Strangles and Straddles Pop Up in Mexico ETF
by Andrew Wilkinson - January 25th, 2011 4:16 pm
Today’s tickers: EWW, JNPR, SLXP & HNZ
EWW - MSCI Mexico Investible Market Index Fund – Large prints in call and put options on the Mexico ETF caught our eye this morning with shares in the EWW, an exchange-traded fund designed to correspond to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the Mexican market, trading 0.55% lower on the session at $61.92 as of 12:30pm in New York. It looks like one or more big options traders sold a straddle in the front month and initiated a short strangle in the March contract. The straddle-strategist looked to the February $62 strike to sell 15,000 calls for a premium of $1.13 each, and sold the same number of in-the-money puts at that strike for a premium of $1.43 apiece. Gross premium pocketed on the transaction amounts to $2.56 per contract. The investor keeps the full amount of premium received as long as shares settle at $62.00 and both the call and put options expire worthless at expiration. Some portion of premium is safe in the investor’s wallet as long as shares in the EWW do not stray too far above or below the $62.00 level. But, the short stance in both call and put options at that strike expose the trader to losses in the event that shares rally above the upper breakeven price of $64.56, or slip beneath the lower breakeven point at $59.44, before the options expire next month. In longer-dated options, a sizeable 7,000-lot strangle involving March $61 strike puts and March $63 strike calls was sold for a gross premium of $3.16 per contract. The investor responsible for the strangle walks away with the full amount of premium pocketed on the transaction if shares in the EWW trade within the boundaries of the strike prices described through expiration day in March. Premium received erodes down to zero and gives way to losses should shares in the ETF exceed the upper breakeven price of $66.16, or if shares trade below the lower breakeven point at $57.84, ahead of expiration in a couple of months time. Strangle and straddle sellers may benefit from subsiding levels of implied volatility as well as…
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Demand for Puts Pops at Regions Financial as Shares Slide Lower
by Andrew Wilkinson - November 18th, 2010 4:25 pm
Today’s tickers: RF, YHOO, ORLY, CTV, HNZ, STX, SMH & GT
RF - Regions Financial Corp. – Bears are piling into put options on Regions Financial Corp. today after Fitch Ratings cut Alabama’s biggest lender by two levels to –BBB, citing concerns the firm may post additional losses. Regions’ credit rating was also downgraded two notches to Ba3 from Ba1 at Moody’s yesterday. Shares have been hammered lower over the past four weeks, and today declined as much as 7.22% to touch an intraday- and new 52-week low of $5.14. Today’s low of $5.14 marks a 46.5% decline since October 21, 2010, when shares touched an intraday high of $7.53. Investors expecting shares to extend losses over the next several months purchased large numbers of put options on the stock. Bearish players picked up at least 9,000 puts at the December $5.0 strike for an average premium of $0.28 each and purchased approximately 10,000 puts at the lower December $4.0 strike at an average premium of $0.20 apiece. Lower-strike put buyers are positioned to profit should Regions’ shares slide another 26% below today’s intraday low point of $5.14 to breach the effective breakeven point on the downside at $3.80 by expiration day in December. Pessimism spread to the January 2011 $4.0 strike where another 3,800 put options were coveted at an average premium of $0.20 a-pop. The surge in demand for put options coupled with growing uncertainty regarding the fate of RF’s shares going forward helped lift the stock’s overall reading of options implied volatility 27.4% to 90.77% by 3:50 pm in New York.
