The Trade That Caught My Eye

The Option Pit VIX Traffic Light Is Yellow: Volatility is likely to move wildly.

The SPX dropped .73 points on Wednesday, a far cry from its lows of down more 60 points.

It had a wild day!

The index broke 3,950 for a hot minute and rallied over 60 points even briefly getting up on the day.

This is another sign that vol might drop.

VIX closed at 19.08 down.12; we could see it fall further.

I continue to contend we will see a new low, but VIX will likely not break 40 (maybe not even 30).

Near term, though, the vol outlook is down, and a trader put on a trade I really like:

A trader put on a 1-by-3 long the Feb. 23 puts and short 3x of the 20 puts, collecting .06.

This is a trade that plans on VIX not dropping below 18.

So how do you play this?

I think this trader is going to delta hedge this thing and make money as VIX slowly relaxes this week.

I would be a buyer of the VIX Feb. 19 puts.

They are WAY too cheap – and screaming “BUY!”

Your Only Option,

Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian is a former member of both the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), where he spent years mastering the art of options trading in the most competitive environment imaginable. As Chief Investment Officer at the hedge fund Karman Line Capital, Mark manages sophisticated options strategies for institutional clients. He is the author of two highly regarded books on options trading: ‘The Option Traders Hedge Fund’ and ‘Trading Options for Edge.’ Mark is a frequent guest on major financial networks including CNBC, Fox Business News, Bloomberg, and First Business News, where he provides expert commentary on market volatility and options strategies.

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About the Author

Mark Sebastian

Mark Sebastian

Former CBOE floor trader and CIO at Karman Line Capital. Author of ‘The Option Traders Hedge Fund’ with over 30 years of options trading experience.

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