La-Z-Boy Options Active Ahead Of Earnings
by Option Review - June 18th, 2013 9:52 pm
Today’s tickers: LZB, DD & PRLB
LZB - La-Z-Boy, Inc. – Shares in furniture producer, La-Z-Boy, Inc., increased as much as 3.9% to $19.80 at the start of the session, the highest level since 2004, ahead of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report after the closing bell today. Options volume is up ahead of the report, with roughly 400 contracts in play this afternoon versus average daily volume of around 80 contracts. Trading in La-Z-Boy call options is outpacing puts, with the call/put ratio up above 4.3 as of the time of this writing. Some traders appear to be positioning for shares in LZB to rally post-earnings, purchasing out-of-the-money call options expiring in June and July. Front month call buyers looked to the Jun $22.5 strike, purchasing around 50 lots at an average premium of $0.14 each, and the $25 strike calls, picking up 40 contracts at an average premium of $0.18 apiece. The Jun $20 strike calls attracted volume during Monday’s session, as well. Time and sales data suggests one trader likely purchased 100 of the $20 calls for a premium of $0.55 apiece yesterday morning. The bullish bet pays off at expiration as long as shares in LZB settle above the effective breakeven price of $20.55.
DD - E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. – Call options changing hands on DuPont in the early going on Tuesday suggest one trader is positioning for shares in the name to potentially rise to the highest level since 2000 during the next seven months. Shares in DuPont are up 0.20% on the session at $53.80 just before midday in New York. It looks like the strategist purchased a roughly 2,600-lot Jan 2014 $57.5/$62.5 call spread for an average net premium of $1.07 per contract. The bullish position starts making money if shares in DuPont rally 9.0% over the current price of $53.80 to exceed the average breakeven point at $58.57, with maximum potential profits of $3.93 per contract available on the spread should shares surge 16% to $62.50 by January…
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Bears Eye Alpha Natural Resources Options
by Option Review - June 17th, 2013 7:57 pm
Today’s tickers: ANR, DWA & PVR
ANR - Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. – Front month put options changing hands on coal producer, Alpha Natural Resources, Inc., this morning suggests some traders are positioning for shares in the name to extend losses, with the stock down roughly 8.0% to a six-month low of $5.50. Coal stocks are being pressured for a second consecutive session on news released Friday that Walter Energy pulled out of a $1.55 billion refinancing loan due to market conditions. Traders bracing for Alpha’s shares to continue to slide in the near term snapped up roughly 3,000 puts at the Jun $5.5 strike for an average premium of $0.09 apiece today. The contracts make money at expiration if shares in ANR decline another 3.0% from the current price of $5.58 to settle below the average breakeven point at $5.41. Shares in the name last traded below $5.41 back in September of 2012.
DWA - Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc. – Upside call options are active on Dreamworks this morning, with shares up as much as 8.5% near the open at a new 52-week high of $24.75 after the maker of animated feature films announced a multi-year deal to provide original content to video-streaming services company, Netflix. Traders positioning for shares in DWA to continue to climb picked up roughly 1,000 calls at the Jul $25 strike for an average premium of $0.63 apiece. Call buyers stand ready to profit at expiration next month should shares in Dreamworks climb another 3.5% to top $25.63.
PVR - PVR Partners L.P. – The owner and operator of natural gas pipelines and processing plants popped up on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner on Monday morning due to heavier than usual activity in bearish puts on the stock. Shares in PVR Partners L.P., formerly known as Penn Virginia Resources Partners, L.P., are currently unchanged on the day at $27.19 as of 1:05 p.m. ET,…
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Traders Hungry For Nutrisystem Options As Shares Rise
by Option Review - June 14th, 2013 8:03 pm
Today’s tickers: NTRI, NEE & DDD
NTRI - Nutrisystem, Inc. – Shares in Nutrisystem rose more than 7.0% to a six-month high of $10.18 on Friday after the maker of weight loss products announced Thursday it has increased production of its Nutrisystem D 5-Day Jumpstart Weight Loss Kit to offer the product in 3,700 Walmart locations by the end June. Options in play on NTRI today indicate some traders are prepared to profit from further gains in the price of the underlying during the next couple of months. Traders initiating near-term bullish bets on the stock snapped up calls at the Jun $10 and $11 strikes, purchasing around 900 of the $10 calls for an average premium of $0.17 each and 500 of the $11 calls at a premium of $0.05 apiece. The Jul $10 strike calls are also changing hands today, with more than 500 of those contracts purchased at an average premium of $0.31 each. Looking out to the September expiry options, one or more traders appear to have purchased more than 200 of the Sep $11 calls for an average premium of $0.28 per contract. Buyers of the Sep $11 calls profit at expiration in the event that Nutrisystem’s shares gain another 10% to surpass the average breakeven price of $11.28.