YHOO - Yahoo!, Inc. – Shares in Yahoo! are up 5.35% to $17.01 as of 2:40 pm in New York, but earlier rallied as much as 6.315% to hit an intraday high of $17.17. Call options on…
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Visa, Inc. Call Options Fly Off the Shelves
by Andrew Wilkinson - June 21st, 2010 4:34 pm
Today’s tickers: V, AXP, GIS, HNZ, AFFY, REV, AA & ORCL
V – Visa, Inc. – Frenzied call buying ensued on global payments network, Visa, Inc., this afternoon with the price of the underlying shares rallying as much as 8.76% to secure an intraday high of $83.79. Visa’s shares are currently up a more modest 4.90% to stand at $80.82 as of 3:10 pm (ET). The sharp rally in Visa’s share price likely stems from news that U.S. politicians reached an agreement on the regulation of interchange/”swipe” fees on credit and debit card transactions. Investors flooded the near-term July contract on Visa, Inc. to initiate bullish stances on the stock. Options traders expecting continued upward movement in the price of Visa’s shares by July expiration picked up approximately 6,800 calls at the July $85 strike for an average premium of $1.41 each. Investors long the July $85 strike calls make money only if shares of the underlying stock trade above $86.41 ahead of expiration day next month. Buying interest spread to the higher July $90 strike where some 4,300 calls were purchased at an average premium of $0.46 each. Call buyers at this strike price accrue profits if the firm’s shares surge 11.9% from the current price of $80.82 to trade above the average breakeven point to the upside at $90.46 by July expiration day. Finally, investors honed in on the July $95 strike to take ownership of 1,300 calls for an average premium of $0.19 per contract. Options players populating Visa, Inc. this afternoon displayed a clear preference for bullish calls on the stock by exchanging more than 2.3 call options to each single put contract in play thus far in the session. But, some optimistic individuals utilized puts to take a near-term bullish stance on Visa. Investors sold at least 1,400 puts at the July $80 strike to receive an average premium of $2.81 per contract. Put sellers keep the full premium pocketed on the transaction as long as Visa’s shares exceed $80.00 through expiration day next month. Investors short the puts are apparently happy to have shares of the underlying stock put to them at an effective price of $77.19 each in the event the puts land in-the-money at expiration.
AXP – American Express Co. – The global payments company appeared on our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner this afternoon after one options strategist initiated…
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Long-term Put Play on Intel Provides Protection through 2011
by Andrew Wilkinson - January 27th, 2010 4:39 pm
Today’s tickers: INTC, FXI, UFS, TM, BRK.B, X, QCOM, MCO, APC, COST, HNZ & DLTR
INTC – Intel Corp. – Shares of chip-making giant, Intel Corp., dipped lower in early trading, but rebounded this afternoon to stand 0.75% higher on the day at $20.15. Long-term protective positioning in the January 2011 contract on the stock suggests cautious optimism by Intel-option traders. One investor purchased a put spread by picking up 5,000 in-the-money puts at the January 2011 $22.5 strike for a premium of $4.05 each, marked against the sale of 5,000 puts at the lower January 2011 $12.5 strike for $0.35 apiece. The net cost of the transaction amounts to $3.70 per contract. The trader responsible for the spread is likely long shares of the underlying stock. The spread, in this scenario, serves as an insurance policy on the value of the underlying position should Intel’s shares slip beneath the effective breakeven price of $18.80 in the next year to expiration. The investor is protected even if shares of the semiconductor chip producer collapse down to $12.50 by January of 2011.
FXI – iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index Fund – Shares of the exchange-traded fund, which invests in twenty-five of the largest and most liquid Chinese companies, are down 0.75% to $38.27 with just under one hour remaining in the trading session. FXI’s share price has declined nearly 15% in the past few weeks, from a 2010 high of $44.53 on January 6, 2010, down to an intraday low today of $37.89. One option trader’s actions in the March contract today suggest he has had enough of the downturn, and is looking for a sharp rebound by expiration in two months. The investor initiated a three-legged combination play using both calls and puts on the fund. It appears the main portion of the trade is a ratio-bullish risk reversal involving the sale of 5,000 deep in-the-money put options at the March $41 strike for a premium of $3.66 each, spread against the purchase of 10,000 calls at the same strike for $0.70 apiece. The purchase of 10,000 puts at the March $35 strike for $0.85 each rounded out the third leg of the transaction. The investor pockets a net credit of $0.56 per contract on the trade, which he keeps if shares rally up to $41.00 by expiration. Additional profits accrue to the upside if shares bounce 7.15% higher to…
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Retail Reversal Combination Grabs Attention on XRT
by Andrew Wilkinson - November 4th, 2009 4:11 pm
Today’s tickers: XRT, MGM, DE, GLD, UUP, NWL, HNZ, EWZ, UNH, OSTK & STEC
XRT – SPDR S&P Retail ETF – A three-legged transaction in the December contract on the retail exchange-traded fund reveals bearish sentiment by one investor. Shares of the XRT are trading nearly 1% higher today to $34.60. It looks like the trader sold call options in order to offset the cost of buying a put spread. The put spread involved the purchase of 5,000 puts at the December 33 strike for a premium of 1.07 apiece, marked against the sale off 5,000 puts at the lower December 30 strike for approximately 37 cents each. The sale of 5,000 calls at the higher December 36 strike knocked another 87 cents per contract off the total price of the bearish play. The investor more than offset the cost of buying the spread and thus receives a net credit of 17 cents per contract. The full credit is retained by the trader as long as shares of the XRT remain below $36.00 through expiration. Additional profits may accumulate if shares dip below $33.00, while maximum potential gains of 3.00 per contract require that shares trade down to $30.00.
