Contemplating Taking Gains (wait, I can't)

When the price of the July $125 put got down to $5.90 this morning I was tempted to close out my position. I didn't really want to close out my position, but rather sell half of my position to take some gains. Too bad that's not possible with a single put option.

I wonder at what point an investor feels like he has enough money to pursue all of his ideas, without being limited by securities available. At that point is probably where you start to feel limited by the time it takes to do due diligence on an investment that makes up only 1% of your portfolio. I think no matter how large my portfolio gets I should limit myself to a manageable number of investments that I can track fundamentals as closely as I can. At the primary source, though, listening to conference calls, reading balance sheets, etc.

The market's action since last Fall has made me firmly reject the notion that 'tracking fundamentals is pointless because the chart reflects the company's worth'. Also, faith in a company's fundamentals also enables you to hold or add to your position in tough times.

Looks Like Apple is continuing to be range bound around 125. If I had another 125 put that I'd been flipping at the top and bottom of this range, I'd be looking at a sizeable gain. However, there are always opportunities that look good in hindsight and even though the coin flipped heads 3 times in a row, there's still a 50% chance next flip. APPL $125 July put is now back to $6.90. At least I'm eating my $6 worth of theta everyday.