top of page

Getting Ready For GPS...

Getting Ready For Gap, Inc (GPS) Hello Smart Option Sellers! We've been talking a lot about GPS lately. It definitely deserves our attention as it could become the very first stock that we may actually buy since Smart Option Seller's inception in 2017. We currently have a September 20, 2019 $18 put-sell position on GPS that expires this Friday. The stock is hovering right around $18 per share as I type. This is a big change since late last week when it was topping out near $19.85 per share. I felt very confident that with the strong move last week and the amount of put-selling happening, that we'd be in the clear for this week. Not so, as the stock has dropped right back down to $18. It certainly has been choppy. Last Friday I had mentioned that our position had moved down to near $.06 per contract, which could've been a good time to close out the whole trade and call it a day. I had even said that if anyone wanted out, you could've closed it down by buying it back. Officially, we opted to hold for this week to see if it could expire worthless, or at a minimum, buy it back for a few pennies. At the moment, the $18 put option has moved back up to about $.30 per contract. In hindsight, it probably would've been a smart move to close it out last week. But, with it now hovering near $18, the trade can still go either way. Let's make sure we're all on the same page for what's to come by the end of the week. Here's what can happen: 1. If GPS ends up below $18 on Friday, we will take possession of the stock and issue our very first "covered call" transaction on Monday. This will allow us to pad our accounts with an extra layer of upfront income, which also can act as a buffer against a drop in the stock price. If you are in this group of potential shareholders, please make sure you have the cash in your account to cover the purchase price of the stock. Remember, each put option contract equals 100 shares of stock. If you sold 5 put options - that's the equivalent of 500 shares - which would cost $9,000. So please make sure your account has the necessary funds. If this scenario plays out, I don't foresee us holding both the stock & covered call position for very long - maybe a month or two at most. Although these trades will be good for us short-term, I'm just not sure of GPS's long-term trajectory, so we won't be in the trades for long. 2. If GPS looks like it may end up above $18 on Friday, we may buy back the put options for its going rate - most likely for $.05 per contract or cheaper. Please be on alert for any trade recommendations from me on Friday. If GPS looks really strong by Friday and rallies back towards $19, we will probably end up doing nothing as the options will expire with no value. 3. If you are not sure what you'd like to do, you can always close out the trade completely between now and Friday. This would entail you buying back the put options for its going rate, which would result in either a small loss or a small gain, depending on your buy-back price and whether you engaged the hedge trade from last month. Everyone good? Ok, that's all for now. Continue to hold all other open positions as-is. Contact us here with fills, comments, questions or concerns. Regards,

Lee Let's Grab That Cash!

Recent Posts