Monday – Mubarak’s Mood May Move Morning Markets
by Phil - January 31st, 2011 8:21 am
Is it safe?
I asked that question at the end of November in "Timid Tuesday – Is It Safe" and here we are, 60 days later and up 7.5% and, on the whole, feeling less safe than we did back then, when the Market Oracle and I seemed to be the only people concerned global inflation and sovereign default risks rising rapidly. Although we were playing the market bullishly, with our aggressive $10,000 Portfolio (and make sure you check out our brand new $25,000 Virtual Portfolio that begins today with a $100,000 goal by December 31st) we decided to try to take from $26,000 to $50,000 by Jan 21st (we only made $35,000), our Breakout Defense Plays (5,000% in 5 Trades or Less) and our Secret Santa’s Inflation Hedges – it was with one hand on the exit door at all times. As I said at the close of Timid Tuesday’s article: "This house of cards is teetering folks – please be careful out there!"
That was 60 days ago. We’re a lot older now and have learned a lot about the World since then. We learned that China, Japan and the IMF are all ready, willing and able to buy the bonds of various EU nations. We learned that the Dollar can still fall 5% (was 81.44 on November 30th) further down despite Europe’s very obvious problems and Japan’s MASSIVE 200% Debt to GDP ratio. We learned that Uncle Ben will never stop printing money (until forced) and we learned that commodities can rise much faster than even our aggressive "Secret Santa" plays anticipated, with every one of our hedges (XHB, XLE, DBA and XLF) already over our year-end targets, all on track for gains well over 100%.
After watching our Alpha 2 pattern break (as I predicted it would on Monday morning) for the week, we went a lot more bearish on Thursday when I said in that morning post:
Keep in mind that gold and silver are our defensive plays. In Member Chat yesterday, Jromeha mentioned he’s 80% in cash and 85% short the market on the 20% in play and I said I thought that was an excellent way to play what I felt was a blow-off top after the Fed. We added 2 disaster hedges yesterday, a TZA spread that pays 500% if we get to $17 by April and
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Options Strategists Take the Wheel at Ford Motor Co.
by Andrew Wilkinson - December 21st, 2010 4:10 pm
Today’s tickers: F, NKE, TSRA, PCX, STI, CSCO & SNDK
F - Ford Motor Co. – A couple of large-volume spreads initiated in longer-dated call and put options on the automaker caught our eye this afternoon. Shares in Ford Motor Company increased 0.90% this afternoon to stand at $17.00 in the final minutes of the trading day. It looks like one bullish player employed the use of a debit call spread in the April 2011 contract while a more cautious investor utilized a ratio put spread expiring in June of 2011. The options optimist picked up 10,000 calls at the April 2011 $17 strike for a premium of $1.25 each, and sold the same number of calls at the higher April 2011 $20 strike at a premium of $0.29 apiece, in order to position for continued bullish movement in the price of the car manufacturer’s shares. The trader paid a net premium of $0.96 per contract for the spread, and is positioned to make money should Ford’s shares rally another 5.6% over the current price of $17.00 to exceed the effective breakeven point at $17.96 by expiration day in April. Maximum potential profits of $2.04 per contract are available to the call-spreader if Ford’s shares jump 17.6% to first surpass the current 52-week high of $17.42 on the stock, and ultimately trade above $20.00 ahead of expiration. Further along in the June 2011 contract, another strategist dabbled in put options, perhaps as a way to hedge a long position in the underlying shares through the first half of 2011, or alternatively to bet on a pullback in Ford’s shares. It looks like the investor picked up 12,500 puts at the June $17 strike at a premium of $1.63 each, and sold 25,000 puts at the lower June 2011 $14 strike for a premium of $0.54 a-pop. The trader paid a net $0.55 per contract for the ratio spread and starts making money if Ford’s shares slip beneath the effective breakeven price of $16.45 ahead of June expiration. The investor may walk away with maximum potential profits of $2.45 per contract in the event that the automaker’s shares plunge 17.6% to settle at $14.00 at expiration day. Selling twice…
