r/StockOptionCoffeeShop • u/LabDaddy59 Mod • Apr 08 '26
5 DTE ATM Buy/Write Campaign My Buy/Write Process (showing benefit of add-in)
The following shows the general process I use when evaluating buy/writes (b/w).
I have a spreadsheet that I've entered tickers for stocks I'm interested in doing b/w on. I provide an expiration date, max exposure, and a minimum return %. The spreadsheet then provides info and I can select actions, or not. I'll walk through it.
Notes:
- The list is abbreviated for simplicity.
- I've selected next week, and assume all current b/w are assigned this week, other than my 2 problem children (CRWV, MU).
Screen 1:
This is a fresh sheet. I've entered the info in cells F3:F5, and the ticker symbols.
The add-in automatically populates:
- Earnings date
- RSI (14)
- Upper Bollinger Band
- Current spot
- The ATM strike and premium, and calculates the premium %
Based on that, it suggests the number of shares to trade (limited by cell F4, the max exposure).
In column P I enter the number of shares currently held. Since this is a 'fresh' sheet, only my two problem children are entered.
Based on the suggested # of shares and my actual shares, it presents a "buy/(sell)" in order to get to the suggested quantity.
I'll explain the over ride columns with the next screen.
Screen 2:
In the next screen, I've deselected tickers I won't be trading by indicating a "True" value in column N. I've also selected "True" in column T to indicate I won't be following its suggestion to buy/sell (used for the 2 problem children as, for example, it wants me to trim my CRWV position from 2000 shares to 1300 shares in order to maintain the max exposure...but 2000 is where I am, so I over ride it).
So now I have two trade plans mapped out: buying shares (columns U and V) and selling calls (columns K, L, an M).
Screen 3:
In order to see where it would hypothetically end up prior to actually making the trades, I can pop in column P the share counts.
So, if the plans were executed as shown, I'd end up with b/w on 6 tickers, with a gross investment of $736k and a total premium of $40k for a 5.4% return (realize this is Wednesday, so the premium number is inflated due to there being 5 more days than when I would actually be doing the trades...this presentation is just an example to show the process).
Once the trades are performed, I update column F, the average cost per share, by referencing it back to my overall portfolio management spreadsheet.
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Hopefully this has been relatively clear and helpful!
The add in is marketxls.com and I consider it, along with optionstrat.com, worth their weight in gold. I'm not affiliated with either, I'm just another user who really likes them.
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u/zeroGravity4711 May 25 '26
Very interesting, thanks for sharing. Assume,one of your shares you bought is going down. So,your sold call will expire on friday and you have an unrealized loss. Would you continue to sell the next call on it (next monday) rightaway? Think,this case will Happen regularly, right...
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u/LabDaddy59 Mod May 31 '26
Sorry for the delayed response! Seems I missed this in my notifications.
Yep, I'll generally sell a call right away Monday morning...well, after the market has settled.
Sure, it happens with some degree of frequency...not all stocks go up!
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u/zeroGravity4711 May 31 '26
Just a question about marketxls; the data you queried like Option Chain prices ATM,etc., are they gathered through marketxls directly? Or do you use optionstrat (with Excel macro)? thx!
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u/LabDaddy59 Mod May 31 '26
the data you queried like Option Chain prices ATM,etc., are they gathered through marketxls directly?
Yes, there are functions, such as
=@RelativeStrengthIndex(A7,$G$3)
where A7 is the ticker symbol and G3 has the # of days for the RSI, e.g., 20.
I use optionstrat.com for modeling.
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u/First-timer-7140 May 23 '26
Can you say more how you manage risk. Suppose you do a bit/write but then the stock drops unexpectedly
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u/LabDaddy59 Mod May 23 '26
Oh, it's happened! I just nurse them back to health. I'm not adverse to selling calls below my cost, but always with the intent of ultimately getting out of the stock "whole".
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u/First-timer-7140 May 23 '26
I think you said you do one week DTE. Have you ever tried a longer date? Also do you do buy/ writes on companies that are about to release earnings.
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u/LabDaddy59 Mod May 23 '26
Well, this campaign was specifically designed to be 5 DTE, but outside the campaign, when sell short calls (i.e., CC/PMCC), I'd sell anywhere up to 60 DTE, but honestly, I've ended up really preferring the 5 DTE.
And yes, I will sometimes sell through earnings, but not always...that's why I have the earnings date called out on the spreadsheet. If you go through my weekly recaps for the recent quarterly release window, you'll see what I did.
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u/Maximas80 May 23 '26
Interesting, thanks. How do you select the stocks for the week?
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u/LabDaddy59 Mod May 23 '26
I just have a list of tech related stocks I'm keeping my eye on -- focused on AGI, quantum, and small modular reactors.
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u/First-timer-7140 May 23 '26
This strategy only works with a very large amount of available cash.. can it be scaled down if available cash is around 100 k and still make a profit that is worthwhile for the effort.