Earn Immediate Income While Waiting for This Under $7 Stock to Rebound

As you can see in the chart below, shares of small-cap Molycorp (NYSE: MCP), a development-stage company that engages in the production and sale of rare earth oxides, have been pummeled during the past year. They are down more than 70% in the past 12 months, hitting an all-time low of $4.70 in April.

Since then, shares have moved back above the six-month price pivot point at $6, which acts as support after a bounce from the lows. MCP is currently trading around $6.50. Cheap is a relative term, but with downside risk of zero and unlimited upside potential, I think this stock qualifies.

If you are comfortable holding on to this inexpensive stock for a potential recovery, then sellingput options could allow you to collect income while you wait to get into MCP at a 13% discount.

Cash-Secured Put Selling Strategy

While the typical investor might use a limit order to buy a stock or ETF at a designated price or lower, the options trader can do one better by selling a cash-secured put.

This strategy has the same mathematical risk profile as a covered call. With put selling, there is an obligation to buy the stock at the strike price if it is assigned, allowing you to get into the stock at a discount. In fact, the true entry cost basis is even lower with the subtraction of the premium you earned from selling the puts.

And if the stock is not below the strike price at expiration, then the premium received is all profit. In other words, you're getting paid not to own the stock.

There are two rules traders must follow to be successful at selling put options.

Rule One: Only sell puts on stocks you want to own.

The intention of this strategy is to be assigned the stock as a long-term investment (each option contract represents 100 shares). So make sure you have the funds in your account to buy the stock at the options strike price if a sell-off occurs. Paying in full ensures that no additional money is needed to hold the stock for potentially many months or even years until a price recovery.

Rule Two: Sell either of the front two option expiration months to take advantage of time decay.

Collect premium every month on put sales until you are assigned shares at a cost-reduced basis. Every month that you keep the premium is money subtracted from your entry price.

Recommended Trade Setup: Sell to open MCP June 6 Puts at $0.35 or better.

This cash-secured put sale would assign long shares at $5.65 ($6 strike minus $0.35 premium), which is about 13% below MCP's current price, costing you $565 per option sold. If the options expire worthless, you keep the $35 premium, earning a potential 6% return in one month.

But remember, you should only sell this put if you want to own MCP stock at a discount to the current price. If you are assigned the shares, a July covered call can be sold against the stock to lower your cost basis even further.

If the stock does not fall below the strike price before expiration, then you keep the premium you collected, essentially getting paid not to buy the stock.

By Alan Knuckman  - Source:www.profitabletrading.com