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Put Sellers See Bright Future for Ford Shares in 2011
by Andrew Wilkinson - December 9th, 2010 4:54 pm
Today’s tickers: F, MSFT, ZQK, LULU, EK, CNO & SFD
F - Ford Motor Co. – The automaker’s shares are up 0.55% at $16.78 heading into the close this afternoon after earlier rising as much as 0.95% to an intraday high of $16.85. Bullish options traders expecting Ford’s shares to continue to rally higher over the next six months sold in-the-money put options in the June 2011 contract today. Bank of America/Merrill Lynch reiterated their ‘buy’ rating on the stock, upped their target share price on Ford Motor Co. to $24.00 from $20.00, and revised higher earnings estimates for 2011 and 2012 for the automaker. Optimistic options investors looked to the June 2011 $17 strike to sell some 16,000 in-the-money puts to receive premium of $1.92 per contract. Put sellers keep the hefty chunk of change received on the transaction as long as Ford’s shares exceed $17.00 ahead of expiration day next year. The sale of the contracts suggests traders are more than happy to have shares of the underlying stock put to them at an effective price of $15.08 each should shares fail to rally sufficiently, and the put options trade in-the-money at expiration.
MSFT - Microsoft Corp. – Bullish risk reversals initiated using Microsoft call and put options expiring in July 2011 are signs of investor optimism on the software company. Microsoft’s shares started out the session in the black but have slipped lower in the final hour of trading, losing 0.70% to stand at $27.04 as of 3:10 pm. One options strategist is positioning for shares in MSFT to rebound sharply ahead of July expiration by selling a total of 15,000 puts at the July 2011 $23 strike for a premium of $0.83 each, in order to buy the same number of calls at the higher July 2011 $30 strike at a premium of $0.97 apiece. The net cost of the risk reversal amounts to $0.14 per contract, providing relatively cheap upside exposure should Microsoft’s shares take off in 2011. Shares of the…
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Bulls Take the Wheel, Initiate Recovery Plays Using Ford Options
by Andrew Wilkinson - November 23rd, 2010 4:06 pm
Today’s tickers: F, TOL, BRCD, LOW, NUAN, WAG & IFF
F - Ford Motor Co. – The automaker’s shares edged 2.45% lower this afternoon to $15.80, but investors expecting to see Ford rebound and rally in the next few months initiated bullish plays using put and call options expiring in February 2011. It looks like one trader purchased a bull call spread, while another investor put on a bullish risk reversal. The call spreader picked up 5,000 contracts at the February 2011 $16 strike for a premium of $1.24 each, and sold the same number of calls at the higher February 2011 $20 strike for a premium of $0.20 apiece. Net premium paid to establish the spread amounts to $1.04 per contract. Thus, the responsible party is prepared to make money should shares in Ford Motor Co. surge 7.85% over the current price of $15.80 to surpass the effective breakeven point at $17.04 by February expiration. The call-spreader could end up walking away with maximum potential profits of $2.96 per contract if Ford’s shares jump 26.6% to trade above $20.00 by expiration day next year. The other bullish play in the February 2011 contract appears to be the work of an investor selling 1,990 February 2011 $15 strike puts at a premium of $0.69 each in order to purchase the same number of February 2011 $18 strike calls for a premium of $0.50 a-pop. The transaction results in a net credit of $0.19 per contract, which the investor keeps as long as shares in Ford exceed $15.00 through expiration. Additional profits start to accrue for the trader should shares rally 13.9% to trade above $18.00 before the contracts expire. The net credit received by the investor provides limited downside protection should shares continue to head south. The investor will face losses, however, if Ford’s shares trade below the effective breakeven price of $14.81 in the next few months to expiration.…
