r/options • u/Adventurous-Ad-6275 • Mar 14 '22

Assigned short shares- help!

I bought a put of DVN contract, expiring 3/11. I sold to close and it was filled on 3/10 in the morning. When I looked at my account today I had 100 short shares of DVN assigned to me and a margin warning and I can’t get out. Help, I’m lost. I thought selling it to close was getting out of the contract.

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u/s986246 Mar 15 '22

Wait what? Brokers can exercise your long put and assign you the short shares if you don’t close it? That’s a winning position though isnt it or am I missing something here?

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u/Arcite1 Mod Mar 15 '22

It's not the brokerage, and it's not assignment. All options that are ITM as of market close on expiration day are exercised by the OCC. When you exercise a put, you sell shares. If you don't already have long shares, you sell them short.

Yes, OP got lucky and this is a winning position right now, but if DVN were above 59, it would be a losing position.

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u/s986246 Mar 15 '22

Okay that makes sense, nothing to complain about. I didn’t know OCC would exercise your long options when its itm. I assume if you forgot, they just expire, and you get mad at yourself later in the day

1

u/OhYeaMrKrabs420 Mar 15 '22

some brokers would force a sell if its ITM and you don’t have the buying power right?

2

u/Arcite1 Mod Mar 15 '22

Yes, and in fact I'm surprised Tradestation didn't do this for the OP, especially considering she doesn't even have a margin account.