Call Options Fly Off the Shelves at Yahoo!
by Andrew Wilkinson - February 3rd, 2011 5:21 pm
Today’s tickers: YHOO, TSN, BJ & CEPH
YHOO - Yahoo, Inc. – Large prints in Yahoo! call options today indicate some strategists see shares in the name rising in the next couple of months. Shares in the online media company rallied as much as 1.8% today to trade around $16.87 by 12:00pm in New York. A massive call spread appears to have been purchased in the April contract. The investor responsible for the transaction purchased 46,500 calls at the April $18 strike for a premium of $0.50 each, and sold the same number of calls at the higher April $20 strike at a premium of $0.20 a-pop. Net premium paid to initiate the spread amounts to $0.30 per contract. Thus, the investor responsible for the spread is poised to profit should shares in Yahoo! rally 8.5% over today’s high of $16.87 to surpass the effective breakeven price of $18.30 ahead of April expiration. Maximum potential profits of $1.70 per contract are available to the investor if shares in YHOO jump 18.6% to trade above $20.00 before the options expire in April. Earlier in the session, another bullish player initiated a similar spread, buying around 5,000 calls at the March $17 strike for an average premium of $0.54 each, and selling the same number of calls at the higher March $19 strike at an average premium of $0.19 apiece. The net cost of the transaction amounts to $0.35 per contract and positions the trader to make money in the event that Yahoo’s shares rise above $17.35 by March expiration. The sharp rise in demand for options on Yahoo! sent the overall reading of options implied volatility on the stock up 10.6% to 33.41% in early afternoon trade.
TSN - Tyson Foods, Inc. – Bullish options traders are picking up calls on the producer of chicken, beef, pork and prepared food products this morning ahead of the firm’s first-quarter earnings report, scheduled for release before the market opens on Friday. Shares in Tyson Foods increased as much as…
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Bulls Covet Comcast Corp. Calls as Shares Hit New 52-Week High
by Andrew Wilkinson - December 14th, 2010 4:01 pm
Today’s tickers: CMCSA, CSX, WHR & TSN
CMCSA - Comcast Corp. – Bullish traders are piling into call options on Comcast Corp. today after the cable provider received an upgrade to ‘outperform’ from ‘market perform’ with a 12-month target share price of $26.00 at Sanford Bernstein. Shares in Comcast Corp. surged 5.05% to secure an intraday- and new 52-week high of $22.40. Optimism on the cable services company also follows a report in the Wall Street Journal this morning that describes Comcast’s efforts to test a new service that combines TV and the some features of the Internet through a set-top box. Near-term bulls purchased more than 5,910 now in-the-money calls at the December $22 strike for an average premium of $0.36 apiece. Investors holding these contracts are hoping to see Comcast’s shares soar above the average breakeven price of $22.36 through expiration on Friday. More than 7,200 calls changed hands at the December $22 strike versus puny previously existing open interest of just 1,052 contracts. Optimism spread to the January 2011 contract where investors purchased in- and out-of-the-money call options. Traders scooped up more than 2,800 calls up at the January 2011 $22.5 strike at an average premium of $0.46 apiece. Call buyers at this strike are poised to profit should shares in Comcast Corp. climb 2.5% over today’s high of $22.40 to exceed the average breakeven point on the calls at $22.96 ahead of January 2011 expiration. Comcast call and put options were active in the April 2011 contract, as well. It looks like one trader may have unraveled a 2,500-lot three-legged bullish spread this morning. The sharp rise in demand for options on the stock lifted Comcast’s overall reading of options implied volatility 8.8% to 25.26% by 12:55 pm.
CSX - CSX Corp. – The provider of rail-based transportation services popped up on our scanners in the first half of the trading session after a large number of put options changed hands in the January 2011 contract. CSX Corp.’s shares are down slightly…
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Put Sellers Target Dollar General Corp.
by Andrew Wilkinson - November 22nd, 2010 4:14 pm
Today’s tickers: DG, CBRL, M, TSN, NFLX & FUQI
DG - Dollar General Corp. – Shares in Dollar General Corp. rallied as much as 4.1% this afternoon to touch an intraday- and new 52-week high of $32.23 after fellow discount retailer, Dollar Tree, reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings this morning. Dollar General appeared on our scanners after bullish players sold out-of-the-money put options in the December contract. Put sellers are suggesting shares in DG are likely to trade above $30.00 through expiration day next month. Dollar General reports third-quarter earnings ahead of the opening bell on December 9, 2010. Options traders sold more than 14,200 puts at the December $30 strike to pocket an average premium of $0.18 per contract. Put sellers keep the full premium received on the transaction as long as DG’s shares exceed $30.00 through December expiration. More than 16,000 put options changed hands at the December $30 strike versus paltry previously existing open interest of just 7 contracts at that strike. Overall options volume of 16,535 contracts generated on Dollar General today is far greater than total existing open interest on the stock of 10,451 lots before today. Options implied volatility on Dollar General is down 8.5% to arrive at 23.88% in late afternoon trading.
