested Friday in a hedge fund insider trading case that authorities say generated more than $25 million in illegal profits and was a wake-up call for Wall Street.
Raj Rajaratnam, a portfolio manager for Galleon Group, a hedge fund with up to $7 billion in assets under management, was accused of conspiring with others to use insider information to trade securities in several publicly traded companies, including Google Inc.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas F. Eaton set bail at $100 million to be secured by $20 million in collateral despite a request by prosecutors to deny bail. He also ordered Rajaratnam, who has both U.S. and Sri Lankan citizenship, to stay within 110 miles of New York City.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara told a news conference it was the largest hedge fund case ever prosecuted and marked the first use of court-authorized wiretaps to capture conversations by suspects in an insider trading case.
He said the case should cause financial professionals considering insider trades in the future to wonder whether law enforcement is listening.
"Greed is not good," Bharara said. "This case should be a wake-up call for Wall Street."
Joseph Demarest Jr., the head of the New York FBI office, said it was clear that "the $20 million in illicit profits come at the expense of the average public investor."
The Securities and Exchange Commission, which brought separate civil charges, said the scheme generated more than $25 million in illegal profits.
Robert Khuzami, director of enforcement at the SEC, said the charges show Rajaratnam's "secret of success was not genius trading strategies."
"He is not the master of the universe. He is a master of the Rolodex," Khuzami said.
Galleon Group LLP said in a statement it was shocked to learn of Rajaratnam's arrest at his apartment. "We had no knowledge of the investigation before it was made public and we intend to cooperate fully with the relevant authorities," the statement said.
The firm added that Galleon "continues to operate and is highly liquid."
Rajaratnam, 52, was ranked No. 559 by Forbes magazine this year among the world's wealthiest billionaires, with a $1.3 billion net worth.
According to the Federal Election Commission, he is a generous contributor to Democratic candidates and causes. The FEC said he made over $87,000 in contributions to President Barack Obama's campaign, the Democratic National Committee and various campaigns on behalf of Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and New Jersey U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez in the past five years. The Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group, said he has given a total of $118,000 since 2004 -- all but one contribution, for $5,000, to Democrats.
The Associated Press has learned that even before his arrest, Rajaratnam was under scrutiny for helping bankroll Sri Lankan militants notorious for suicide bombings.
Papers filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn allege that Rajaratnam worked closely with a phony charity that channeled funds to the Tamil Tiger terrorist organization. Those papers refer to him only as "Individual B." But U.S. law enforcement and government officials familiar with the case have confirmed that the individual is Rajaratnam.
More at
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Billionaire-among-6-nabbed-in-apf-2808194948.html?x=0
Raj Rajaratnam, a portfolio manager for Galleon Group, a hedge fund with up to $7 billion in assets under management, was accused of conspiring with others to use insider information to trade securities in several publicly traded companies, including Google Inc.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas F. Eaton set bail at $100 million to be secured by $20 million in collateral despite a request by prosecutors to deny bail. He also ordered Rajaratnam, who has both U.S. and Sri Lankan citizenship, to stay within 110 miles of New York City.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara told a news conference it was the largest hedge fund case ever prosecuted and marked the first use of court-authorized wiretaps to capture conversations by suspects in an insider trading case.
He said the case should cause financial professionals considering insider trades in the future to wonder whether law enforcement is listening.
"Greed is not good," Bharara said. "This case should be a wake-up call for Wall Street."
Joseph Demarest Jr., the head of the New York FBI office, said it was clear that "the $20 million in illicit profits come at the expense of the average public investor."
The Securities and Exchange Commission, which brought separate civil charges, said the scheme generated more than $25 million in illegal profits.
Robert Khuzami, director of enforcement at the SEC, said the charges show Rajaratnam's "secret of success was not genius trading strategies."
"He is not the master of the universe. He is a master of the Rolodex," Khuzami said.
Galleon Group LLP said in a statement it was shocked to learn of Rajaratnam's arrest at his apartment. "We had no knowledge of the investigation before it was made public and we intend to cooperate fully with the relevant authorities," the statement said.
The firm added that Galleon "continues to operate and is highly liquid."
Rajaratnam, 52, was ranked No. 559 by Forbes magazine this year among the world's wealthiest billionaires, with a $1.3 billion net worth.
According to the Federal Election Commission, he is a generous contributor to Democratic candidates and causes. The FEC said he made over $87,000 in contributions to President Barack Obama's campaign, the Democratic National Committee and various campaigns on behalf of Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and New Jersey U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez in the past five years. The Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group, said he has given a total of $118,000 since 2004 -- all but one contribution, for $5,000, to Democrats.
