Cabot Options Institute Fundamentals – Dogs of the Dow Alert (DOW, CSCO)
Dow Inc. (DOW)
I am buying back our short calls today and immediately selling more premium. The underlying stock position is up 4.07% since we initiated the position. Our DOW position is up 6.17% over the same time frame.
In the Dogs of the Dow Portfolio we currently own the DOW January 17, 2025, 37.5 call LEAPS contract at $16.85. You must own LEAPS in order to use this strategy.
*If you are new to the position, based on our approach, the LEAPS contract that works best is the one with a current delta of 0.78: the January 17, 2025, 40 calls. We typically initiate a LEAPS position, with a delta of roughly 0.80, that has roughly 18 to 24 months left until expiration.
Here is the trade (you must own LEAPS in DOW before placing the trade, otherwise you will be naked short calls):
DOW is currently trading at 54.13.
Buy to close the DOW April 21, 2023, 60 call for roughly $0.04 (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 DOW May 5, 2023, 57 call for roughly $0.71 (adjust accordingly, prices may vary from time of alert)
Premium received: 4.2%
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 $16.85 (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 DOW.
Cisco Systems (CSCO)
I am buying back our short calls today and immediately selling more premium. The underlying stock position is up 8.10% since we initiated the position. Our CSCO position is up 22.49% over the same time frame.
We currently own the CSCO January 17, 2025, 35 call LEAPS contract at $15.65. You must own LEAPS in order to use this strategy.
*If you are new to the position, based on our approach, the LEAPS contract that works best is the one with a current delta of 0.81: the January 17, 2025, 40 calls. We typically initiate a LEAPS position, with a delta of roughly 0.80, that has about 18 to 24 months left until expiration.
Here is the trade:
Buy to close the CSCO March 31, 2023, 53 call for roughly $0.01 (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 May 19, 2023, 55 call for roughly $0.57 (adjust accordingly, prices may vary from time of alert)
Premium received: 3.6%
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.