Shared the chart below of AMZN around the internet after the close last night with the suggestion that this was an obvious setup to buy puts or sell calls.

It was prompted by this post here yesterday:

$AMZN – a leader stumbles?

The idea was that the stock would continue its stumble today (and maybe for a week or so). See the blue boxes marking the spots on the chart when that has happened before as it comes off overbought (the yellow color coding on the chart).

Since long-term breadth had just turned down after a long run up and everything in the market was pretty much overbought, it was likely there would also be market pressure on the stock besides it being overextended on its own. Then there was that history thing in play again – the best indicator of all since it repeats or rhymes or whatever but it mostly whispers what’s going to happen next again and again.

It was a trade for today’s open. The most aggressive and least expensive entry would be an in-or-at-or-just-out-of-the-money put expiring Friday.

I coulda and probably shouda but I did not trade this. In general I don’t like stock options, don’t like the spreads, don’t like the lack of liquidity when it’s time to close it out, don’t like the complications (all those Greeks and spread strategies). I like my options trading plain and simple – it either goes up or it goes down, it is either a call or a put. I trade SPY options.

I threw this out there last night for entertainment purposes primarily, and, as it turned out, it turned out to be quite instructive for anyone who does like stock options. To each his or her own way to play these money games…

AMZN had a big move down (as history whispered it would). The 1995 Put, expiring Friday, from the open peaked during the day up 260% and ended the day up 161% (see the companion chart below). That’s somewhere between $26,000 and $16,000 on a small $$10K capital commitment. Not bad for a day trade? This could drop more tomorrow making that put even more profitable but come on…it’s a home run with no need to risk an overnight reversal.

And besides, moves like this happen again and again, nearly everyday, somewhere in the market.

I didn’t even notice TWTR. Market-timing, options-trading bears must have made some serious money there today.

(click on the charts for a larger view)



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