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Options Feeding Frenzy Gains Momentum as Shares in Ford Motor Co. Hit 8-Year High
by Andrew Wilkinson - November 15th, 2010 4:50 pm
Today’s tickers: F, ALU, WMB, TLCR, PG & LNG
F - Ford Motor Co. – The automaker’s shares jumped 6.80% during the session to an intraday high of $17.41, the highest recorded share price for Ford Motor Co. since June 3, 2002. Options on Ford are extremely well trafficked today with shares surging to new heights and the market eagerly awaiting rival General Motors Company’s public stock offering. More than 2.2 call options are changing hands on the stock for each single put in play out of the more than 704,650 contracts exchanged on the automobile maker as of 3:45 pm in New York. Nearer-term call options are the most active, with volume in November $17 strike calls exceeding 70,800 lots ahead of the closing, bell versus previously existing open interest of 45,757 contracts at that strike. The majority of those in-the-money call options were purchased for an average premium of $0.46 apiece. Call buyers at this strike make money if Ford’s shares exceed $17.46 ahead of expiration on Friday. Buying interest spread all the way up to the sky-high November $20 and $21 strikes. More than 5,000 of the November $20 strike calls were picked up for an average premium of $0.03 a-pop. The premium on these contracts will continue to rise as long as Ford’s shares head higher in the next 4 trading sessions, and may provide call buyers the opportunity to bank handsome profits ahead of expiration day. The December $20 strike calls were even more popular, with some 17,000 lots purchased at an average premium of $0.15 each. Bullish players were also seen selling in- and out-of-the-money put options across multiple expiries. Near-term November $16 strike puts were the most heavily populated as upwards of 53,250 contracts changed hands by 3:50 pm. Strong demand for the automaker’s option contracts, GM’s impending IPO and the sharp shift in Ford’s share price today helped lift the overall reading of options implied volatility on the stock 9.4% to 45.92% late in the…
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H&R Block Put Options in Play as Shares Drop
by Andrew Wilkinson - October 14th, 2010 5:59 pm
Today’s tickers: HRB, XRT, GRMN, HAL, F, MWW & BK
HRB - H&R Block, Inc. – Investors are bulking up on H&R Block put options this afternoon following reports the provider of tax services acquired tax-preparation firm 2SS Holdings for $287 million in cash. HRB’s shares dropped like a rock today, falling as much as 10.445% during the session to hit an intraday low of $12.26. Options traders basically ignored the existence of H&R Block calls and instead focused their efforts on buying up bearish put contracts across several expiries. More than 7.95 put options changed hands on HRB for each single call option in play on the stock as of 3:15 p.m. in New York trading. The sharp increase in demand for put options and the rapid descent in the price of the underlying shares fueled a 33.3% rise in the overall reading of options implied volatility on the stock to 70.39% late in the trading day. Pessimistic players picked up 5,600 now in-the-money puts at the October $12.5 strike for an average premium of $0.24 each. These contracts expire tomorrow, but investors may make money if HRB’s shares trade below the average breakeven price of $12.26 ahead of expiration. Put volume is most significant in the November contract. It looks like investors picked up 9,300 puts at the November $10 strike at a premium of $0.38 each, coveted another 10,300 contracts at the November $11 strike for premium of $0.57 apiece, and purchased approximately 2,500 puts at the November $12 strike for a premium of $0.81 a-pop. Volume in put options generated at each of the strikes described outweighs previously existing open interest at each one many times over. Put players may be scrambling to secure downside protection on existing positions in the underlying shares, or could be enacting outright bearish bets on the stock. HRB’s shares are down 9.50% at $12.39 with 35 minutes remaining in the trading session.…
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Investors Bumps Up Bullish Stance on Ford Motor Co.