NEE - NextEra Energy, Inc. – Clean energy company, NextEra Energy, Inc., popped up on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner in the early going on Friday due to heavier than usual trading traffic in upside calls. Traders dabbling in September expiry calls appear to be positioning for shares in NextEra to hit fresh record highs by expiration. The stock today is up 1.2% at $80.10 as of 1:05 p.m. ET. Traders appear to have purchased more than 750 calls at the Sep $82.5 strike for an average premium of $1.44 each. The bullish trade makes money at expiration as long as shares in NextEra rally 4.8% over the current price of $80.10 to top the average breakeven point at $83.94. NEE shares in…
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Deal Announcement Spurs Action In Gannett Co. Options
by Option Review - June 13th, 2013 8:44 pm
Today’s tickers: GCI, KO & MYGN
GCI - Gannett Co., Inc. – Shares in USA Today publisher, Gannett Co., Inc., jumped nearly 30% at the start of the trading session to a five-year high of $25.69 after the company agreed to purchase Belo Corp. for $1.5 billion in cash and assume $715 million in existing debt. The merger will make Gannett the fourth-largest U.S. owner of major network affiliates, doubling the company’s existing broadcast portfolio from 23 to 43 stations, according to a press release issued by the companies. The announcement and subsequent double-digit percentage move in the price of GCI shares sparked heavier than usual options activity on the stock today. Upwards of 9,500 contracts have changed hands on Gannett as of 11:50 a.m. ET versus average daily volume of around 2,100 contracts. It looks like some traders are purchasing put options on Gannett today, perhaps positioning for shares in the name to surrender some of the gains in the near term. Front month put buyers looked to the Jun $25 and $26 strikes, picking up around $350 of the $25 strike puts for an average premium of $0.82 apiece, and buying 200 of the $26 strike puts at a premium of $1.15 each. Traders may profit at expiration next week should shares in GCI decline 5.9% and 3.3% from today’s high of $25.69 to breach average breakeven points on the downside at $24.18 and $24.85, respectively. Similar strategies were initiated in the Jul $24 and $25 strike put options in the early going on Thursday.
KO - Coca-Cola Co. – Mixed trading in weekly options on Coca-Cola Co. this morning suggests some traders are positioning for shares in the world’s largest beverage company to move ahead of the weekend. The stock is currently down 1.25% at $39.89 as of 12:10 p.m. ET, even as U.S. stocks rebound following three consecutive days of declines. One trader betting shares in KO reverse declines by expiration appears to have purchased around 1,300 calls at the Jun 14 ’13 $40 strike…
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Bulls Snap Up Weekly Calls On Hewlett-Packard
by Option Review - June 12th, 2013 8:22 pm
Today’s tickers: HPQ, VFC & CTB
HPQ - Hewlett-Packard Co. – Bullish options are changing hands on PC and printer maker, Hewlett-Packard Co., this morning, with shares in the name up sharply on comments from CEO, Meg Whitman, at the company’s Discover Conference in Las Vegas. Shares are currently up the most in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, trading higher by 3.1% at $25.00 as of 11:50 a.m. ET. The stock earlier rallied more than 5.0% to touch a new 52-week high of $25.49. Traders positioning for shares in HPQ to extend gains during the next couple of trading sessions snapped up weekly calls on the stock straight out of the gate this morning. The most active weekly calls by volume are the Jun 14 ’13 $25.5 strike contracts, with around 3,200 calls traded before midday in New York. It looks like most of the calls were purchased, with roughly 1,000 of the total volume picked up by one strategist at a premium of $0.23 each. The trader stands ready to profit at expiration should shares in the HPQ settle above the breakeven price of $25.73. The Jun 14 ’13 $26 strike calls are also active today, with around 350 lots purchased at an average premium of $0.08 apiece.
