TLT – Lehman Bond ETF (Last:129.67)

The Jan 30 126-129 call spreads we legged on at no cost were an easy sale yesterday for 2.25. If you haven’t taken a partial profit yet on the 16-spread position, I would suggest doing so now because the ETF is closing on a potentially important target at 133.16 that comes from the weekly chart (see inset). I’ll further suggest that you try legging into a put spread if and when the target is closely approached. Specifically, with TLT trading 133.00 or higher, buy eight Jan 30 128 puts. My guesstimate is that you’ll be doing well if you get them for around 0.57 cents.  Risk no more than 0.20 on the initial stop-loss. _______ UPDATE (January 8, 9:23 p.m. EST): Subscriber reports have been all over the board, with some traders reporting naked-long positions initiated at the 12/24 low, others spread positions similar to the one recommended. Officially, I’ll assume eight spreads still held for a credit of 2.10 — equivalent to the profit taken Tuesday at what turned out to be the precise high of a two-week rally.  Even after the stiff decline since, the spreads subscribers acquired effectively for nothing are still an easy sale for $2, which is two-thirds of their maximum potential value.  Offer four more of them to close today for $2.10, with 0.15 of discretion.