CBRL - Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. – Near-term call options are in demand on the operator of retail and restaurant concept chain, Cracker Barrel, this afternoon. Shares in Cracker Barrel jumped 3.00% to $57.77, a new 52-week high for the stock, by 3:45 pm in New York. It looks like call buyers populating CBRL today expect shares to extend gains following the firm’s first-quarter earnings report before the opening bell tomorrow. Bulls scooped up roughly 1,100 calls at the December $60 strike for an average premium of $0.735 per contract. Investors…
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Call Options Fly Off the Shelves at Gannet Co.
by Andrew Wilkinson - October 8th, 2010 4:13 pm
Today’s tickers: GCI, XRT, GCI, JCP, TSN, GG & CVS
GCI - Gannett Co., Inc. – Call options on the publishing giant are in high demand today with shares of the underlying stock rising as much as 8.3% to an intraday high of $13.64. Gannett’s shares took off after the Wall Street Journal reported the company, along with the New York Times and News Corp., are looking to offer software apps for Samsung’s Galaxy tablet. Investors have thus far exchanged more than 6.25 calls on the stock for each single put contract in play as of 3:15 pm ET in New York trading. Near-term bullish players picked up some 5,300 now in-the-money calls at the October $13 strike for an average premium of $0.58 a-pop. Investors long the calls make money if the USA Today publisher’s shares exceed the average breakeven price of $13.58 by October expiration. Optimism spread to the higher October $14 strike where more than 6,100 call options changed hands. At least 1,500 of those contracts were purchased for an average premium of $0.42 each, while the bulk of the remaining volume traded to the middle of the market. Uber-bulls looked out to the November $15 strike to purchase approximately 2,500 calls at an average premium of $0.41 apiece. Call buyers at this strike are prepared to profit if GCI’s shares jump 5.645% over today’s high of $13.64 to exceed the average breakeven point at $15.41 by expiration day next month. Options implied volatility on Gannet Co. jumped 16.6% to 60.43% in late afternoon trading.
XRT - SPDR S&P Retail ETF – A sizeable put spread initiated on the XRT, an exchange-traded fund designed to replicate the performance of the S&P Retail Select Industry Index, could be the work of an investor bracing for a pullback in the price of the underlying fund ahead of January 2011 expiration. Shares of the fund increased 1.45% during the final trading day of the week to touch an intraday high of $43.02. The put player purchased…
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Straddle-Seller Sees Range-Bound Shares for Avanir Pharmaceuticals
by Andrew Wilkinson - September 3rd, 2010 5:09 pm
Today’s tickers: AVNR, S, ORCL, TSN, PSS, XRT & BX
AVNR – Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – Shares of the pharmaceuticals firm fell as much as 9.6% this afternoon to an intraday low of $2.64 on news the company filed for a mixed shelf offering for up to $75 million. Options volume on the stock surged late in the session after one strategist sold a straddle in the December contract. The short straddle suggests the trader expects AVNR’s shares to trade within a specified range through expiration day in the final month of the year. The investor sold approximately 8,440 puts at the December $2.5 strike and sold 8,440 calls at the same strike to take in gross premium of $2.025 per contract. The straddle-seller retains the full amount of premium received if Avanir’s shares settle at $2.50 at expiration. However, the short stance taken in both call and put options expose him to losses should shares shift significantly in either direction away with from the strike price selected. Losses are certainly limited to the downside because shares cannot fall below $0.00. Thus, the investor faces maximum potential losses of $0.475 per contract in the event that Avanir’s shares are worthless at expiration. Losses could be more painful if AVNR shares suddenly fly upward. Shares would need to jump 71.4% to shatter the current 52-week high on the stock of $3.72 in order for losses to start to accumulate for the trader above the effective breakeven price to the upside at $4.525 by expiration. The strategy seems to indicate that the investor does not see AVNR shares collapsing to $0.00, but also suggests shares are not likely rally substantially any time soon.