VFC - VF Corp. – Shares in the owner of a portfolio of well-known apparel and footwear brands, including The North Face, Timberland and Seven for All Mankind, rallied 0.80% to a new all-time high of $189.60 this morning following the company’s Investor Day conference on Tuesday. VF Corp. yesterday outlined revenue and growth targets and strategic initiatives. Analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott maintain a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock and raised their target price to $210.00 from $188.00. Fresh interest in July expiry puts on VFC this morning suggests one or more options traders are bracing for the price of the underlying to potentially decline during the next five weeks. The most actively traded contracts today are the Jul $180 puts, with upwards of 1,000 contracts in play versus…
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Put Options Active On AmerisourceBergen
by Option Review - June 11th, 2013 6:48 pm
Today’s tickers: ABC, VNDA & DMND
ABC - AmerisourceBergen Corp – Shares in AmerisourceBergen are up 2.4% today and nearly 30% year to date, but options in play on the stock suggest one or more traders are bracing for the price of the underlying to potentially pull back during the next couple of months. Shares are currently hovering around $55.00 as of 12:45 p.m. ET, helped higher by an upgrade to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Market Perform’ at Leerink Swann yesterday. The most actively traded options on ABC are the Aug $50 puts, with upwards of 18,000 contracts traded thus far in the session against open interest of just 160 contracts. Time and sales data suggests much of the volume was purchased for an average premium of $0.88 each, thus positioning buyers to profit should shares in ABC drop more than 10% from the current level to breach the average breakeven point on the downside at $49.12 by August expiration. Shares in AmerisourceBergen last traded below $49.12 in March.
VNDA - Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – Far out of the money call buying on Vanda Pharmaceuticals today indicates some traders are positioning for shares in the name to extend gains in the near term, with the stock up more than 18% on the session at a new three-year high of $11.94 as of 12:30 p.m. ET. The stock moved up sharply today after hedge fund, Baker Bros. Advisors, LLC, disclosed in a 13G filing a 13.99% stake in the company, roughly double the number of shares held by the fund as of the end of March 2013. Shares in VNDA have rallied approximately 120% since mid-May. Options players betting the price of the underlying has more room to run ahead of June expiration snapped up several hundred calls at the Jun $13 and $14 strikes on Tuesday morning. It looks like traders picked up around 500 calls at the $13 strike for an average premium of $0.65 each, and purchased some 300 lots at the higher $14 strike at an average premium…
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Options Change Hands On Diamond Foods Ahead Of Earnings
by Option Review - June 10th, 2013 9:11 pm
Today’s tickers: DMND, XLB & CLDX
DMND - Diamond Foods, Inc. – Bullish options in play on the maker of Pop Secret® popcorn and other packaged consumer food products look for shares in Diamond Foods to rally in the near term. Shares in DMND are up 2.8% at $16.70 as of 12:45 p.m. ET, moving higher ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings report after the closing bell. The stock is off its 2013 high of $17.99 reached back in March, but is still at a more than 20% premium to where the shares closed on December 31st of last year. Despite the recent rally in the stock, shares in the name are still down more than 80% since September of 2011. Traders positioning for shares to rally snapped up Jun $17 strike calls straight out of the gate this morning, picking up around 3,000 contracts for an average premium of $0.65 apiece. Call buyers may profit at expiration should the price of the underlying rise 5.6% over the current price of $16.70 to top the average breakeven point at $17.65.
XLB - Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF – Shares in the XLB are up 0.55% at $40.38 on Monday afternoon, rebounding somewhat after last week touching down to the lowest level since May 2nd. Options changing hands on the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF early in the session suggest some traders are positioning for the price of the underlying to decline during the next few months. Upwards of 10,000 puts traded at the Sep $40 strike versus open interest of 3,942 contracts this morning, with much of the volume purchased for an average premium of $1.67 each. The largest print was the purchase of a block of 6,000 of the $40 puts at a premium of $1.68 per contract. Put buyers stand ready to profit at September expiration should the price of the underlying fund decline 5.0% from the current level to trade…
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Options Volume Pops On CA Inc. As Stock Hits Highest Since 2005
by Option Review - June 7th, 2013 9:04 pm
Today’s tickers: CA, GME & DGX
CA - CA, Inc. – Shares in the provider of IT management solutions rallied to the highest level since 2005 this morning, gaining as much as 6.6% in the early going to hit $29.83. An analyst at RBC Capital Markets raised his target price on the sector perform rated stock to $30.00 from $26.00 today. Options on CA Technologies are far more active than usual today, with volume in excess of 11,000 contracts versus average daily volume of around 500 contracts. June and July expiry calls also attracted heavier than usual trading traffic on Thursday, with much of the volume changing hands within minutes of the closing bell. Buyers of front month calls yesterday afternoon are seeing big overnight gains in the value of their positions today. The most-traded contracts by volume on CA yesterday were the Jun $28 strike calls. It looks like one or more traders may have purchased roughly 7,000 of the $28 calls for an average premium of $0.45 apiece. These contracts are currently trading at $1.35 each as of 11:15 a.m. ET, down from an earlier high of $2.00 in premium apiece. A burst of activity near the close of trading on Thursday occurred in the July expiry calls as well, with around 1,400 lots purchased at the $28 strike for an average premium of $0.80 each, and 500 calls picked up at each of the $29 and $30 strikes at average premiums of $0.40 and $0.20 apiece, respectively. The $28, $29 and $30 strike calls today are trading at $1.70, $1.10 and $0.65 per contract as of the time of this writing. Buyers of the bullish options yesterday have in some cases seen a three-fold increase in the value of their contracts overnight. Finally, traders positioning for shares in CA to extends gains snapped up calls on the stock straight out of the gate on Friday. Much of the volume is concentrated in the July expiry options, with calls purchased across the several in and out of the money striking prices.
