Options Traders Busy at Newmont Mining Corp.
by Andrew Wilkinson - November 9th, 2010 4:04 pm
Today’s tickers: NEM, CALM, XRX, MCD, AEIS & JNPR
NEM - Newmont Mining Corp. – The gold producer’s shares started strong this morning, but earlier gains quickly gave way to losses and shares are currently down 3.00% to stand at $60.75 as of 3:25 pm in New York. Options on gold companies as well as options on a number of ETFs tracking miners and gold producers were very active today after gold prices climbed to new highs this morning. During the first couple of hours of the session one bullish trader utilized long-dated call options to position for Newmont Mining’s shares to potentially rally to new heights by expiration in January 2012. The investor purchased 5,800 deep in-the-money calls at the January 2012 $57.5 strike for a premium of $12.23 each, and sold the same number of calls at the higher January 2012 $67.5 strike at a premium of $7.53 apiece. The net cost of putting on the spread amounts to $4.70 per contract. The trader is therefore prepared to make money should NEM’s shares trade above the average breakeven price of $62.20 through January 2012 expiration. Maximum potential profits of $5.30 per contract pad the investor’s wallet if Newmont’s shares jump 11.1% over the current price of $60.75 to surpass $67.50 ahead of expiration day.
CALM - Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. – Options on the largest egg seller and distributor in the U.S. are more active than usual today perhaps on news the Jackson, Mississippi-based firm recalled more than a quarter of a million eggs purchased from Ohio Fresh Eggs because they may be contaminated with Salmonella. Cal-Maine Foods was reportedly alerted to contamination issues with the eggs by the FDA this past Friday. CALM’s shares reacted positively to the news this week, rallying more than 12.0% off Monday’s intraday low…
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Industry Acquisition News Spurs Activity in Brookdale Options, Sends Shares Soaring
by Andrew Wilkinson - October 22nd, 2010 4:47 pm
Today’s tickers: BKD, COH, CNP, JNY, SBUX, XRX & SLB
BKD - Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. – Shares of the operator of senior living communities are up 18.7% at $19.74 this afternoon after earlier rallying as much as 20.4% to an intraday high of $20.03. Brookdale’s shares jumped after Ventas Inc. agreed to purchase the real estate assets of Atria Senior Living Group for $1.5 billion in cash and stock. The acquisition sent shares in Brookdale, the largest owner of senior communities in the U.S., higher on sentiment the stock is undervalued and spurred bullish trading in its options today. One options strategist utilized longer-dated calls and puts to position for shares to continue their ascent. The trader purchased 1,745 calls at the January 2011 $20 strike at a premium of $1.60 each, and sold the same number of puts out at the April 2011 $17.5 strike at a premium of $1.30 apiece. The cost of buying the call options is reduced to just $0.30 per contract, thus positioning the investor to make money if BKD’s shares rally above the effective breakeven price of $20.30 ahead of expiration day in January. The sale of the put options is a nice way to cheapen the cost of taking a bullish stance on Brookdale, but is not without its risks. The trader could have 174,500 shares of the underlying stock put to him at $17.50 each if the puts land in-the-money at expiration in April 2011. But, the $1.30 premium per contract received for bearing this risk appears to be a favorable trade off for this bullish player.
COH - Coach, Inc. – The luxury retailer of handbags and accessories popped up on our scanners this morning after one investor dabbled in near-term put options. Coach’s shares are currently up 0.50% to stand at $44.64 as of 12:55 p.m., but earlier rallied more than 1.20% to touch an intraday high of $44.96. The near-term pessimistic play observed in the November contract today may be the work of…
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Bulls Eye Options on MGM Resorts International Ahead of Q2 Earnings
by Andrew Wilkinson - July 27th, 2010 4:55 pm
Today’s tickers: MGM, SLV, CISG, GENZ, XRX, JNPR & DD
MGM – MGM Resorts International – The operator of casino resorts attracted bullish options players this afternoon with the price of the underlying stock rallying as much as 3.65% to an intraday high of $11.36. It looks like investors expecting shares to continue higher ahead of August expiration purchased call options. The most optimistic of individuals picked up approximately 5,200 calls at the August $13 strike for an average premium of $0.21 each. Call buyers at this strike make money if MGM’s shares surge 16.3% to trade above the average breakeven price on the upside at $13.21 by expiration day next month. Other bullish traders who are perhaps hoping shares can retain the present rally, but not looking for shares to move much higher ahead of expiration in August, sold 3,000 puts at the August $10 strike for an average premium of $0.37 each. If investors are selling these puts outright, they walk away with the full premium received on the transaction as long as MGM’s shares exceed $10.00 through expiration day. Investors populating MGM Resorts International today exchanged more than 2.2 call options for each single put option in play on the stock as of 3:45 pm ET. MGM is scheduled to report its second-quarter results ahead of the opening bell of August 3, 2010.