by Andrew Wilkinson - August 2nd, 2010 4:13 pm
Today’s tickers: F, GNW, VRSN & OCR
F – Ford Motor Co. – A massive bullish transaction involving 300,000 call options on the auto manufacturer today indicates one big player is increasingly optimistic that Ford’s shares are likely to stay their upward trajectory through September expiration. The price of the auto maker’s shares rallied 2.90% to $13.14 by 12:30 pm ET on news Chinese automaker, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., completed its purchase of Volvo Cars from Ford by shelling out $1.3 billion in cash and issuing a $200 million note for the acquisition. Ford’s credit rating was also raised two levels by Standard & Poor’s today on optimism the firm will remain profitable, and due to improved investor and consumer perception of the Dearborn, MI-based company. The enormous bullish trade on Ford appears to be the work of an investor booking profits by first selling a previously established long call position, and next initiating a fresh more-bullish stance on the stock. It appears the investor originally purchased 150,000 calls at the September $12 strike for an average premium of $0.41 each back on July 9, 2010, when Ford’s shares closed at $10.85. The subsequent rally in the price of the underlying stock boosted premium on the September $12 strike calls, allowing the trader to sell all 150,000 now in-the-money contracts at an average premium of $1.40 apiece. Net profits on the sale of the call options amounts to $0.99 per contract. Next the investor purchased 150,000 fresh in-the-money calls at the September $13 strike for an average premium of $0.75 per contract. Profits start to accumulate on the new position if Ford’s shares rally another 4.65% over the current price of $13.14 to surpass the effective breakeven point to the upside at $13.75 by expiration day next month.
GNW – Genworth Financial, Inc. – A three-legged bullish options combination play initiated on the insurance company today suggests one strategist expects Genworth’s shares to rally significantly ahead of expiration day in December. GNW’s shares inched up during morning trading, but later slipped 0.30% lower to stand at $13.54 by 12:50 pm ET. The investor appears to have sold put options in order to offset the cost of buying a debit call spread. To establish the spread the trader sold 4,000 puts at the December $12 strike for an average premium of $1.04 each, purchased 4,000 calls at the December…
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Call Options on Financials ETF (XLF) in High Demand
by Andrew Wilkinson - July 9th, 2010 6:30 pm
Today’s tickers: XLF, MOS, RIMM, F, VVUS, WEN & ALTR
XLF – Financial Select Sector SPDR – Near-term bullish bets that shares of the XLF, an exchange-traded fund designed to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Financial Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index, are set to rally ahead of July expiration jumped during afternoon trading. Shares of the ETF increased nearly 1.5% during the session to stand at $14.52 by 3:15 pm (ET). Options investors itching for a rally in the price of the underlying shares purchased at least 115,000 calls outright at the July $15 strike for an average premium of $0.08 per contract. Call buyers are prepared to profit should shares of the XLF gain 3.85% to trade above the average breakeven price of $15.08 by expiration next Friday.
MOS – The Mosaic Co. – Shares of the producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients are up 3.3% to $46.20 with less than 45 minutes remaining ahead of the closing bell. Mosaic’s shares earlier rallied as much as 3.95% to touch an intraday high of $46.49. One bullish strategist purchased a debit call spread on the stock in order to position for Mosaic’s shares to increase substantially by expiration day in September. The trader picked up 2,800 calls at the September $50 strike for an average premium of $1.99 apiece, and sold the same number of calls at the higher September $65 strike for an average premium of $0.07 each. Net premium paid for the spread amounts to $1.92 per contract. The investor responsible for the transaction makes money as long as the potash producer’s shares surge 12.4% in the next several months to exceed the average breakeven point on the spread at $51.92 by expiration. Maximum available profits of $13.08 per contract pad the investor’s wallet if MOS shares jump 39.8% to trade above $65.00 by expiration day in September. Mosaic’s shares last traded above $65.00 back on January 11, 2010, when the stock reached an intraday and new 52-week high of $68.28.
