sold UBS short

Shortly before the open on Nasdaq, UBS traded at CHF 36.68 (USD 33.5225) on SWX. On Nasdaq, it traded as high as USD 33.68 before the open, opened at USD 33.56, and my order to sell short got executed at 33.6901

I have now placed a limit order to buy to cover at USD 27.23 and am keeping my fingers crossed that all will go well.

UBS: thinking about short-selling

I am thinking about short-selling shares of UBS (Nasdaq:UBS), something I should have done much earlier. I was reminded of this trading strategy when I read about it in today's CASHdaily, a German-language publication. The article mentions these interesting things:

– Short sales sent the stock price down to CHF 35 (USD 31.74) on Friday.

– When Credit Suisse had a crisis in 2002/2003, the stock fell below a price/book ratio of 1. With UBS, a price/book ratio of 1 would correspond to a fair value of about CHF 30.

– The "toxic assets" (overvalued mortgaged properties) on the books still amount to CHF 90 billion. Analysts estimate the need for additional write-offs at CHF 20 billion.

– Agressive hedge fund managers could drive the price of UBS below CHF 30. Recommendation: place a buy order at CHF 30.

At the moment, UBS is trading on SWX at CHF 35.30, which was Friday's closing price.

I thought I would watch UBS at the open on Nasdaq today and and perhaps make a short sale with a limit of USD 32.68, which was the close on Nasdaq on Friday, then try to buy to cover at maximum 27.23, ie slightly more than the equivalent of CHF 30. However, I just realised that the market is closed today because of a pulblic holiday (President's day) and I shall have to wait and see what tommorrow brings.

Short sold put option Novartis

Looking at the chart of Novartis I think I’d like to own some shares of it, but only if I can buy them a little lower than the current price. Instead of placing a limit buy order at CHF 65, I sell short a put option, strike 65, term December 2007.

This put option gets executed at CHF 2.14 per share.