The following are this week’s 21st Century Covered Call candidates. The actual selections will be posted on Monday around 11:00 AM EST. It should be noted that depending on market conditions, not all of these candidates will be listed as selections.
This Weeks 21st Century Covered Call – Credit Spread Candidates
| The Market Edge – Market Posture: | Bearish | VIX: | 24.87 | Neutral | |||||
| # Weeks | Stock | Short Call | Long Call | Credit | Best | Weekly % | Approx. | Approx. | |
| Stock | In Play | Price | Strike Price | Strike Price | Spread | Bet | Return | Div Date | Dividend |
| EW | 4 | $135.32 | 135.0 | 138.0 | $1.30 | 0.0 | 1.0% | None | $0.00 |
| SWKS | 4 | $101.41 | 102.0 | 104.0 | $0.75 | 0.0 | 0.7% | None | $0.00 |
| AMT | 2 | $142.27 | 142.0 | 145.0 | $0.72 | 0.0 | 0.5% | 04/10/18 | $0.75 |
| VRTX | 2 | $160.93 | 160.0 | 165.0 | $1.80 | 0.0 | 1.1% | None | $0.00 |
| ATHN | 1 | $139.26 | 140.0 | 143.0 | $1.20 | 0.0 | 0.9% | None | $0.00 |
| Prices Are Monday’s Opening Prices | |||||||||
| Stocks have strongest Market Edge Power Ratings & a S&P 3 – 5 Star Rating | |||||||||
| Weekly % Return: The Higher The Better | |||||||||
| Best Bet: The Bigger The Better | |||||||||
The following spreads are the selections for the upcoming week. The underlying stocks have the strongest Market Edge ‘Opinions’. The credit spreads are structured with the Short Call Option being the ATM (At-The-Money) strike price while the Long Call Option being either the ATM +1, ATM +2 or ATM +3. Prices shown are Monday’s opening prices for both the underlying stocks and the spreads.
It should be noted that these prices may not be obtainable. Some prices may be a little better, a little worse or unavailable due to big opening price swings. If the prices are close, it is OK to initiate the spread at the available market price or you can enter limit orders at the recommended prices. If there is a big gap opening, you can construct your spreads using the new ATM strike price for the short leg and the corresponding strike price for the long leg as recommended in the table below. For a quick refresher of the At-The-Money (ATM) strike price, refer to The Option Model section located on Page 3 in the ‘Introduction To Selling Weekly Credit Spreads’ booklet.
This Weeks 21st Century Covered Call – Credit Spread Selections
| The Market Edge – Market Posture: | Bearish | VIX: | 24.87 | Neutral | |||||
| # Weeks | Stock | Short Call | Long Call | Credit | Best | Weekly % | Approx. | Approx. | |
| Stock | In Play | Price | Strike Price | Strike Price | Spread | Bet | Return | Div Date | Dividend |
| EW | 4 | $136.75 | 137.0 | 139.0 | $0.58 | 4.0 | 0.4% | None | $0.00 |
| SWKS | 4 | $104.68 | 105.0 | 207.0 | $0.75 | 6.0 | 0.7% | None | $0.00 |
| AMT | 2 | $144.65 | 145.0 | 247.0 | $0.60 | 7.0 | 0.4% | 04/10/18 | $0.75 |
| VRTX | 2 | $163.35 | 162.5 | 167.5 | $2.19 | 10.0 | 1.3% | None | $0.00 |
| ATHN | 1 | $140.89 | 141.0 | 143.0 | $0.51 | #N/A | 0.4% | None | $0.00 |
There is one new play for the week – ATHN.
| Market Edge Opinion: ATHN
The current technical condition for ATHN is strong and the chart pattern suggests that upward momentum should continue. The stock has outperformed the market over the last 50 trading days when compared to the S&P 500. MACD-LT, an intermediate-term trend indicator, is bullish at this time. Over the last 50 trading sessions, there has been more volume on up days than on down days indicating that ATHN is under accumulation, which is a bullish condition. The stock is trading above a rising 50-day moving average. This validates the strong technical condition for ATHN. The stock is above its 200-day moving average which is pointed up indicating that the intermediate term trend is bullish.
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For reporting purposes, stock positions are closed after four weeks of play or if downgraded by Market Edge. Stock prices in the Model portfolio are Friday’s close while the credits are Monday’s opening prices.
