October 16, 2026

After a quiet week in the market, I made two options trades today.

I haven't seen many opportunities this week that justified opening or adjusting positions. Several of my existing calls have later expiration dates, and I'm comfortable letting those positions develop rather than forcing trades.

Today's transactions were different. Both fit what I'm trying to accomplish.

Assigned: 100 shares at $129
Total stock purchase: $12,900

Sold to open: 1 October 23 $129 Call
Premium: $0.58 per share
Gross option credit: $58

My Citigroup $129 cash-secured put resulted in assignment, leaving me with 100 shares at $129.

I was comfortable accepting assignment at that price.

After acquiring the shares, I sold an October 23 $129 covered call, collecting another $58 in premium.

If the shares are called away at $129, I'll recover the $12,900 stock purchase amount and retain the call premium, along with the premiums previously collected from the put position.

If they aren't called away, I'll continue owning the shares and reassess my next opportunity.

This is a straightforward example of moving from a cash-secured put into a covered call while continuing to pursue option income.

Bought to close: 1 October 16 $152.50 Call
Sold to open: 1 October 21 $152.50 Call
Net roll credit: $3.12 per share
Total credit: $312

My SPCX covered call was scheduled to expire today.

I found an attractive opportunity to extend it five calendar days while maintaining the same $152.50 strike.

The roll generated an additional $312 in option credit.

I'm comfortable having the shares called away at $152.50, but I'm also willing to continue collecting premium when the economics justify extending the position.

I didn't need to lower the strike or extend the expiration several weeks to make this trade.

Credits are based on actual reported fills, before any separately charged transaction fees. The C stock purchase is accounted for separately.

The market hasn't offered many opportunities that I've found attractive.

Several of my existing options don't expire this week, so I've been comfortable leaving them alone.

Both INTC and MU have declined considerably. I could sell covered calls at lower strikes and collect additional premiums, but those strikes would put me at risk of selling shares at prices I don't particularly want to accept.

I'm not interested in doing that simply to generate another trade alert.

I'm willing to wait for a recovery that might improve the available premiums at strikes I'm comfortable with.

Of course, the stocks could continue declining. Waiting doesn't eliminate that risk.

I have a strategy, but I don't have a quota.

This week, that meant waiting until Friday before making my first trades.

And I'm perfectly comfortable with that.

These are my actual trades and reported fills. I was comfortable with the economics at the prices shown.

If the underlying stocks or option prices have moved materially, I would not chase these trades. The economics may be different from those I received.

Options Income Journal documents my personal trading activity for informational purposes. These are records of actual transactions, not trade instructions, personalized recommendations, or trading signals.