Short Albatross & Long Albatross Options Strategy

An albatross spread is an advanced options trading strategy used to obtain profits when the stock price is stable or inactive and when the price stays within the chosen price range. An albatross spread is just a wider condor spread. The only difference is that an albatross spread has a wider range between the strike prices. This strategy uses four transactions at different strikes.

It is a limited profit and a limited risk strategy. The albatross spread is a complex strategy therefore, it is recommended for beginners not to use it. Investors should implement these strategies when they have a medium to a high level of options trading knowledge. There are two types of albatross strategies: short albatross and long albatross.

Short Albatross Strategy

A short albatross strategy is a volatile strategy best used when an investor expects a significant fluctuation in the stock either upside or downside. It is similar to a short condor spread but with wider differences between the two middle strike prices. Since there is a wider difference between the strike prices, the stock price has to move farther to profit.  

For a call option strategy, the investors have to: 

Maximum loss is equal to the strike difference between long and short legs. Maximum gain is limited to the net premium received.  

Using MarketXLS 

MarketXLS provides a Short Albatross Strategy template that calculates everything for users once they input their desired stock and strike prices in the yellow cells. In the example image above, we have chosen to do a call albatross option, and our current share price is $245.7. The Deep ITM strike price is supposed to be more than $10 less than the current price. Therefore we chose 225 and the ITM strike price as 240. The Far OTM strike price is supposed to be more than $10 added from the current strike price. Therefore we chose 265. For lower-priced stocks, the Deep ITM price and Far OTM price can be $5 or less. The further away from the OTM you choose, the cheaper it gets because it is less likely for a stock’s price to rise that high. Also, the further away you choose the two buying strike prices, the lower the risk.

The Net Credit is $1,004 per position. Net Credit is calculated by:

Adding the two buys and subtracting the two sells then multiplying by 100

(8.65 + 2.9 – 21.93 – 0.29) x 100 = 10.04 x 100 = 1,004  

Short Albatross strategy has two break-even points: upper and lower.

Upper break-even = Highest Strike Price – Net Credit 

Lower break-even = Lowest Strike Price + Net Credit

Here is the template for Short Albatross: https://marketxls.com/template/short-albatross-spread/

Here is a video explaining the Short Albatross using MarketXLS: https://youtu.be/OnWBen4jdF0

Long Albatross Strategy

The long albatross strategy is a long condor spread but with the short legs written at a much wider difference. They are said to have longer wings which means they cover the most extended range of strike prices than the condor spread. A long albatross strategy is best implemented when you expect the underlying asset’s price to be within a wide price range (range-bound). Again investors have a choice of trading a call albatross spread or a put albatross spread. They are both rewarding as long as the stock price stays within the defined price range.  

For a call option strategy, the investors have to: 

Maximum loss is equal to the net amount that is paid to enter this strategy. Maximum gain is limited to the net extrinsic value of the position.  

Using MarketXLS

MarketXLS provides a Long Albatross Strategy template that calculates everything for users once they input their desired stock and strike prices in the yellow cells. In the example above, we have chosen to do a call albatross option, and our current share price is $245.7. We chose 225 for the Deep ITM strike price and the ITM strike price as 240. We chose 265 for the Far OTM strike price. The further away from the OTM you choose, the cheaper it gets because it is less likely for a stock’s price to rise that high. Also, the further away you choose the two buying strike prices, the lower the risk.

We expect Microsoft to trade between $225 and $265 on expiration and gain max profit between $240 and $260. Deciding which two strike prices to go short in depends on how wide you want your range for maximum possible profit.

The Net Debit is $1,383 per position. Net Debit is calculated by:

Adding the two buys and subtracting the two sells then multiplying by 100

(21.55 + 0.09 – 7.5 – 0.31) x 100 = 13.83 x 100 = 1,383  

Long Albatross strategy also has two break-even points: upper and lower.

Upper break-even = Highest Strike Price – Net Debit 

Lower break-even = Lowest Strike Price + Net Debit

Here is the template for Long Albatross: https://marketxls.com/template/long-albatross-spread/

Here is a video explaining the Long Albatross using MarketXLS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-loznGav8XY

The Bottom Line

The difference between a short albatross and long albatross is that for a long strategy, the price needs to be within a price range, while for a short strategy, it needs to fluctuate above or below the prices. 

References 

http://www.optiontradingpedia.com/free_albatross_spread.htm