Model Portfolio – Track Record
| S&P: | 11/06/17 | 2591.10 | ||||||||||
| S&P: | 03/23/18 | 2588.26 | ||||||||||
| Gain/Loss: | -2.84 | |||||||||||
| S&P % Gain/Loss: | -0.1% | |||||||||||
| Risk Capital: | $100,000 | |||||||||||
| CC Total Profit/Loss: | $7,997 | |||||||||||
| CC Total % Return: | 8.0% | |||||||||||
| # Of Weeks: | 20 | |||||||||||
| CC To S&P Ratio: | 8.0 | To 1 | ||||||||||
| Win % – Adjusted Prices: | 60.0% | |||||||||||
| Annualized Return: | 20.8% | |||||||||||
| *Transaction Costs & Dividends Not Included | ||||||||||||
| Monday | Open | Total | Adjusted | Friday | ||||||||
| Open | Stock | WK #1 | WK #2 | WK #3 | WK #4 | Spread | Stock | Close | Stock | $ Profit | % Profit | |
| Stock | Date | Price | Credit | Credit | Credit | Credit | Loss | Price | Date | Price | Loss | Loss |
| JPM | 11/06/17 | $101.04 | $0.57 | $0.49 | $0.37 | $0.48 | -$2.46 | $101.59 | 12/01/17 | $104.79 | $3.20 | 3.2% |
| MSFT | 11/06/17 | $84.38 | $0.78 | $0.72 | $0.68 | Close | $0.00 | $82.20 | 11/17/17 | $82.40 | $0.20 | 0.2% |
| MO | 11/13/17 | $65.03 | $0.39 | $0.28 | $0.91 | $0.52 | -$2.83 | $65.76 | 12/08/17 | $71.54 | $5.78 | 8.9% |
| DE | 11/13/17 | $131.50 | $0.90 | $1.49 | $0.81 | $0.78 | -$8.00 | $135.52 | 12/08/17 | $151.58 | $16.06 | 12.2% |
| GS | 11/20/17 | $237.30 | $1.46 | $0.81 | Close | Close | -$5.00 | $240.03 | 12/01/17 | $248.95 | $8.92 | 3.8% |
| DFS | 11/20/17 | $65.47 | $0.39 | $1.02 | $0.53 | $0.45 | -$2.79 | $65.87 | 12/15/17 | $74.59 | $8.72 | 13.3% |
| WYNN | 11/20/17 | $156.28 | $1.97 | $1.02 | $1.33 | $0.72 | -$9.46 | $160.70 | 12/15/17 | $166.03 | $5.33 | 3.4% |
| PEP | 11/27/17 | $115.90 | $0.34 | $0.45 | $0.48 | $0.53 | -$1.78 | $115.88 | 12/22/17 | $118.60 | $2.72 | 2.3% |
| PXD | 11/27/17 | $154.10 | $1.80 | $1.85 | $0.92 | $0.78 | -$4.66 | $153.41 | 12/22/17 | $171.12 | $17.71 | 11.5% |
| AAPL | 12/04/17 | $172.04 | $1.37 | $1.02 | $0.78 | $1.02 | -$2.51 | $170.36 | 12/29/17 | $169.23 | -$1.13 | -0.7% |
| HSY | 12/04/17 | $111.01 | $1.01 | $0.71 | $1.18 | $0.23 | -$4.95 | $112.83 | 12/29/17 | $113.51 | $0.68 | 0.6% |
| WBA | 12/11/17 | $71.58 | $0.62 | $0.37 | $0.25 | $0.41 | -$0.44 | $70.37 | 01/05/18 | $72.92 | $2.55 | 3.6% |
| UAL | 12/11/17 | $63.77 | $0.42 | $0.42 | $0.37 | $0.59 | -$1.80 | $63.77 | 01/05/18 | $69.36 | $5.59 | 8.8% |
| EW | 12/18/17 | $114.62 | $0.32 | $0.70 | $0.91 | $0.91 | -$1.71 | $113.49 | 01/19/18 | $123.91 | $10.42 | 9.1% |
| IBM | 12/18/17 | $153.91 | $1.27 | $0.95 | $0.41 | Close | -$0.92 | $152.20 | 01/05/18 | $162.49 | $10.29 | 6.7% |
| LVS | 12/26/17 | $69.86 | $0.28 | $0.37 | Close | Close | -$0.49 | $69.70 | 01/05/18 | $67.92 | -$1.78 | -2.5% |
