Grasshopper Report 2/19/21
This is the Grasshopper trades weekly results for week ending 2/19/21.
To date, this is the best week for Grasshopper trades. Not only did this week bring in the most money, but it also had the most examples of good Grasshopper trades. Another reason this was a good week is I was assigned on 5 of 8 trades.
Some of the stocks involved in this week’s trades only have monthly options, so many of the trades I was in for more than my normal one week.
All of the trades are good examples of trades you should be looking for. They all required a smaller investment and they all had nice returns.
Let’s take a look at the trades.
MARK
This trade is a good learning tool because it shows that you can get assigned before Expiration Day. This Call option was to expire on Friday and I was assigned on Wednesday. The rule says you can get assigned on or before the Expiration Date.
I invested $2300 buying 1000 shares of MARK at $2.30. Sold the $2.50 Call for the 25¢ premium for $250. I was assigned giving me a total profit of $450. This is a Return on Investment (ROI) of 19.5%.
1/11/21 – Buy 1000 Shares Mark @ $2.30
2/16/21 – Assigned 1000 Shares MARK @ $2.50
Profit +$200
1/11/21 – Sell to Open 10 MARK 2/19/21 $2.50 C @ 25¢ (+$250)
2/16/21 – Early Assignment 10 MARK 2/19/21 $2.50 C
Profit $250
Lexinfintech
I bought 500 shares at $6.95 for an investment of $3475. I sold 5 Calls for a premium of 50¢ for $250. I was assigned giving me a total profit of $520. This is a ROI of 14.9%.
This stock took off after I bought in. Friday it closed at $15.27. I had an Opportunity Lost of $7.77 per share ($3885). This is the profit I didn’t get because I sold the Call. I am an options trader not a buy and hold investor. I do not care about Opportunity Lost. I take what I sign up for!
1/8/21 – Buy 500 Shares LX @ $6.95
2/19/21 – Assigned 500 Shares LX @ $7.50
Profit +$270
1/8/21 – Sell to Open 5 2/19/21 $7.50 C @ 50¢ (+$250)
2/19/21 – Expired 5 LX 2/19/21 $7.50 C
Profit +$250
Inseego
Bought 300 shares at $14.35 for an investment of $4305. Sold 3 Calls for a premium of $1.20 for $360. I was assigned giving me a total profit of $555. This is a ROI of 12.8%.
1/12/21 – Buy 300 Shares INSG @ $14.35
2/19/21 – Assigned 300 Shares INSG @ $15.00
Profit +$195
1/12/21 – Sell to Open 3 INSG 2/19/21 $15.00 C @ $1.20 (+$360)
2/19/21 – Expired 3 INSG 2/19/21 $15.00 C
Profit +$360
U S Steel
Another good learning trade. This was an In-the-Money Covered Call. I bought the stock at $17.90 and sold the $17.50 Call. The Strike Price was lower than my stock buy-in price. I had already sold Calls against these shares. I lost interest in this stock so I just want to get assigned. With the In-the-Money I knew if assigned I’d lose money on the stock but I made up for the loss with the premium and I’m out of a stock I no longer wanted. I lost $80 on the stock sale but I brought in a premium of $120 giving me a profit of $40. Not big but I’m out of the stock without losing money. Plus I brought in another premium with past Calls sold. This trade gave me a return of 1.1%. Not bad for getting rid of a position I didn’t want any longer. If I just sold the stock I would have taken a loss. The way I did it I got paid to sell my stock!
1/25/21 – Buy 200 Shares X @ $17.90
2/19/21 – Assigned 200 Shares X @ $17.50
Loss -$80
2/8/21 – Sell to Open 2 X 2/19/21 $17.50 C @ 60¢ (+$120)
2/19/21 – Expired 2 X 2/19/21 $17.50 C
Profit +$120
Inseego
This was a Covered Call without assignment. This premium was a return of 5.1%. I’ll try to see another Call this week.
2/10/21 – Sell to Open 1 INSG 2/19/21 $20.00 C @ $1.00 (+$100)
2/19/21 – Expired 1 INSG 2/19/21 $20.00 C
Profit +$100
Lexinfintech
Another trade with Lexinfintech. I bought the stock at $11.25 and sold the $12.50 Call for a premium of 45¢ for $45. I was assigned for a total profit of $165. A return of 14.6%.
2/10/21 – Buy 100 Shares LX @ $11.25
2/19/21 – Assigned 100 Shares LX @ $12.50
Profit +$125
2/10/21 – Sell to Open 1 LX 2/19/21 12.50 C @ 45¢ (+$45)
2/19/21 – Expired 1 LX 2/19/21 $12.50 C
Profit +$45
Inseego
Another 1 contract Covered Call with Inseego. I bought 100 shares at $$20.10 and sold a Call for a premium of $1.30 for $130. I was not assigned but the premium was a return of 6.4%. I still own the stock and hope to get another Call sold soon.
2/10/21 – Sell to Open 1 INSG 2/19/21 $20.00 C @ $1.30 (+$130)
2/19/21 – Expired 1 INSG 2/19/21 $20.00 C
Profit +$130
NIO
I bought 100 shares of NIO on 1/11/21 for $63.75 and have been selling Calls ever since without assignment. This week was no different. I sold another Call for a premium of $1 for $100. This Call gave me a return of 1.5%. This is in addition to many other premiums from selling Calls against the same shares.
2/16/21 – Sell to Open 1 NIO 2/19/21 $64.00 C @ $1.00 (+$100)
2/19/21 – Expired 1 NIO 2/19/21 $64.00 C
Profit +$100
Total Weekly Gain +$2065
This was a very good week for “The Grasshopper Field.” With many trades to learn from. We had a Call that was assigned early (MARK). We have a Call or 2 with a large Opportunity Lost (LX) & (MARK). We did an In-the-Money Covered Call with assignment (X). We have a position where I sold many Calls without assignment (NIO). This shows if not assigned you can continue to make money with the position. We had 5 positions assigned (MARK), (LX), (INSG), (X) and another with (LX). We had 3 positions without assignment, 2 with INSG and 1 with NIO. Most of these trades had double returns.
The biggest investment was with buying 300 shares of Inseego for $4305. These were all very good Grasshopper trades to learn from. These trades show you can bring in a nice return with a small investment.
The best thing is they were all real trades!
None had the return that will change your life but as a Grasshopper you must remember it’s all about the return on Investment. Once you build your account, these returns will make a big difference.
Successful trading,
Steve
The Options Coach