SLV – iShares Silver Trust ETF – Shares of the iShares Silver Trust fell more than 2.90% to $17.26 in late afternoon trading inspiring some traders to load up on put options. Fresh put activity was most heavily concentrated in the September contract where current put volume at in- and out-of-the-money strikes exceeds previously existing open interest. Investors bracing for further bearish movement in the price of the SLV’s shares purchased 1,900 in-the-money puts at the September $18 strike for an average premium of $1.17 apiece. In-the-money put buyers are prepared to profit should shares of the fund decline another 2.5% to slip beneath the average breakeven point on the downside at $16.83 by September expiration. Put volume was heaviest at the September $16 strike where more than 16,700 contracts changed hands by 3:25 pm ET. It looks like investors purchased at least 14,400 of those lots for an average premium of $0.29 each. Shares of the fund must fall 9.00% from the current price before September $16 strike put buyers breakeven at a…
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Pessimism Apparent as Goldman-Bears Play with Put Options
by Andrew Wilkinson - April 20th, 2010 5:07 pm
Today’s tickers: GS, MU, PEG, CX, XRX, IYT, EEM, HOG, HUM & ALL
GS – Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. – Posturing in out-of-the-money put options on Goldman Sachs today indicates some investors expect the investment banking firm’s share price could erode substantially ahead of May expiration. Goldman’s shares slipped 1.5% during the trading session to stand at $160.94 as of 2:30 pm (ET). One pessimistic player invested in a debit put spread in order to position for continued bearish movement in the price of the underlying stock through expiration next month. The trader picked up approximately 11,700 puts at the May $145 strike for an average premium of $1.91 each, and sold the same number of puts at the lower May $120 strike for $0.16 apiece. Net premium paid for the put transaction amounts to $1.75 per contract. The trader makes money if Goldman’s shares fall 11% to breach the effective breakeven point to the downside at $143.25. Maximum available profits of $23.25 per contract are available to the options player should the financial services firm’s share price plummet 25% to $120.00 ahead of expiration day in May. Other bearish players engaged in plain-vanilla put buying at the June $150 strike where at least 3,600 put contracts were picked up for an average premium of $4.73 each. Put-buyers at this strike stand ready to accrue profits if Goldman Sachs’ share price slips 9.75% lower to breach the average breakeven point at $145.27 by June expiration.
MU – Micron Technology Inc. – A large-volume short strangle play employed on the manufacturer of semiconductor devices today suggests one big options player expects Micron’s shares to trade within a specified range through expiration in October. Micron Technology’s shares are up 0.10% to $10.81 as of 2:50 pm (ET). It looks like one trader sold approximately 24,000 puts at the October $9.0 strike for a premium of $0.73 each, in combination with the sale of about the same number of calls at the higher October $12 strike for $0.98 apiece. Gross premium pocketed by the strangle-strategist amounts to $1.71 per contract. The investor keeps the full amount of premium received today as long as Micron’s shares trade within the boundaries of the strike prices described through expiration day. Short positions assumed in both call and put options expose the trader to losses in the event that Micron’s shares rally above the upper breakeven price…
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Strangle Strategist Tightens Grip on JPMorgan
by Andrew Wilkinson - March 4th, 2010 4:15 pm
Today’s tickers: JPM, TIVO, RHT, UTX, CSCO, CI, BA, XRX, DIS, AKS & M
JPM – JPMorgan Chase & Co. – A long strangle enacted on JPMorgan today indicates one investor is expecting the firm to experience a significant shift in the price of its shares by June expiration. The investment banking and financial services giant realized a 1% rally in share price during the current session to $41.94. The investor initiated the strangle strategy by purchasing 9,000 calls at the June $46 strike for a premium of $1.06 apiece and by picking up 9,000 puts at the June $36 strike for $0.96 each. The net cost of the transaction amounts to $2.02 per contract. Strangle-players benefit from drastic moves in share price, but lose out if the value of the stock stagnates. In this specific trade, the investor profits if JPM’s shares rally above the upper breakeven price of $48.02 by expiration, or if shares trade below the lower breakeven point at $33.98, by June expiration. The trader is looking for increased volatility in the price of the underlying shares, but also may benefit from higher options implied volatility. Moves higher in options implied volatility corresponds with greater option premium on both calls and puts. Thus, the investor could potentially sell the strangle at a profit ahead of expiration day if combined premium on the trade exceeds the $2.02 per contract paid today. We note that JPM’s shares have not exceeded $47.47 in the past year, but did trade as low as $14.96 back on March 6, 2009.