| DIS | 12/26/17 | $108.55 | $0.23 | $0.36 | $0.70 | $0.76 | -$1.62 | $108.12 | 01/19/18 | $110.59 | $2.47 | 2.3% |
| XOM | 01/02/18 | $83.75 | $0.22 | $0.35 | $0.32 | $0.44 | -$0.17 | $82.59 | 01/26/18 | $89.00 | $6.41 | 7.7% |
| ATHN | 01/02/18 | $133.84 | $0.48 | $0.67 | $0.74 | $1.17 | -$4.90 | $135.68 | 01/26/18 | $131.22 | -$4.46 | -3.3% |
| PG | 01/08/18 | $91.04 | $0.36 | $0.31 | $0.58 | $0.40 | -$0.54 | $89.93 | 02/02/18 | $84.25 | -$5.68 | -6.2% |
| PXD | 01/08/18 | $176.31 | $0.90 | $1.68 | $0.92 | $0.94 | -$2.22 | $174.09 | 02/02/18 | $178.74 | $4.65 | 2.6% |
| T | 01/08/18 | $38.00 | $0.17 | $0.44 | $0.38 | $0.46 | -$1.92 | $38.47 | 02/02/18 | $38.07 | -$0.40 | -1.1% |
| AAL | 01/08/18 | $52.38 | $0.37 | $0.40 | $0.64 | $0.37 | -$0.22 | $50.82 | 02/02/18 | $52.10 | $1.28 | 2.4% |
| WYNN | 01/15/18 | $171.23 | $2.04 | $1.02 | $2.35 | $1.70 | -$5.00 | $169.12 | 02/09/18 | $166.22 | -$2.90 | -1.7% |
| PM | 01/22/18 | $109.06 | $0.80 | $0.40 | $0.32 | $0.91 | -$3.19 | $109.82 | 02/16/18 | $104.31 | -$5.51 | -5.1% |
| ALXN | 01/29/18 | $128.09 | $0.97 | $0.96 | $0.39 | $1.09 | -$2.09 | $126.77 | 02/16/18 | $120.47 | -$6.30 | -4.9% |
| CELG | 01/29/18 | $105.17 | $0.70 | $0.41 | $0.40 | Close | -$1.00 | $104.66 | 02/16/18 | $95.26 | -$9.40 | -8.9% |
| UTX | 02/05/18 | $133.54 | $0.41 | $0.43 | $0.75 | $0.81 | -$3.61 | $134.75 | 03/02/18 | $129.94 | -$4.81 | -3.6% |
| PEP | 02/05/18 | $118.93 | $0.39 | Close | Close | Close | $0.00 | $118.54 | 02/09/18 | $111.18 | -$7.36 | -6.2% |
| GLD | 02/05/18 | $126.72 | $0.44 | Close | Close | Close | $0.00 | $126.28 | 02/09/18 | $124.77 | -$1.51 | -1.2% |
| DECK | 02/12/18 | $94.37 | $0.41 | $0.76 | $0.42 | $0.47 | -$1.00 | $93.31 | 03/05/18 | $97.50 | $4.19 | 4.4% |
| EA | 02/12/18 | $123.71 | $0.90 | $0.38 | $0.37 | $0.92 | -$1.01 | $122.15 | 03/05/18 | $128.49 | $6.34 | 5.1% |
| WDC | 02/12/18 | $82.35 | $0.69 | $0.68 | $0.70 | $0.39 | -$3.00 | $82.89 | 03/05/18 | $99.55 | $16.66 | 20.2% |
| ADSK | 02/26/18 | $115.77 | $0.76 | $1.00 | $1.48 | $0.90 | -$0.28 | $111.91 | $128.02 | $16.11 | 13.9% | |
| JPM | 02/26/18 | $117.90 | $0.79 | $0.86 | $0.73 | $0.80 | -$0.32 | $115.04 | $107.01 | -$8.03 | -6.8% | |
| EW | 03/05/18 | $134.56 | $0.90 | $1.12 | $0.82 | $0.58 | -$4.00 | $135.14 | $135.32 | $0.18 | 0.1% | |
| SWKS | 03/05/18 | $109.14 | $0.67 | $1.20 | $0.80 | $0.75 | -$2.00 | $107.72 | $101.41 | -$6.31 | -5.8% | |
| AMT | 03/19/18 | $145.93 | $0.65 | $0.60 | $0.00 | $144.68 | $142.27 | -$2.41 | -1.7% | |||
| VRTX | 03/19/18 | $173.53 | $1.40 | $2.19 | $0.00 | $169.94 | $160.93 | -$9.01 | -5.2% | |||
| ATHN | 03/26/18 | $140.89 | $0.51 | $0.00 | $140.38 | $140.89 | $0.51 | 0.4% | ||||