MRVL $4k Profit Complete: Starting New BBWI Cash-Secured Put Position

Closing One Chapter, Opening Another: From MRVL to BBWI

After several months away from recording, it's time to wrap up a successful trade cycle and start fresh with a new continuous wheel strategy position. This article documents the complete journey of closing out a Marvel Technology (MRVL) position for nearly $4,000 in total profit over five months, then demonstrates the systematic process for finding and initiating a new position on Bath & Body Works (BBWI).

This is exactly what successful option selling looks like in practice: completing full trade cycles, collecting premium throughout the holding period, realizing capital gains on assignment, and seamlessly transitioning to new opportunities. Whether you're new to the wheel strategy or looking to refine your stock selection process, this real-world example shows you how to manage positions from start to finish.

The MRVL Trade Cycle: A Complete Success Story

Position Overview and Final Assignment

The MRVL position consisted of 500 shares accumulated through five separate cash-secured put assignments of 100 shares each. Throughout the holding period, covered calls were systematically sold to collect premium while maintaining the position. The final covered call contract had a strike price of $45 with a June 16th expiration.

On June 16th, MRVL was trading in the $60 range—significantly above the $45 strike price. This meant the covered calls expired in the money, triggering assignment. All 500 shares were sold at the $45 strike price, which was above the average cost basis of $44.40 per share.

Breaking Down the Total Returns

The complete MRVL position generated returns from two sources: option premium collected throughout the holding period and capital gains realized on the final assignment.

The bulk of returns came from premium collection ($3,597), with capital gains providing an additional $300 bonus when shares were called away above cost basis. This is the ideal outcome for the continuous wheel strategy: collect substantial premium throughout ownership while also realizing a small capital gain on assignment.

Tracking the Complete Trade Cycle

Accurate cost basis tracking was essential throughout this entire five-month period. Each of the 32 transactions needed to be recorded properly to maintain accurate position tracking: the five initial cash-secured put assignments that brought in shares, every covered call sold to collect premium, any rolling adjustments, and finally the assignment that closed out all shares.

This is where most spreadsheet-based tracking systems break down. Missing even a single transaction or making a formula error can throw off your entire cost basis calculation, leaving you uncertain about your true profitability and making it difficult to optimize future trades.

Finding the Next Opportunity: Systematic Stock Screening

The Importance of Weekly Options

When searching for new continuous wheel strategy candidates, the first critical requirement is weekly option availability. Weekly options allow for more frequent premium collection compared to monthly-only options, which directly impacts annualized returns.

Not all stocks offer weekly options. To find stocks that do, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) maintains an updated list of all securities with weekly option contracts. This list includes both ETFs and individual equities—for this screening process, the focus is exclusively on individual stocks (equities), not ETFs.

Core Filtering Criteria

After importing the complete list of weekly option stocks into the screening tool, several filters narrow down the candidates to manageable numbers:

These filters work together to identify high-quality companies with sufficient option premium to make weekly selling worthwhile. Starting with 528 stocks with weekly options, applying the S&P 500 filter reduced it to 231. Adding dividend-paying status brought it to 181. Requiring positive earnings left 172 candidates. The price range filter narrowed it to 22 stocks. Finally, requiring minimum 1% weekly ROI on upcoming options left just five highly qualified candidates.

Understanding the Key Metrics

Several metrics in the screening tool help evaluate option selling potential:

• Dividend Yield: Annual dividend return as percentage of stock price. While important, this shouldn't be the only factor—option premium potential matters more for the wheel strategy.
• Weekly ROI: The premium available from selling the upcoming weekly option as a percentage of the stock price. This is the primary filter—look for 1% or higher to ensure meaningful premium collection.
• Weekly Average Trading Range: How much the stock typically moves in a week. This impacts option pricing (higher volatility = higher premiums) and assignment risk.
• Earnings Badges: Visual indicators showing recent earnings reports and whether they were positive or negative. This helps assess fundamental company health and avoid stocks with deteriorating financials.

Selecting BBWI: Bath & Body Works Analysis

Why BBWI Made the Cut

Among the five final candidates meeting all criteria, Bath & Body Works (BBWI) stood out as a strong choice for several reasons:

• Stock Price: Trading around $42-$44, making it accessible for moderate account sizes (requiring $4,200-$4,400 collateral per contract)
• Premium Level: Weekly options offering more than 1% ROI, with the upcoming Friday expiration showing $0.60-$0.70 in premium
• Dividend Status: Dividend-paying company providing additional income beyond option premium
• S&P 500 Member: Established company with institutional recognition and liquidity
• Positive Earnings: Recent earnings showing profitability and company health

Evaluating the Chart and Price Action

Looking at the one-year chart for BBWI revealed a trading range from approximately $27 on the low end to $49 on the high end. At the time of analysis, BBWI was trading near the upper end of this range around $42-$44.

Trading near the top of the range does introduce the possibility that the stock could retreat toward the lower end. For the continuous wheel strategy, this isn't necessarily a problem—it could provide opportunities to accumulate shares at lower prices through put assignments, then sell covered calls as the stock recovers. The key is having sufficient capital and risk tolerance to handle potential assignments and ride out price fluctuations.