GME - GameStop Corp. – Video game retailer, GameStop Corp., is in rally mode on Friday, with shares up as much as 8.2%…
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Options On VeriFone Eye Further Weakness As Stock Tumbles To Multi-Year Low
by Option Review - June 6th, 2013 9:37 pm
Today’s tickers: PAY, SWK & VMW
PAY - VeriFone Systems, Inc. – Shares in electronic payment systems and services provider, VeriFone, are getting slammed on Thursday after the company yesterday forecast third-quarter revenue and earnings well below average analyst estimates. The stock dropped nearly 20% today to $17.70, the lowest level since May of 2010. Shares are currently down 18% on the day at $18.00 as of 11:45 a.m. ET. Traders positioning for shares in VeriFone Systems to extend losses in the near term picked up June and July expiry put options this morning. Put buying at the Jun $16 and $17 strikes position traders to profit from further selling pressure in the shares ahead of expiration in two weeks. It looks like bears purchased around 200 of the Jun $16 strike puts for an average premium of $0.16 each and around 350 of the Jun $17 strike puts at an average premium of $0.37 apiece. Meanwhile, sizable volume in the July expiry puts appears to be the work of one or more traders taking profits and initiating fresh bearish positions on the stock. More than 2,000 puts changed hands at the Jul $23 strike against open interest of 4,106 contracts in the early going this morning. Open interest in the $23 puts increased during the first half of this week, with around 2,500 lots purchased on Monday and Tuesday for an average premium of $1.63 each, according to time and sales data. The sharp drop in the price of the underlying overnight now finds the deep in the money put options changing hands at $4.90 apiece as of midday in New York. Prints in the $23 puts within 10 minutes of the opening bell today indicates traders sold more than 1,400 of the puts for an average premium of $4.55 apiece. Finally, bears anticipating continued weakness in the price of the underlying going forward snapped up 2,000 puts at the Jul $18 strike for an average premium of $1.20 each. Buyers of these contracts stand ready to profit at expiration next month should shares in VeriFone decline another 6.7% from the current level of $18.00…
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Options In Play On Fairway Ahead Of Earnings
by Option Review - June 5th, 2013 8:17 pm
Today’s tickers: FWM, APA & JCP
FWM - Fairway Group Holdings Corp. – Shares in food retailer, Fairway, are up slightly on Wednesday, trading 0.20% higher on the session at $20.92 as of 11:25 a.m. ET ahead of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report on Thursday before the open, Fairway’s first quarterly release since becoming a publicly traded company on April 17th. The stock gained more than 30% to close at $17.50 on its first day trading in the secondary market and has since rallied another 20% to current levels. Fairway popped up on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner early in the trading session after one trader purchased front month puts on the stock. It looks like the strategist is bracing for shares in FWM to potentially drop after earnings, buying 40 of the Jun $20 strike puts for a premium of $0.70 per contract. The trade makes money if shares in Fairway decline more than 7.0% from the current price of $20.92 to breach the effective breakeven point on the downside at $19.30 by June expiration. Shares in Fairway last week touched a record high of $22.50.
APA - Apache Corp. – An upgrade to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ with a target share price of $105.00 from $90.00 at Deutsche Bank helped lift shares in Apache this morning, with the stock rising as much as 2.3% during the first half of the session to $86.31.Weekly options in play on Apache today, however, suggests some traders are positioning for the price of the underlying to surrender today’s gains and then some during the next couple of sessions. The energy company’s shares have rallied sharply in recent weeks, up better than 25% in the past six weeks since touching down at a 52-week low of $67.91 on April 22nd. Near-term bearish options are most active at the Jun 07 ’13 $82.5 strike where upwards of 2,000 puts have changed hands against open interest of 259 contracts. It looks like most of the volume was purchased in the early going for…
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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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