[Options] Monthly Positions Review – April

Sean McLaughlin
April 30, 2021

Once again this month, I’m going to share info on positions that were closed or managed in the month of April. As a reminder, our exit plans are always laid out ahead of time in each trade idea we publish. In every case, the exits mentioned below were all exited in accordance with the plan as laid out.

As we head towards May expiration, we only have one position remaining with May options.

Open Positions needing attention:

$ZS May 200/250 Bull Call Spread: Unfortunately, we've run out of time for this position. We entered this trade back in December and it went our way for about six weeks, but then ran out of steam. As I type this, $ZS is currently trading just below $190 per share. As such, all of our options are out-of-the-money. Assuming this is still the case on Monday morning, I'll be exiting this trade to salvage what is left in the spread. At least it won't be a total loss.

Positions exited for a win in April:

$GOOG October 2000/2100 Bull Call Spread: We entered this trade on January 20 and within two weeks the stock started to take off. We didn't take much heat in this trade, which is nice. And we were able to exit the spread at our profit target on April 6th. Sure, we're leaving some profits on the table, but I have no interest in fighting for another 20 or 30% in the trade and having to hold until October to get it.

$TLT Short May 131/144 Strangle: we entered this trade on March 24th. And then the ETF basically did nothing for the next few weeks -- which is precisely what we wanted it to do. We were able to close the trade on April 13th at our profit target.

Open positions managed/adjusted in April:

$STX Long September 90 calls: We entered this trade on March 15 and it quickly felt like we top-ticked a momentum name. But the stock soon found support at its rising 50-day moving average and sprung off it, never looking back. On April 23rd, we were able to sell half of our position at double what we paid for the calls. Now we're holding the rest "risk-free" and in a nice position to continue riding this for big gains into the summer. Enjoy the ride!

$TW Long July 80 calls: we entered this trade on February 22nd. After an initial thrust, the stock consolidated recent gains for around 3-4 weeks before finally making a move. We were able to sell half of our calls on April 15th for double what we paid. Similarly to $STX above, now we're "free-riding" this stock into July.

Positions exited for a loss in April:

None. (Losing positions with April options were closed in previous months at stop loss targets)

ASO subscribers with any questions on these trades, please send them here.

~ @chicagosean

P.S. We do trades like this regularly. If you'd like to leverage Best-in-Class technical analysis into smarter directional options trades, try out All Star Options Risk Free!

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