Analyzing Option Premiums Across Expirations

Examining the option chain for BBWI across multiple expiration dates revealed typical premium decay patterns—with one interesting exception. The upcoming Friday expiration showed $0.60-$0.70 in premium. Moving out one week added approximately $0.30 in premium. Another week added another $0.30. But then there was a significant jump from $1.45 to $2.05—an unusual $0.60 increase for a single week.

This outsized jump was explained by upcoming earnings. The February 29th earnings date meant one expiration occurred just before the announcement and the next expiration fell just after. Options expiring after earnings always command significantly higher premiums due to the uncertainty and potential volatility surrounding earnings releases.

Initiating the BBWI Position: First Cash-Secured Put

Selecting the Strike and Premium Target

For the initial BBWI position, the focus was on the upcoming Friday weekly expiration. The at-the-money strike was showing a bid-ask spread of $0.60-$0.70. Following standard practice, the order was placed at the midpoint of $0.65 per share to maximize the chances of execution while still capturing good premium.

Why Start with Cash-Secured Puts

The continuous wheel strategy begins with cash-secured puts for several strategic reasons. First, you collect premium immediately upon selling the put. Second, if the stock declines and you're assigned, you acquire shares at a price below where the stock was trading when you originally sold the put—your effective cost basis is even lower after factoring in the premium collected.

If the put expires worthless (stock stays above the strike), you keep the entire premium and can immediately sell another cash-secured put for the following week, continuing to collect premium without ever owning shares. This is the "cash-secured put side" of the wheel—generate income while waiting to acquire shares at favorable prices.

Next Steps: Monitoring and Execution

Since this trade was entered on a Sunday when markets were closed, the actual execution would occur on Monday when the market opened. The order would remain active, and if BBWI's option pricing remained in the target range, the trade would execute and the premium would be collected.

From that point forward, there are three potential outcomes by Friday expiration: the put expires worthless and the process repeats; the stock approaches the strike and rolling opportunities are evaluated; or the put is assigned and shares are acquired, transitioning to the covered call side of the wheel. Each outcome has its own management approach and profit potential.

The Critical Importance of Accurate Position Tracking

Why Most Tracking Methods Fail

The MRVL position generated 32 separate transactions over five months. The upcoming BBWI position will likely generate dozens more over its lifecycle. Each transaction—every cash-secured put sold, every assignment, every covered call, every roll, every dividend received—impacts your cost basis and profitability.

Most traders attempt to track this manually in spreadsheets. The problems emerge quickly: missed transactions create gaps in the data, formula errors compound over time, it becomes difficult to see the big picture across multiple positions, and recalculating cost basis after every transaction becomes tedious and error-prone.

How MyATMM Solves the Tracking Challenge

Purpose-built cost basis tracking for option sellers eliminates these problems by automating the entire tracking process. Every transaction—whether it's selling a put, getting assigned, selling a call, receiving a dividend, or rolling a position—is recorded in one place with automatic cost basis calculations.

You can instantly see your true cost basis per share factoring in all premium collected and capital adjustments. The dashboard shows your complete portfolio performance across all positions with daily, monthly, and annual tracking. Switch between detailed ticker views and summary portfolio views without losing context. Export your transaction data when needed for tax purposes or record keeping.

Stock Screening Tools Built for Option Sellers

Beyond position tracking, finding new opportunities requires systematic stock screening based on option-selling criteria. The integrated screening tools let you filter stocks by weekly option availability, dividend status, earnings trends, price ranges, and most importantly, minimum weekly ROI targets to ensure sufficient premium.

This is exactly how BBWI was identified in this example—starting with hundreds of candidates and systematically filtering down to the handful of stocks that meet all criteria for successful wheel strategy implementation. Instead of manually checking individual stocks or maintaining separate screening tools, everything is integrated into one platform designed specifically for option sellers.

Key Lessons from This Complete Trade Cycle

1. Complete Trade Cycles Generate Substantial Returns

The MRVL position demonstrates how the continuous wheel strategy generates returns: $3,897 total profit over five months from a position that started with cash-secured puts, transitioned through multiple covered call cycles, and concluded with assignment above cost basis. This represents the strategy working as designed.

2. Premium Collection is the Primary Profit Driver

Of the total $3,897 profit, $3,597 came from option premium (92% of total returns) and only $300 came from capital gains (8% of total returns). This highlights that successful option selling is fundamentally about consistent premium collection, not trying to time market movements for capital appreciation.

3. Systematic Stock Selection Improves Results

Using objective criteria to screen stocks—weekly options, S&P 500 membership, dividend status, positive earnings, appropriate price range, and minimum premium levels—produces higher-quality candidates than random selection or chasing the latest hot stock. The filtering process that identified BBWI is repeatable for finding future positions.

4. Tracking Accuracy Enables Better Decisions

Knowing exactly where you stand on every position—current cost basis, total premium collected, capital gains/losses, overall profitability—allows you to make informed decisions about when to hold, when to roll, and when to close positions. The 32 transactions in MRVL would be nearly impossible to track accurately in a spreadsheet over five months.

5. Transitions Between Positions Should Be Seamless

As soon as MRVL closed out with the final assignment, the process immediately shifted to finding and initiating the next position on BBWI. Successful continuous wheel implementation means always having capital deployed in appropriate positions, minimizing idle cash while maintaining proper position sizing and risk management.