Anavex Life Sciences Corp (AVXL)

[crescentmotor]

I have ITM Jan25 $5 calls I probably should do something with too. But damn I hate flying blind in the option chains without steady volume, wide bid/ask spreads and no calculated greeks.

Yes. For a long time now, efficiently trading AVXL options has been tough, especially in quantity--very little volume with wide spreads and often no bid prices being listed. And recently, as you no doubt have observed, the MMs have quit offering AVXL weekly options due to inactivity. Nevertheless, I had been holding 180 extremely illiquid $8 Jan 2025 calls and, with no guarantee of a MAA being filed, I was getting worried that it wouldn't be too long before the premiums would start to rapidly erode eating away at my unrealized profits. On the other hand, I wanted to continue to hold them because I thought a filing of a MAA would likely result in a nice increase in the intrinsic value on a 1:1 $ basis. But when the price spiked over the past ten days, I decided not to let the opportunity pass to capture those profits since there is no certainty regarding a MAA filing. Since a MAA has not been filed/accepted, I was unwilling to commit more to my stock position, but I did decide to buy 50 additional $10 strike Jan 2026 calls to still be in the game if a MAA is filed. If/when a MAA is filed, I likely will commit to more long calls.

Another reason I decided to act was that I also hold quite a few Jan 2025 $10 strikes that I am pretty underwater on. The profits on the $8 calls is available to partially offset those losses if we don't see further stock price gains over the next two and one-half months. With some luck and a filed MAA, I may be able salvage those $10 calls and even make a profit.

With the destruction of the AVXL stock price over the past three years, I have had my share of losses buying long AVXL call options. Once the stock price seemed to be approaching a bottom in first quarter 2024, I started dipping my toes in again but I have kept to calls close to being in the money because of the uncertainty surrounding the company. If we get that MAA accepted, I can consider getting more aggressive about things.




Did you leg out and in with separate orders or did you sent down as a spread?

All my trades this week have been in separate orders as I have little experience in the more complex strategies.