Weekly Options - May 1,2015

My current strategy is to place ten option positions for each weekly expiration date. Of the ten positions expiring May 1, nine expired worthless and one position was rolled to May 15 expiration.

On May 1, shares of PFE (Pfizer) were trading below $34.50; rather than taking assignment to purchase 500 shares, I bought to close my five PFE $34.50 puts for $267.45 and sold the $34 puts for May 15 expiration for $301.23.

When selling put options, I focus on quality companies worth owning. If a stock price was to fall below the strike price of the puts, I would roll them down to a lower strike to avoid assignment. I sell options to create income rather than for the purpose of accumulating stocks. But if any of my puts get assigned, I would be comfortable owning the shares.

The following is a list of my expired option positions. Premiums are the amounts of cash I received after commissions. My option premiums are included as income in my monthly blog posts on the date the income is received


Date                 Position           Premiums

04/24          5P   DIS   $106         $71.79
04/24          5P    KO   $40.50      $71.04
04/24          5P   MON  $115        $57.54
04/24          5P   NKE   $98          $57.54
04/27          5P   PFE     $34.50     $51.04
04/27          5P   SBUX  $50          $47.54
04/22          5P   WMT   $76.50     $76.50
04/24          5P   XOM   $84         $182.64
04/24          5P   XOP     $85         $126.55
04/24          5P   YUM    $51         $122.54

Ticker Symbols

DIS - Walt Disney Corp
KO - Coca-Cola
MON - Monsanto
NKE - Nike Inc
PFE - Pfizer Inc
SBUX - Starbucks Corp
WMT - Walmart Inc
XOM - Exxon Mobil
XOP -  Oil & Gas Exploration ETF
YUM - Yum Brands