MGM – MGM Mirage, Inc. – Shares of the casino resort operator slipped 2.5% lower to $9.40 today but one options optimist initiated a bullish play on the stock in the March 2010 contract. It appears the trader put on a ratio call spread by buying one in-the-money call option for every three out-of-the-money calls sold. The investor purchased 10,000 calls at the deep in-the-money March 7.0 strike for 3.20 apiece and simultaneously sold 30,000 calls at the higher March 12 strike for 1.05 each. The net cost of the transaction is reduced to just one nickel per contract. The investor probably does not expect shares to rally through $12.00 by expiration because he is short 20,000 calls at that strike price in the March contract. Shares of MGM last traded above $12.00 on October 14, 2009.
DE – Deere & Co. – A large bearish butterfly spread appeared in the March 2010 contract on the agricultural equipment maker. The transaction indicates one investor is positioning for significant declines in the price of DE shares by expiration. Shares are down 1% to $46.76 with just under 90 minutes remaining in the trading day. The investor purchased the upper wing of the…
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Lights back on in Vegas
by Andrew Wilkinson - May 5th, 2009 5:47 pm
Today’s tickers: MGM, DFS, MOS, WFR, LVS, XHB, KFT & HNZ
MGM MGM Mirage, Inc. – Shares of the biggest casino owner on the Las Vegas Strip have skyrocketed by more than 42% to $13.41 amid reports from the company that occupancy has recovered and convention cancellations have lessened. More than 112,000 option contracts on the stock traded today with a number of bullish plays by investors looking for continued strength in its share price. The company also received an upgrade by – surprise, surprise – Bank of America/Merrill Lynch to ‘buy’ after also upgrading fellow casino giant, Las Vegas Sands Corp., as well. Early bird investors were able to buy call options that have since landed in-the-money during the rally at the May 12.5 strike price for an average premium of just 83 cents. Now (post 2pm EST) getting long of those same calls cost 1.75 apiece. More optimistic traders looked to the May 15 strike where more than 8,000 calls were traded. At least 3,000 of those calls were purchased for about 38 cents each earlier today. However, the premium has since increased to the current ask price of 65 cents. Option implied volatility on the stock is currently at 150% down from 200% recorded last Thursday.
DFS Discover Financial Services – The credit card issuer and electronic payment services firm is up by less than 1% to $9.02. Option investors were observed buying bullish call options on the stock despite concerns over weaker earnings for the first-quarter across the board for credit card issuers. At the May 10 strike price traders exchanged calls about 15,000 times with more than 8,300 contracts bought at an average premium of 24 cents each. Optimism spread to the June contract where about 3,400 puts were shed at the June 7.5 strike for a VWAP of 43 cents. The June 10 strike witnessed the purchase of 3,500 calls for about 72 cents apiece. The most bullish individuals discovered calls available for the taking at the July 12.5 strike price where some 1,100 were coveted for 33 cents per contract. The more than 29,900 contracts traded on the stock today represent 54% of the existing open interest on DFS of 55,244 lots.
MOS The Mosaic Company – The producer of potash and animal feed has experienced a rally in shares of more than 4% to $46.04 amid rumors reported by one news…
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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...
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