RIMM – Research in Motion Ltd. – News the Blackberry maker plans to start an applications store as well as consumer Internet services in China sent RIMM’s shares up 8.47% in afternoon trading to an intraday high of $53.65 by 3:25 pm (ET). Optimism on the firm’s expansion in the Chinese market was…
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Contrarian Options Player Sheds Put Options on Lloyd’s Banking Group PLC
by Andrew Wilkinson - May 25th, 2010 4:50 pm
Today’s tickers: LYG, XLV, MSFT, XLF, F, AZN, LYV, AZO, MW & XLNX
LYG – Lloyd’s Banking Group PLC – One optimistic options strategist initiated a short put stance on Lloyd’s Banking Group PLC today, suggesting perhaps that shares of the underlying stock are not likely to collapse much further ahead of October expiration. Lloyd’s Banking Group shares fell as much as 8.9% to an intraday low of $2.88 in morning trading, but recovered slightly during the session to stand 5.05% off yesterday’s close at $3.16 a share as of 2:45 pm (ET). Across the pond, Lloyd’s Banking Group shares declined the most in London trading, falling 8.9% to 50.52 pence, as concerns over the creditworthiness of European financial institutions continues to weigh heavily on U.K. banking stocks. But, back to U.S. equity options on LYG, the contrarian investor opted to sell short 4,000 puts at the October $2.5 strike in order to pocket premium of $0.30 per contract. The trader keeps the full amount of premium received on the sale as long as LYG’s share price exceeds $2.50 through expiration day in October. The short sale of put options in this case implies the investor is happy to have 400,000 shares of the underlying stock put to him at an effective price of $2.20 each should the put contracts land in-the-money at expiration.
XLV – Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund – A large chunk of out-of-the-money put options were purchased on the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund today as part of a delta neutral trade enacted by one cautiously optimistic options player. Shares of the XLV, an exchange-traded fund designed to produce investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Health Care Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index, declined 0.65% to stand at $28.54 as of 3:35 pm (ET). It looks like the investor purchased up to 22,500 put options with a .31 delta at the September $26 strike for a premium of $1.08 per contract. The trader picked up the puts in conjunction with the purchase of stock at $28.25 a-pop. The delta neutral transaction is meant to offset potential losses faced by the investor should shares of the XLV continue lower because of the larger proportion of put options held by the trader. The purchase of shares of the underlying stock in combination with the put options indicates the investor…
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Trash-Talk or the Real Deal – Pactiv Call Options Higher on Apollo Rumor
by Andrew Wilkinson - May 17th, 2010 4:32 pm
Today’s tickers: PTV, F, ODP & VIX
PTV – Pactiv – Hard to know whether there is any substance behind the Wall Street Journal’s story that the maker of Hefty refuse sacks is in deal talks with Apollo Global Management or whether it’s just trash-talk. But investors have got the deal-bit between their teeth and have already pushed shares higher by 18% to $28.27 but not before they were earlier propelled to $29.41. The WSJ says a deal maybe struck between $34-$38, which helps explain the appeal of call options at the $30 strike price at expirations from May through August. The uncertainty of the news sent implied volatility surging from 32% to 58%, while volume today has completely eclipsed the number of existing option contracts held on the stock. There is also interest in the June $25 strike puts but it’s hard to state that investors are cashing in here in the event the bulls are right. Premiums at that destination fast-eroded over the weekend to 65 cents losing more than half their value.
F – Ford Motor Company – Naturally the broader U.S. market took a blow to the gut on account of heightened fears for European recovery. Ford’s April sales took a 17% nosedive on the continent at the very moment that its European incentive plan came to an end and competitors were able to creep in and find a way to better serve customers. But the domestic U.S. recovery seems to be more important to some investors as the auto industry recovers from a dip to annualized sales volume of 10.4 million to 11 million. While demand was sparked by incentives, the experience of GM in its welcome return to profitability today shows optimistic trends for the broader industry. Most important of all is the reduced reliance on incentives results in higher prices at dealerships. The industry has also gone through severe cost-cutting programs, which may be staring to play out as it escapes the bankruptcy days. Although Ford’s share price is weaker today at $11.78 option investors seem to have a passion for both May and June expiration call options at the $13.00 strike price where early volume of 10,000 and 5,000 contracts was evident. The May premium of seven cents is an inexpensive way of playing the rebound while a 34 cent cost at the June expiration would require a 13.2% share price gain…
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Philip R. Davis is a founder Phil's Stock World, a stock and options trading site that teaches the art of options trading to newcomers and devises advanced strategies for expert traders...
Ilene is editor and affiliate program
coordinator for PSW. She manages the Favorites backup site
(