Specifically, I sold my SHLD Jan 2014 55 (50.42 post adjustment) and Jan 2014 85 (80.42) call options, for proceeds of $16,621 and $1,158, respectively (my cost basis for these were $4,012 and $4,362). In conjunction with this sale, I purchased 20 SHLD Jun 2014 65.42 contracts for a total outlay of $8,819.
So what's the logic here? Well, I always get nervous when options are within a year of expiration, and the transactions I made Friday effectively "rolled" the expiration date 5 months forward. Additionally, these transactions increased my cash position by roughly $9K, bringing my portfolio to 42% cash. By the way, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is exactly what I want with the market bumping up against new highs.
So what's next? Well, it occurs to me that I haven't bought a "new" company since 2011. Essentially, over the last 15 months I've basically just been "harvesting" gains or tweaking existing positions. Admittedly, this is pretty boring stuff, but someone's got to do it ;).
In the meantime, I'll keep looking for new opportunities. If you know of any, I'm all ears!
Questions? Comments? Email mevsemt@gmail.com