Adrian Collins
Adrian Collins works as an Outreach Manager at Option Dash. Option Dash is always looking forward to offering the best covered call and cash secured put screener on the internet. Adrian is passionate about spreading knowledge on stock and options trading for the rising investors.
Adrian Collins's Latest Posts
What To Do If You Own A Stock Subject To A Short Attack
A few weeks ago, one of my Dividend Hunter recommended stocks was the target of a short attack press release. The company has a stable, profitable business. The small market cap becomes the main appeal to short sellers, making it easier to manipulate the share price. Here’s how to tell if the short attack is […]
Boost Your Covered Call ETF Returns
Covered call ETFs offer the combination of investment exposure to a selected index, plus high-yield income from selling call options. I am considering a tactic for this type of fund that should help boost total returns. In April, I made a presentation at the Las Vegas MoneyShow covering covered call ETFs. I discussed how they […]
How To Trade Zero Day Options
They’re back! The speculative trading frenzy that dominated the markets’ during 2021, and then went into hibernation during the 2022 bear market has reemerged. The piling into meme names, FOMOing, YOLOing, bidding up shares of money losing companies, even those bordering on bankruptcy, and squeezing shorts with single day moves in excess of 20% are […]
Three Rules For Trading During A Bear Market
Novice traders treat bull and bear markets the same. “I just trade like a bull market in reverse!” It’s 100% not that simple. Bull markets tend to move steadily up… bear markets are incredibly volatile. That’s not to say you can’t make money during this crazy market. You simply need some rules of thumb to […]
To Hedge Your Portfolio For Free
An intriguing way to hedge your portfolio’s downside risk for essentially no cost is by using a put spread collar. A large zero-cost put spread collar was placed last week on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The trader sold calls and used the proceeds to purchase a put spread. The position will give a […]
Debunking The Myth That 80% Of Options Expire Worthless
Nearly all of Options360 trades come in a type of spread. I believe it’s crucial for positions to have some element of premium collection in order to generate consistent returns. However, a persistent and pernicious myth regarding options is that 80% of all options expire worthless. The number belies the fact that most options get […]
Let Price Action Show You What To Do In An Approaching Bear Market
Traders have access to an overwhelming amount of market indicators. But does a trader really need any of these indicators to be successful at trading? At the end of the day, the price determines our loss or profit. Therefore, we should focus our research on price action rather than time lagging indicators or market fundamentals. […]
This Trade Can Make Money Whether A Stock Goes Up Or Down
One of my favorite trading strategies—and one that big-time money managers and volatility traders use—is trading an iron condor. An iron condor is selling a downside put spread and an upside call spread at the same time. In this scenario, you cap your risk because you have a spread with a defined loss. At the […]
Generating Cash Flow From The Energy Sector
The energy sector has been far and away the best performing sector over the last year with both oil and gas prices having been on the rise. A popular way to trade the energy sector as a whole is through the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE). XLE has been a solid gainer for 2022, […]
Selling Puts – A Simple Options Strategy
Selling puts is a neutral to bullish strategy. Traders tend to overcomplicate things. This is especially true with options trading where puts and calls can be bought and sold in seemingly endless combinations with cute names like calendars, diagonals, butterflies, iron condors, ducks, lizards, and so on. While more complicated strategies have their place, are […]
The Many Uses Of Option Delta
In an option chain, the delta for a given option strike price can vary from -1 to +1. Call options have a positive delta for option buyers somewhere between 0 and +1. Calls increase in value when the underlying increases in value. Put options have a negative delta somewhere between 0 and -1 as Put […]
Stock Replacement, A Smart Options Strategy For Traders
In 2018, I wrote about a stock replacement strategy when the market was hitting an all-time high. With nothing but clear skies, no visible ‘overhead’ on the charts, and an economy seemingly firing on all cylinders, investors might have rightly viewed advice to temper their bullishness with skepticism. However, that environment and attitude seem worlds […]
How To Use A ‘Collar’ To Protect Your Portfolio Against Losses
How can we protect our portfolio against losses when stocks are in a correction? Or even if stocks are not currently in a correction? There are many schools of thought on that. One relatively straightforward way to protect open stock positions is to buy Put protection. Puts are option contracts that have an inverse correlation […]
Credit Spreads: A Useful Strategy in Volatile Markets
Last week, I started a mini-series on the various aspects of options trading. In the first few articles, I addressed “Calculating Returns” and “Setting up the Proper Risk/Reward.” Today’s focus will be on analyzing profit and probability. In this installment, I’ll cover the use of credit spreads — a useful volatile market strategy — which […]
Understanding Risk-Adjusted Returns When Trading Options
My articles this week on calculating a Twilio (TWLO) profit and Capital One Financial (COF) loss continue generating questions on how profit and loss calculations are applied to overall returns? So, I’ll dive a bit deeper into the topic. It’s a well-known investment maxim that risk is correlated to reward. But, when it comes to […]
How To Make Triple-Digit Profits With Options
Once you start looking for option trades on your own, the most important thing you can do to find trades with triple-digit profit potential is staying up on the news. The market and stocks in general move up and down over time, and the key is to identify these cycles. You will learn to decipher […]
The Synthetic Dividend Option To Generate Profits
Many companies regularly distribute a portion of their profits in the form of a dividend to attract investors and incentivize them to remain long-term shareholders. But most companies, ETFs, and commodities don’t pay a dividend at all. When there’s no dividend, the only opportunity for income or a profit comes from a capital gain (or […]
