🔒Premium Membership Positions - September 29, 2023

The markets had another red week with the DOW30, S&P500, and NASDAQ ending -1.16%, -0.64%, and +0.53%, respectively.

Markets are down for the 4th consecutive week in a row. The U.S. government is looking to perhaps shut down at the end of next month. However, we've seen this happen many times in the past and we've ultimately ignored these events, so take this news with a grain of salt. The market often moves in the short-term based on sentiment, but eventually likes to progress higher in the long term. Don't let this past red month discourage you from continuing to invest.

 SPY (1 Year)

SPY (5 Year)

SPY (30 Year)

If you're a beginner and you've recently started investing into the stock market, your portfolio might be in the red right now. Don't worry, as there are many ups and downs in the stock market, but overall, the trend is upwards. If you have positions that are in the red right now, you can look to dollar cost average and continue to invest consistently over the long term. Even if the stock market is going down, history has shown that it will eventually retrace back up.
 
 It's also a good habit to set up recurring deposits so that you can invest consistently without forgetting to put in money. If you don't know which stocks to buy, you can consider buying ETFs, or a "basket of stocks," such as SPY, IVV, VOO, FXIAX, and SWPPX. All of these S&P500 funds are pretty much the same, with some difference in their expense ratios. You can consider sticking with one of these funds and growing your positions from there.

Steve's Trades

AMZN

AMZN Cash-Secured Put

Expiration Date: November 3, 2023

Step 1: Have $12,300 of cash as collateral
 Step 2: Sell 1 $123 strike call option (delta -0.36) for $410
 Credit/premium received: $410
 
 I'm choosing the $123 strike because AMZN just bounced off the $123 level. It looks like it may retrace upwards in the near future.
 
 To add, if we see AMZN close with another green day of a 1% gain within the next week, I'm considering on buying a LEAPS options. I also want to see if it closes above $132. There's a gap to fill between the $132 and $135 price levels, so we can look out for that when buying our LEAPS.
 

GOOGL

 GOOGL Cash-Secured Put

 Expiration Date: November 3, 2023

Step 1: Have $12,700 of cash as collateral
 Step 2: Sell 1 $127 strike call option (delta -0.35) for $325
 Credit/premium received: $325
 
 GOOGL Bear Call Spread

Expiration Date: November 3, 2023

Step 1: Buy 1 $160 strike call option (delta 0.02) for $12
 Step 2: Sell 1 $140 strike call option (delta 0.24) for $111

Step 3: Set up a buy-stop order of 100 shares at $139 each.
 Credit/premium received: $99

Overall, GOOGL looks strong despite the markets being down the past 4 weeks. If we see GOOGL surpass its previous high of $139, I'm considering on buying more shares.

You can consider placing the CSP and BCS trade together, which ultimately is a Jade Lizard.
 
 If you have any cash-secured puts and/or covered calls that have decayed more than 50%, you can close those positions. After, you can look to re-enter those positions with a further date, around 45-60 days out of expiration. If your options have expired, you can restart the wheel cycle.

Investing

AAPL

 Apple has been on a downtrend since its peak of $200. It's still below the resistance level of $180. If we see AAPL break above $180, I'll look to buy more shares.
 
 NKE

Nike reported its earnings this week. In its fiscal first-quarter report, Nike fell short of Wall Street's revenue expectations for the first time in two years. The sneaker giant exceeded earnings and gross margin projections. While sales declined by 2% in North America, Nike's largest market, they saw growth in all other regions of operation.
 

Key Statistics:

As of now, I'm not as bullish on NKE and will continue to hold my shares. I'm not going to buy any more shares, as it's been drifting down from its peak. If NKE doesn't go back above $100 within the next couple weeks, I'll sell my shares to take a strategic loss to reduce my capital gains for the year and use the remaining funds to invest into more upward trending stocks.
 

COST

Costco also reported its earnings this week. Costco's quarterly earnings exceeded Wall Street's expectations. While the company experienced a year-over-year increase of 1.1% in comparable sales, the growth in the U.S. was a more modest 0.2%. Year-over-year, there was a 5.2% increase in global traffic and a 5% increase in U.S. traffic. Notably, Costco is enjoying strong sales in groceries but seeing weaker trends in discretionary items.
 

Key Statistics:

If we see Costco go back above $575, then I'll consider buying more shares. Costco has been increasing sales every year and is strong fundamentally. As long as their numbers are increasing from a year-over-year basis, I will continue to like the stock.

 SCHD

I bought 10 shares of SCHD this week. It bounced off the support level of $70. Long term, I believe this is a good hold, because it also gives a dividend yield of 3.49%.

Remember, investing is a marathon, not a sprint.

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I'm excited for the last three months of this year and believe we're going to progress higher!

Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂

-Steve and the Call to Leap Team

The following article is strictly the opinion of the author and is to not be considered financial/investment advice. Call to Leap LLC and the author of this article does not claim to be a registered financial advisor (RIA) or financial advisor. Please visit our terms of service and privacy policy before reading this article.