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Technology Stocks : JDS Uniphase (JDSU) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tecinvestor who wrote (4979)	1/23/2000 12:18:00 PM
From: SJS	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 24042

Disagree entirely. Options, if employed correct, are a great way to balance LT growth with income, and hedge if appropriate. You're NOT looking at the big picture. The big picture for tech stocks in 1999 was UP BIG. In this environment, writing ANY covered calls is a sure recipe for disaster. Bull markets and upside mo-mo stocks and CC's DON'T MIX. However, BULL MARKETS and buying calls mix well, as does Bull Markets and SELLING PUTS. Which I did successfully. Many here did this too, on JDSU. So...Here are some generally established rules (50,000 foot view): 1) Don't write CC's on mo-mo tech stocks in an up market. 2) Generally, writing options is more profitable than buying them. 3) 90% of people who buy options, over time, lose money. 4) Use CC's to partially hedge long position, not fully hedge them. Remember: 1) Writing PUTS is BULLISH. Buying calls is BULLISH. 2) Writing CALLS is bearish. Buying puts is BEARISH. Know the market flow, and stock and then determine your option strategy, if any. Steve

To: Tecinvestor who wrote (4979)	1/23/2000 9:54:00 PM
From: Dr. David Gleitman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24042

Good evening Tecinvestor: While I like the idea of options, I still havent developed a disipline for when not to engage in it. Stocks like SUNW, CSCO, and ORCL don't offer enough premium to offer any tangable benefit that would offset the risk. I got called of my JNPR, JDSU, ORCL and CHINA. I sold my calls less then a week before options expiration ( an improvement from when I used to sell them which was 3 weeks before options expiration) and seriously shortchanged myself in the process. Now I have developed this serious "problem" of substantial short term calpital gains. Stocks like JDSU, JNPR should not be sold short. Expensive lesson. Based on the option chain, I dont even think that I could have rolled the JNPR into February or March for that matter. Perhaps the one smart thing that I did was to buy the Jan/02 leaps for QCOM in the money. Perhaps I should do the same for JDSU and JNPR. Best regards, David