One Way To Take Advantage Of The Volatility In Tech Stocks
Tech stocks have the started the new year with elevated volatility and quite a bit of selling pressure. The most popular tech index, Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), is down 5% for the year and has seen a handful of large percentage moves already. One strategist is looking to take advantage of the volatility by using […]
Death, Taxes, And Time Decay
Few things are certain in life. But as the old saying goes, there is nothing quite so certain as “death and taxes”. As an Options Trader, I would enthusiastically add option time decay to that list. Options offer traders and investors more leverage and risk mitigation than just purchasing shares outright. For example, if I were to […]
Why Successful Traders Make More By Trading Less
During my 25 years of trading and mentoring others, I have been dragged through the coals a few times. And by that, I mean I have: blown up a few trading accounts; had some massive gains only to watch them turn into worthless penny stocks, and; I even had one trade based around the volatility […]
Eight Easy Tips That Can Turn Your Trades From Losers to Winners
There are many profitable option trading strategies, but none of them will work unless you are willing to stick to a set of guiding principles. Several rules I employ are helpful in maximizing profits, limiting losses and, most importantly, taking the emotion out of trading. Below, I will go over my basic trading philosophy, why […]
This Stock Just Broke Out
Mondelez International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) seems to be getting ready for a price bump as per the latest charts. Mondelēz, is an American multinational confectionery, food, holding and beverage, and snack food company based in Chicago, Illinois. Bullish Indications #1 Consolidation Area Breakout: The daily chart shows that the stock was trading within a consolidation […]
Are You An Options Buyer Or An Options Seller?
Options are an increasingly popular financial product that gives traders numerous ways to manage risk while significantly leveraging capital. They are a powerful trading “tool” that can be bought, sold, and combined in a seemingly limitless number of ways to achieve a specific objective. One of the bigger questions for new — and even experienced […]
Trade of the Week: TIP
Last week, a highly unusual amount of options action occurred in iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP). TIP is a popular ETF for investing in TIPS bonds, which are treasury bonds that are indexed to inflation. In other words, as inflation goes up, these bonds go up. While the ETF has $38 billion in assets, it […]
How To Generate Cash Flow From Holding Volatile Small Caps
Market volatility has been at its highest since February. Small cap stocks have been particularly volatile lately. Keep in mind, small caps tend to get sold early when there is a flight to quality. The popular small cap stock ETF, iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) dropped from a 52-week high near $245 all the way […]
Why December Is Shaping Up To Be A Very Volatile Month
It looked like we might coast into the end of 2021 on a calm and seasonally bullish note with the major indices up some 25% for the YTD. But, a new Covid variant and stubbornly-high inflation have thrown a wrench into that outlook. I think December will be unusually volatile, which equates to unpredictable, which […]
The Top 10 Stocks To Watch This Week For Possible Breakouts
Picking a winning trade on a consistent basis is not simply a stroke of luck. It’s the result of calculated screening, planning, and deliberation. With this in mind, we have started a new weekly series on our top 10 stocks to watch this week — stocks that look poised for a possible breakout in the […]
Stop Trading Options Like Stocks (Gamestop Example)
“Options are the same as stocks, just cheaper!” Ever heard a pitch start like that? Well, it’s wrong. Crazy wrong. Options trade much differently than stocks, and thus why it’s easier to lose money with options (and this is coming from a 20+ year options trader). One key difference is… Find out here This article […]
How To Calculate Your Impressive Covered Call Returns
Talking about investment yields and returns can be confusing, and actually understanding what happens can be even more daunting. However, we are trying to make money on our money, and understanding potential returns – both as percentages and dollars – helps separate good opportunities from those that are less attractive. If you have dabbled with […]
The Top 10 Stocks To Watch This Week For Possible Breakouts
Picking a winning trade on a consistent basis is not simply a stroke of luck. It’s the result of calculated screening, planning, and deliberation. With this in mind, we have started a new weekly series on our top 10 stocks to watch this week — stocks that look poised for a possible breakout in the […]
How Do Options Work? Learn The Lingo, Pros, And Cons
Options trading gets a bad rap for being complicated and risky. But investors don’t seem to care, as options are becoming quite popular. When done right, becoming an options trader can actually ease the risk of owning stocks and generate extra cash for retirement. If your interest is piqued, you might be wondering, “How do […]
Using Options To Help Predict Big Market Moves
Options order flow, particular large or unusual block trades, can potentially help traders predict where a big market move may occur. Large traders will often use options on ETFs in order to take a directional position on a major asset class or industry. For example, using the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF […]
3 Trades To Profit On The Global PC Shortage
Semiconductors… A piece of tech people hardly knew or cared about before there suddenly weren’t enough to go around. The consequences of this shortage have rippled through the tech industry, from smart phones to LEDs lightbulbs, but none were hit harder than computer manufacturers. The persistence of the work from home movement has increased demand […]
Which Is Better: Covered Calls Or Cash-Secured Puts?
Covered Calls and Cash-Secured puts seem to be the most popular choices among traders in finance and stocks. And for a good reason. The two trades in the same market, just on different terms. That’s right. And it all started with the same idea… Both kinds of trading are pretty much the same, except for […]