TIVO – TiVo, Inc. – Shares of the innovator of digital-video recording services surged as much as 61.30% to an intraday high of $16.42, the highest price recorded for TiVo’s shares in at least five years. TiVo was named the victor today after a U.S. appeals court ruled that Dish Network Corp. and EchoStar Corp. are “still infringing its patent and should stop providing digital-video recording services.” Options traders had a field day with the news and exchanged upwards of 275,300 contracts on the stock by 3:10 pm (ET). Today’s options trading volume on TiVo represents just under 80% of the total existing open interest on the stock of 348,203 contracts. Investors populated the stock with a plethora of trading strategies. Some traders banked profits on the rally, while others employed the use of strangles. Plain-vanilla call buying and put selling…
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Fall Down Friday – Stop the Week, We Want To Get Off!
by Phil - January 22nd, 2010 8:25 am
Boy, when sentiment shifts – it REALLY shifts!
Suddenly nothing is good enough for this market. A beat from GOOG send the stock plummeting, massive earnings at GS sent the stock lower even before Obama read them the riot act (now called the "Volker Rule"). On the one hand, it’s all an overreaction but, on the very large other hand, it’s about freakin’ time this market finally acted normally and pulled back a little because 10,700 was pretty irrational given the underlying fundamentals.
On the whole, we’re loving it as we went to cash last week and played bearish into the drop. Last week I detailed how we had a great time day-trading in both directions and this week we hit it again with our upside DIA play on Wednesday (a 26% winner on the day) and yesterday I sent out a morning Alert to Members at 9:50 saying: "I am for shorting into this morning spike as it’s nonsense, especially this run in the Nas – most likely it will reverse but I’d like to see a clear move back to resistance first. QQQQ $45 puts give you great leverage at .56 and you can use $46.20 on the Qs as a stop out, looking for .70+ on the day." We hit .85 by lunch and pulled it just off the day’s high for a nice 51% gain on the day.
I point this out both to encourage you to subscribe to our Newsletter (all 19,000 subscribers got yesterday’s free Alert) as well as to emphasize that WE DO NOT CARE which way the market goes. Yes, I am very bearish on the short-term economy as I feel we are overbought and due for a correction but I also think we are probably OK over the longer term and we are taking advantage of these dips to pick up some long positions. We are opportunistic players and we are investing along the premise I laid out in my 2010 outlook, which was titled "A Tale of Two Economies" as we see a great divide forming between the top 10% and the companies that service them and the bottom 90% of our population who are in dire straights, as are the companies that rely on selling to the masses to make a living.
For an example of "Rich Company/Poor Company" just look at the earnings of two ends of…
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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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Carter’s Earnings Cancel Sends Implied Options Volatility Skywards
by Andrew Wilkinson - October 27th, 2009 4:27 pm
Today’s tickers: CRI, RDC, XL, VIX, XHB, XRX, EFA, WYNN, BIDU & XHB
CRI – Carter’s Inc. – The more than 20,500 option contracts exchanged thus far today on the children’s apparel company trumps existing open interest of just 3,342 lots by a factor of 6. Shares of Carter’s are suffering significant erosion after the firm announced plans to delay its third-quarter earnings release, originally scheduled for this evening, perhaps until November 12, 2009. News of the postponement sent shares tumbling 25.5% lower to $21.16. Investor uncertainty jumped through the roof as evidenced by the massive 66% rise in option implied volatility this morning to an intraday high of 90%. Bullish investors took advantage of today’s declines by trading near-term call options. One trader put on a ratio call spread by purchasing 1,000 calls at the in-the-money November 20 strike for 2.30 apiece, and by selling 2,000 calls at the higher November 25 strike for 55 pennies each. The net cost of buying the calls is reduced to 1.20 per contract. The effective breakeven price of $21.20 on the transaction allows the investor to profit by expiration in November if shares of CRI rise at least 4 cents. Maximum potential profits of 3.80 per contract are available if the stock recovers up to $25.00. Losses would begin to accumulate if any rally lifted the share price above $28.80.
RDC – Rowan Companies, Inc. – Option traders scooped up put options on the provider of contract drilling services while shares slumped 2.75% to $24.90. The January 2010 22.5 strike had at least 1,400 puts purchased for an average premium of 1.16 apiece. The now in-the-money January 25 strike attracted traders who picked up 1,300 puts for about 2.15 each. Bearish sentiment spread to the April contract where another 2,000 puts were coveted at the April 22.5 strike for 2.02 a-pop. Finally, the most action took place at the in-the-money April 25 strike where 9,800 puts were purchased for an average of 3.18 each. Perhaps put-buying investors are aiming to protect the value of long positions in the underlying. Otherwise, traders placing bearish bets on RDC hope to accumulate profits on further share price weakness over the next several months.
