It has become clear that all the brokerage houses defending Apple (AAPL)are doing very little in the way of buying. It may be that AAPL grew to such a size that it was no longer defendable by Wall Street. Another leg down isn't a huge surprise here, though I thought a pin at $450 was on the table today. We've had the initial $5 push higher to shake out some of the put players, and now we are seeing the $5 push lower, in theory, to shake out the out-of-the-money call players. This still sets up for a $450 pin, but the weakness is so pervasive in AAPL that a flat day may be the best the bulls can hope for here. Many argue that AAPL is a longer-term story, and I agree, but it is very difficult for those who now feel trapped in this name and hopelessness has set in. I talked with a friend who works for AAPL and, while disappointed, he is still excited about the opportunity in front of AAPL.
Microsoft (MSFT)came out with a less-than-wowing report. I've closed the earnings trade at $0.65, which was a loss from the $0.79 entry. Unfortunately, I missed the quick exit earlier today for a small profit as the action was a bit hectic on the open, creating wider spreads and tougher execution. The stock came back a bit quicker than I expected, dampening the opportunity for profit.
Tempur-Pedic (TPX)
Source: StockCharts.com
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I am content to wait on the Tempur-Pedic (TPX)trade while making one adjustment. I am going to roll my long March $38 puts up to long March $43 puts for around $1.50. Unless TPX pushes significantly higher, this should put me in a good position to, at worst, break even on this trade. There is still time left until the February expiration, so TPX could very well retrace some of this move. If I simply hang on to the $38 puts, they would not help much on a drop back to $39 or even $38. As you can see by the chart, TPX has now filled the gap, so the next few days should create the pattern for the next move. Unfortunately, we have to wait for those days to occur.
Finally, I am giving Starbucks (SBUX) a bit more time as the stock is strong today, but not quite at the profitability level on the trade. I believe this one will head higher over the course of the next few weeks, so I may look to adjust into a March call spread later today or early next week.
At the time of publication, Collins was long SBUX straddles, TPX call and put combos, AAPL call and put combos, short SBUX strangles.