The Associated Press has learned that even before his arrest, Rajaratnam was under scrutiny for helping bankroll Sri Lankan militants notorious for suicide bombings.
Papers filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn allege that Rajaratnam worked closely with a phony charity that channeled funds to the Tamil Tiger terrorist organization. Those papers refer to him only as "Individual B." But U.S. law enforcement and government officials familiar with the case have confirmed that the individual is Rajaratnam.
More at
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Billionaire-among-6-nabbed-in-apf-2808194948.html?x=0
Dolla Dolla
Member
Sold out of MCZ at .48.
Quick 10% gain. Wish I had gone out Friday!
Quick 10% gain. Wish I had gone out Friday!
Ether_Snake
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Game sales continued to disappoint.
You know what I think is really bad about this? I believe that when it comes to video games, it is extremely likely that once someone starts to buy less games, his spending habits change permanently. It would be easy for a lot of people to start drifting away from games if they don't feel like spending a lot of money on them now, and I think that rising prices at such a time is suicide for the industry, but this is what it's doing. Very bad move. Then you have early 2010 where you will have massive competition, more so than during this holiday, yet in a time period of reduced spending. That's going to hurt some studios. I think 2010 will be pretty bad for the game industry, unless game prices fall.
You know what I think is really bad about this? I believe that when it comes to video games, it is extremely likely that once someone starts to buy less games, his spending habits change permanently. It would be easy for a lot of people to start drifting away from games if they don't feel like spending a lot of money on them now, and I think that rising prices at such a time is suicide for the industry, but this is what it's doing. Very bad move. Then you have early 2010 where you will have massive competition, more so than during this holiday, yet in a time period of reduced spending. That's going to hurt some studios. I think 2010 will be pretty bad for the game industry, unless game prices fall.
I'm starting to think that I'm just not cut out for this whole stock market thing. My first try at stocks was picking up some Apple last year (something I had wanted to do for a long time), and I'm currently sitting at a gain of around $2600. (Not a lot compared to some of you, but for a first try for somebody not having a lot of initial money to play with, not too bad I don't think.)
But, of course, instead of telling myself "you've got a free $2600, that's awesome!," instead it's "god damn you asshole why didn't you buy more when you had the chance to get it for cheap?!" or "why were you a moron and bought some Nintendo shares when you could have used that money for more Apple?!". *laughs* Yeah, I know, hindsight 20/20 and all that, but man it can eat at you when you think about what could have been.
But, of course, instead of telling myself "you've got a free $2600, that's awesome!," instead it's "god damn you asshole why didn't you buy more when you had the chance to get it for cheap?!" or "why were you a moron and bought some Nintendo shares when you could have used that money for more Apple?!". *laughs* Yeah, I know, hindsight 20/20 and all that, but man it can eat at you when you think about what could have been.
shidoshi said:
Even professionals do that. There's a lot of wouldas and couldas in this business. Remember, you're dealing with imperfect information and literally thousands of variables. You make the best decision you can with the information you have at the time. Sometimes the information is wrong. Sometimes you use the information wrong. Sometimes unkown unkowns come out from left field and destroy your investment thesis. You're not supposed to be perfect. You never will be so don't put that pressure on yourself!
Investing/speculating/trading successfully in the long run is one of the hardest things to do in the world! Many people of incredible intelligence, will and ability have been completely and totally destroyed in the market.
So cheer up and think about your next investment
Ether_Snake
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shidoshi said:
That's a good return IMO. I've never earned that much. Most I made was like $1500 when EA offered TTWO $25 a share
Haven't made any money since (haven't sold anything in a LONG time).Bought out my UNG puts, bought more UNG around 11.50 and sold some Jan 2010 $12 calls. I figured out that I get the best time value decay per day with a mid-term option, and as you go to LEAPS (2011 and 2012 options), the returns are less, even after factoring in the need to trade more frequently.
Ether_Snake
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AMZN up 15% in AH.
Ether_Snake
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TTWO up 7%, hmmm. Good for me
bigsnack
Member
What trading strategies are you guys using to trade? Anything specific? Do you trade technically, by the news, or by your "gut"? On a gaming thread, I would think a good number of people here would be eager to trade technically, which is basically like getting paid to play a video game all day.
tarius1210 said:
I don't think that it is too surprising. I think the market's accurate value is about 20% higher than it is now. During recessions and during bull markets, people act emotionally and consequently they overact.
