Cabot Options Institute Fundamentals – Alert (INTC, CSCO)
Yesterday I sent out our first Dogs of the Dow with some notes on the investment strategy, our approach to poor man’s covered calls and a detailed discussion on the trade mechanics.
If you didn’t get a chance to browse the alert and the accompanying trade in Verizon (VZ), click here.
Today, and going forward, it’s just about the trades. So again, if you want a deeper dive into the strategy, read the last alert or, better yet, go to your subscribers page and check out the various reports on our approach to the Dogs of the Dow and poor man’s covered calls.
Here are today’s Dogs of the Dow trades: Intel (INTC) and Cisco Systems (CSCO). I send out the remaining seven opening trades over the coming days.
Intel (INTC)
Here is the trade:
Buy to open the INTC January 17, 2025, 17.5 call for roughly $11.40 (adjust accordingly, prices may vary from time of alert)
Once that occurs (or if you are new to the position and already own LEAPS):
Sell to open INTC February 17, 2023, 30 call for roughly $0.72 (adjust accordingly, prices may vary from time of alert)
Premium received: 6.3%.
Once the initial LEAPS purchase occurs, we maintain the position and focus on selling near-term call premium against our LEAPS, lowering the original cost basis of $11.40 (or the price at which you purchased your LEAPS) with each and every transaction.
We can continue to sell calls against our LEAPS contract every month or so to lower the total capital outlay. But remember, options have a limited life, so when we get closer to the LEAPS contract’s expiration, we will simply sell the contract and use the proceeds to continue our poor man’s covered call strategy in INTC.
An alternative way to approach a poor man’s covered call, if you are a bit more bullish on the stock, is to buy two LEAPS for every call sold. This way you can benefit from the additional upside past your chosen short strike, yet still participate in the benefits of selling premium.
Cisco Systems (CSCO)
Here is the trade:
Buy to open the CSCO January 17, 2025, 35 call for roughly $15.65 (adjust accordingly, prices may vary from time of alert)
Once that occurs (or if you are new to the position and already own LEAPS):
Sell to open CSCO February 17, 2023, 50 call for roughly $1.02 (adjust accordingly, prices may vary from time of alert)
Premium received: 6.5%.
Once the initial LEAPS purchase occurs, we maintain the position and focus on selling near-term call premium against our LEAPS, lowering the original cost basis of $15.65 (or the price at which you purchased your LEAPS) with each and every transaction.
We can continue to sell calls against our LEAPS contract every month or so to lower the total capital outlay. But remember, options have a limited life, so when we get closer to the LEAPS contract’s expiration, we will simply sell the contract and use the proceeds to continue our poor man’s covered call strategy in CSCO.
And, as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at andy@cabotwealth.com.