RR
Independent Research · Carter Reins
The Reins Report
Equity & options research · not financial advice
2026-W28
July 6 to July 12, 2026 · Updated Jul 09, 2026
⚫ MARKET CLOSED
Market Structure · 2026-W28
Risk-on came back, financials ripped, tech lagged, VIX melted. I missed my Sunday run this week, so no new trades. Holding the three shorts, and COIN is fighting me.

Quiet grind higher on the surface (SPY +1.1%) but the rotation kept churning underneath. Financials ripped (XLF +4.5%), healthcare and communications kept climbing, while tech stayed heavy (XLK -2.8%, QQQ -1.6%). VIX melted back to 15.8. Risk appetite is clearly back, just not in tech.

Full transparency: I missed my own Sunday run this week, so I am taking no new trades and holding the three shorts I already have. CSCO is green and HPE is fine with the stock sitting far from my short strike. COIN is the problem. It rallied about 12% straight into my bear put and the position is down roughly a third. That is exactly the risk I flagged when I put it on: it was my one big directional bet, and directional bets are where the variance lives. It is not at my stop yet, so the rule says hold, but it is on a short leash. Missing a week is a process failure I own, and it is a reminder that the edge only compounds if I actually show up every Sunday.

CR
Carter Reins, Aspiring Fund Manager
Finance student and full time market obsessive. I run a systematic long/short options strategy: a model ranks the S&P 500 on eight factors, a volatility read picks the structure, and conviction sets the size. Every trade is defined risk with a hard max loss and a mechanical exit. Some weeks that is three ideas, some weeks one, some weeks none. I grade every call against the S&P 500. That's the whole game.
3 Yrs Trading Systematic L/S Defined Risk Options Conviction Sizing S&P 500 Benchmarked
Total Picks
3
Open
9
Closed
+7.04%
Cumulative P/L
+0.15%
S&P 500
+6.89%
Alpha vs SPY
COIN
Financials · Medium
SHORT PUT Strong
$149.06
$149.06 +0.0%
$135.00
$150.00
$150.00 stop R/R 15.0:1 $135.00 target
PUT Option Details · Max Loss = Premium Paid
$150.00
2026-08-21
$7.02/share
$142.98
7300.0%
2.0×
$7.02/share
×100
Delta Δ
-0.300
Gamma Γ
0.0100
Theta / day Θ
-0.030
Vega / 1% IV ν
+0.050
Position size: 14.0% of account Days held: 10d Instrument: Put Entered: Jun 29, 2026
COIN is the single strongest short in the whole model this week (bottom 1% composite). Crypto-exchange names are rolling over as risk appetite drains, and momentum has completely broken (bottom decile). Defined-risk bear put: I profit if COIN drops below $143, max if below $135.
Risk-off rotation out of speculative financials, heavy insider selling, no earnings in the window. Highest-conviction directional short of the week.
30-Day Price · COIN
$135 $149 $150
Target $135 Entry $149 Stop $150
CSCO
Information Technology · Medium
SHORT CALL Speculative
$113.77
$113.77 +0.0%
$130.00
$133.00
$133.00 stop R/R -0.8:1 $130.00 target
CALL Option Details · Max Loss = Premium Paid
$130.00
2026-08-21
$-0.83/share
$130.83
3000.0%
1.5×
$-0.83/share
×100
Delta Δ
-0.120
Gamma Γ
-0.0200
Theta / day Θ
0.020
Vega / 1% IV ν
+-0.040
Position size: 8.3% of account Days held: 10d Instrument: Call Entered: Jun 29, 2026
Cisco grinding sideways while tech leadership cracks. Selling the 130 call 14% above spot ($114) for an 81% POP income trade. Defined risk, pure premium harvest while the sector bleeds.
Tech rolling over (XLK -5.4% on the week). No catalyst to push CSCO up 14% by August. Rich IV pays me to sell upside that is unlikely to print.
30-Day Price · CSCO
$130 $114 $133
Target $130 Entry $114 Stop $133
HPE
Information Technology · Medium
SHORT CALL Speculative
$43.71
$43.71 +0.0%
$50.00
$53.00
$53.00 stop R/R -0.7:1 $50.00 target
CALL Option Details · Max Loss = Premium Paid
$50.00
2026-08-21
$-1.01/share
$51.01
3200.0%
1.5×
$-1.01/share
×100
Delta Δ
-0.140
Gamma Γ
-0.0300
Theta / day Θ
0.020
Vega / 1% IV ν
+-0.040
Position size: 8.0% of account Days held: 10d Instrument: Call Entered: Jun 29, 2026
HPE is a low-momentum hardware name with rich IV. Selling the 50 call 14% above spot ($44) for a 77% POP income trade while tech is under pressure.
Server/hardware demand cooling and the tech sector is weak. No reason for HPE to rally 14% by August. Elevated IV lets me sell upside cheaply.
30-Day Price · HPE
$50 $44 $53
Target $50 Entry $44 Stop $53
InstrumentClose1W ChgYTD Chg
Equities
SPY749.01+1.08%+9.6%
QQQ712.75-1.56%+16.2%
IWM297.52-0.49%+19.6%
Sector ETFs
XLK (Tech)180.22-2.80%+24.9%
XLF (Financials)56.15+4.53%+2.2%
XLV (Health Care)164.51+2.34%+5.8%
XLE (Energy)53.74+0.31%+17.7%
XLI (Industrials)181.32-0.79%+14.8%
XLY (Disc.)117.66+0.46%-0.6%
XLP (Staples)84.79+0.50%+9.1%
XLC (Comm.)111.36+3.23%-4.7%
XLB (Materials)51.47+1.61%+11.6%
XLRE (RE)45.00+0.18%+11.4%
XLU (Utilities)45.85-0.37%+6.2%
Vol & Credit
^VIX15.84-10.25%+9.2%
TLT84.77-3.07%-2.6%
HYG79.81-0.26%-1.0%