Long term, stocks average 9% annualized interest (6% in real value). If you plot out the log of stock returns over decades, it's damn near a perfect linear fit.
Use these facts to your advantage as Warren Buffet alludes to in "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful". It's a fancy way of saying buy low and sell high.
I've made a killing off this recession so far. I'm fortunate enough to still have a good job, and I graduated from college a few years ago. A year ago, I tripled my 401k contribution rate and I'm throwing 5k at my IRA per year. Despite the economy tanking a year ago and still not fully recovered, I've made about 20% since 2007 in both IRA/401k.
Ether_Snake
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Sold RTP today at $200, which I had bought at $147 and was planning to sell at around $187 originally. I had just 10 shares, but it's a real shame the CAD went up against the USD cause I didn't make as much as hoped for (just a bit under $400).
Glad to see TTWO up, but I'm not selling until an offer is on the table, and there has to be one about $9 eventually, which is what I paid for it (or a bit under if I recall).
So I'm left with my ATVI, CAE, HON, BHI, STP, and TTWO. ATVI and TTWO are the only ones I'm in the green with, especially ATVI, but again the stupid CAD is earning in my profits big time
And wow @ AMZN going up 26% today.
Glad to see TTWO up, but I'm not selling until an offer is on the table, and there has to be one about $9 eventually, which is what I paid for it (or a bit under if I recall).
So I'm left with my ATVI, CAE, HON, BHI, STP, and TTWO. ATVI and TTWO are the only ones I'm in the green with, especially ATVI, but again the stupid CAD is earning in my profits big time
And wow @ AMZN going up 26% today.
Ether_Snake said:
I don't understand this. I'm an index fund style investor, but could someone strong in fundamentals explain how AMZN stock has had a P/E over 50 for so long? Are people speculating that they'll be more profitable in the future, and that having 98 million active customers means they're reining in their online monopoly; preparing for increased prices/profitability?
Or is the stock being driven by the idiot school of thought of chartist investing?
teh_pwn said:
Amazon was one of the only stocks from the dot-com bubble that was not over-hyped.
Amazon is expected to cannibalise massive chunks of Walmart's sales in the future. Further to that they will likely present a very real threat to iTunes in time, though the margins in that business are almost worthless to the retailer. WMT price cuts were aimed to fight Amazon.
But 77x earnings is crazy.
tarius1210 said:
The Price/Earning ratio of 77 already factors in last Christmas. Typically growth companies have a PE of 15-30. In other words, Amazon's stock costs 2-4x more than the average growth stock to get the same amount of dollars in return.
I think avaya is probably correct in that investors are willing to pay this premium because they believe in the future than Amazon will eat up part of Walmart's market, which means as this happens Amazon will make more earnings reducing the ratio to about where it should be or even down in the value area (PE of 8-12).
My fundamentals is a little rusty, but I think that's how it works.
You also need to consider a possible bloating of AMZN because it could be overpriced due to a pool of individual investors that are attracted to the promises that hyped tech growth companies like AMZN.
Ether_Snake
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I've been ordering less online because of import fees and taxes. What a rip off really. 15$ of import fees for some clothes. I don't see myself ordering much online anymore, and I'll just buy less as a result.
UNG is such a dog, I just love shorting it. Already sealed up a 9.4% gain on my first buy/write, and it just continues to underperform. If natural gas goes down, it goes down, but it just refuses to go up no matter what.
Hopefully it does go up eventually, I'm not quite leveraged enough to make money off of the downside alone. :lol
Hopefully it does go up eventually, I'm not quite leveraged enough to make money off of the downside alone. :lol
UNG, lol. I remember I fell for it because some big energy trader guy on StockTwits was singing its praises to the heavens when it was something like 14. I remember he said "I am absolutely salivating at the prospect of picking up more at 12" :lol Think that drool has turned to tears for him at this point.
Considering picking up some calls today. I don't see us staying far away from 10k for long. Although in earnings seasons you really never know what to expect.
Considering picking up some calls today. I don't see us staying far away from 10k for long. Although in earnings seasons you really never know what to expect.
EURCHF has been free money for the past couple of weeks at the 1.51 boundary with Swiss National bank intervention to prevent the appreciation of the Swiss France at that boundary. Scalping trade of the year, and it's still giving with the speculators testing again and again and getting burnt every time.
20-40pips minimum everytime, like clockwork.
20-40pips minimum everytime, like clockwork.