S – Sprint Nextel Corp. – The wireless and wireline telecommunications company was one of the 10 most actively traded stocks on the New York Stock Exchange as of 1:00 pm ET this afternoon, and was also one of the most actively traded in terms of options volume today. Sprint’s shares earlier rallied 2.30% to record an intraday high of $4.44, but are currently up a lesser 1.15% at $4.39 as of 2:30 pm ET. Shares were perhaps higher on reports out this morning that suggested Sprint is currently looking at a possible November release date for Samsung’s Galaxy Tablet, which is a device aimed at rivaling Apple’s iPad. The vast majority of contracts exchanged on Sprint Nextel Corp.…
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Mixed Sentiment on BAC Pits Bulls Against Bears
by Andrew Wilkinson - December 4th, 2009 4:11 pm
Today’s tickers: BAC, XRX, XLF, CAR, XLU, BIG, SLM, TTWO, MRVL & TSN
BAC – Bank of America Corp. – Investors employed two contradictory option strategies in the February contract on Bank of America today. One trader initiated a large bearish risk reversal while the other put on a bullish call spread. BAC’s shares rallied 3.5% this afternoon to $16.30. The pessimistic investor appears to have sold 30,000 in-the-money call options at the February 15 strike for 1.74 apiece in order to purchase 30,000 puts at the same strike for 84 cents each. The reversal results in a net credit of 90 cents per contract to the trader. Perhaps this individual expects shares to decline beneath the $15-level by expiration so he may retain the full 90 cent credit on the trade. Bullish trading in the same February 2010 contract suggests shares are set to rally higher in the next few months. An optimistic investor purchased 10,000 calls at the February 17 strike for 89 cents each, and sold the same number of calls at the higher February 19 strike for 34 cents apiece. The net cost of the spread amounts to 55 cents per contract. Maximum potential profits of 1.45 are available to the investor if shares increase more than 16.5% from the current price to a new 52-week high of $19.00 by expiration in February.
XRX – Xerox Corp. – One investor utilized the risk reversal strategy in order to take a long-term bullish stance on Xerox. Shares moved 1% higher this afternoon to $7.85. It looks like the trader sold 20,000 puts at the January 2011 7.5 strike for a premium of 1.15 each to partially finance the purchase of 20,000 calls at the same strike for 1.60 apiece. The net cost of the reversal amounts to 45 cents per contract. The investor profits if shares surpass the breakeven price of $7.95 within the next 12 months to expiration.
XLF – Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF – Shares of the XLF rallied 0.75% in afternoon trading to stand at $14.46. Bullish options activity on the fund suggests shares are likely to appreciate within the next several months. Optimistic investors purchased 69,000 in-the-money call options at the March 14 strike for an average premium of 1.36 per contract. XLF shares must rise 6% from the current price before profits accumulate above the breakeven point at $15.35. Shares last…
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Beazer Homes bounces on sales data, inspiring covered calls
by Andrew Wilkinson - April 24th, 2009 4:07 pm
Today’s tickers: BZH, AG, TSN, XLF, XRT & JNPR
BZH Beazer Homes USA, Inc. – The builder of single-family homes across the United States has experienced an enormous share price rally of more than 21.5% to $2.14 following today’s upbeat new home sales data. BZH jumped onto our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner after one investor established what appears to be a covered call in the June contract. The covered call was initiated by buying shares of the underlying stock and selling 10,000 calls at the June 5.0 strike price for a premium of 17 cents apiece. This investor receives the premium on the sale of the options as well as positions an exit strategy at the June 5.0 strike by maintaining a short position on the calls. If shares can rally through $5.00 come June, the shares will likely be called away from him at expiration. Should this come to fruition, he will have enjoyed gains of 134% on the stock from the current price of $2.14 in addition to the 17 cent premium.
AG AGCO Corporation – Shares of the manufacturer of agricultural equipment have skyrocketed by more than 10% to $26.00 ahead of its earnings release expected on Tuesday, April 28th. One news source has reported unconfirmed takeover speculation surrounding the company perhaps leading option traders to position themselves for a continued near-term price rally. The more than 16,000 lots that have exchanged hands on AGCO thus far today represent 70% of the existing open interest on the stock of 23,000 contracts. Furthermore, we have observed that nearly 12 call options have been traded to each single put option in action. At the now in-the-money May 25 strike price investors picked up 1,300 calls for an average premium of 1.71 apiece. More optimistic individuals targeted the May 30 strike price where more than 6,300 calls were purchased for 53 cents per contract. In order for the May 30 strike call to land in-the-money by expiration, shares would need to continue to rise by an additional 15% from the current share price. Option implied volatility is up slightly on the day from 71% to the current reading of 74%.
TSN Tyson Foods, Inc. – The processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork products has attracted bullish investors to the pigpen amid a share price rally of about 1% to $11.15 today. Tyson’s shares have been…
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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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