XL – XL Capital Ltd. – Bullish investors took aim at XL Capital put options in the January contract this afternoon. Shares of XL are slightly higher by less than 0.25% to…
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Werner Enterprises Sees Bearish Activity
by Andrew Wilkinson - October 22nd, 2009 4:35 pm
Today’s tickers: WERN, MDVN, GT, XRX, SLE, AMGN, ESI, EBAY, FFIV & SLE
WERN – Werner Enterprises, Inc. – The truckload freight services firm edged onto our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner due to bearish trading in the June contract. Shares of WERN slipped 0.5% lower this afternoon to $20.22. One investor initiated a ratio put spread by purchasing 6,000 put options at the June 20 strike for 2.25 apiece, and by simultaneously selling 12,000 puts at the lower June 17.5 strike for 1.10 each. The net cost of the trade is reduced to just one nickel per contract. The trader is probably aiming to protect the value of a long position in shares of WERN through expiration. Downside protection will kick in if shares decline more than 27 cents from the current price given the effective breakeven point on the trade at $19.95.
MDVN – Medivation, Inc. – Long-term bearish activity in the June 2010 contract suggests one investor may be bulking up on downside protection in case shares of biopharmaceutical company, Medivation, Inc., continue to decline. The stock is currently trading less than 0.5% lower to stand at $26.51. A put spread was established through the purchase of 10,000 puts at the June 22.5 strike for 7.80 apiece, marked against the sale of 10,000 puts at the lower June 12.5 strike for 1.87 each. The net cost of the pessimistic play amounts to 5.93 per contract. The spread was most likely initiated by an investor holding a long position in the underlying shares. Putting on the protective stance shields the investor from losses beneath the breakeven point at $16.57. However, if the trader is in fact long the stock, he will suffer a 38% decline in the value of MDVN before downside protection kicks in at the breakeven price described. An alternate scenario is that the investor does not hold a long position in MDVN. If this is the case, the trader is uber-bearish and expects to garner profits from significant declines in Medivation through expiration in June.
GT – The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. – Option traders populated the November contract on GT with bullish plays this afternoon. Shares added more than 2.5% during the session to arrive at the current price of $17.83. Some investors targeted the now in-the-money November 17.5 strike to purchase 3,800 calls for an average premium of one dollar apiece.…
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Chunky Put Play Hits Natural Gas ETF
by Andrew Wilkinson - September 28th, 2009 4:42 pm
Today’s tickers: UNG, QCOM, PXP, XRX, ALL, AMAT, MU & CMCSA
UNG - Shares of the natural gas exchange-traded fund are currently off by more than 1% to $11.80. One investor has picked up some serious downside protection on the fund today by purchasing a large chunk of put options in the April 2010 contract. We believe the trader is likely holding a long stock position in the UNG. It appears the trader purchased 31,000 puts at the April 9.0 strike for a premium of 75 cents per contract. The net cost of the put options amounts to $2,325,000. Shares of UNG would need to decline 30% from the current price before downside protection kicks in beneath the breakeven point at $8.25. Perhaps the put buyer expects the fund to reach a new 52-week low by expiration in April. The current 52-week low of $8.94 was attained on September 3, 2009. We note that it is always possible the trader is essentially shorting the stock and placing a large bearish bet on the ETF in order to profit from downward movement in the share price. – United States Natural Gas ETF –
QCOM - A tech-sector rally fueled by an analyst upgrade of Cisco Systems (CSCO) this morning helped boost shares of QCOM 2.5% during the trading session to $45.82. The manufacturer of wireless network products attracted optimistic option traders to the November contract. We observed plain-vanilla put selling at the November 42 strike where it appears 5,000 lots were sold short for an average premium of 92 cents apiece. Investors shorting the contracts will retain the full 92 cent premium as long as shares of QCOM remain higher than $42.00 through expiration. But, if the November 42 strike puts land in-the-money, investors short the contracts will have shares of the underlying put to them at $42.00 each. Finally, a sold strangle was initiated through the sale of 1,200 puts at the November 43 strike for 1.07 apiece, in combination with the sale of 1,200 calls at the higher November 50 strike for 81 pennies each. Investors ‘strangling’ QCOM receive a gross premium of 1.88. The full premium is retained by these individuals as long as the stock trades within the confines of the strike prices described through expiration in November. Traders face losses in the event that shares swing 13% higher to surpass the upper breakeven point at $51.88, or if…
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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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