Guest View
User: Pass: | become a member
Posts Tagged ‘AFL’

Bullish Call on Lubrizol Ahead of Deal Drives Big Payday

www.interactivebrokers.com

 Today’s tickers: LZ, AFL, CIGX & TSL

LZ - Lubrizol Corp. – It looks like a well-timed bullish bet on Lubrizol Corp. initiated in April contract calls less than one week ago paid off big time for one options strategist following the announcement of Berkshire Hathaway’s $9 billion acquisition of the specialty-chemicals company this morning. Shares in Lubrizol Corp. shot up as much as 27.3% during the session to hit an intraday and all-time high of $134.20, which is just 80 pennies shy of the $135.00 a share deal reported today. Options volume on the stock is heaviest at the April $110 strike where one trader appears to have raked profits in off of the table within the first 20 minutes of the opening bell. Open interest patterns at that strike suggest around 2,650 calls were picked up for an average premium of $2.35 per contract back on March 9, 2011, when shares in the Lubrizol closed the session at a $106.55. The purchase of the calls, which were the closest-to-the-money contracts available at the time of the transaction, cost the investor around $622,750. Since then, news of the deal with Berkshire Hathaway sent shares in the chemical company soaring, driving up the value of the now deep in-the-money April $110 call options. It looks like the investor sold the 2,650 calls this morning at a premium of $23.90 per contract. Net profits on the sale amount to $21.55 per contract, or a grand total of $5,710,750. Lubrizol’s overall reading of options implied volatility came crashing down today, and currently stands 88.3% lower at 3.75% as of 11:35am in New York.

AFL - Aflac, Inc. – Shares in the U.S.-based insurance provider, which provides health and life insurance to a large portion of the Japanese population, fell 3.80% to $53.44 by 1:00pm in New York trading. The stock earlier declined more than 6.0% to touch down at an intraday low of $52.12. Investors bracing for further bearish movement in Aflac’s shares picked up April $50 strike…
continue reading


Tags: , , ,




Bullish Strategist Positions for Rebound in Plains Exploration & Production Co. Shares

www.interactivebrokers.com

Bullish strategist positions for rebound in Plains Exploration & Production Co. shares

Today’s tickers: PXP, MRVL, SRE, RIMM, MU, AFL, BMY & DELL

PXP – Plains Exploration & Production Co. – The implementation of a three-legged bullish options combination play on Plains Exploration & Production Co. drew our attention to the November contract where one investor utilized call and put options to position for a rebound in the price of the underlying stock. Shares of the independent oil and gas company soured in late afternoon trading, slipping 3.2% lower to stand at $20.98 by 3:35 pm (ET). PXP’s current price of $20.98 represents a 40.4% decline in value since April 15, 2010, when the stock touched an intraday high of $35.41. But, the options activity observed in the November contract today indicates one trader is expecting the stock to rebound sharply ahead of expiration in five months time. The investor essentially sold short put options in order to partially finance the purchase of a debit call spread. The trader purchased 10,000 calls at the November $22.5 strike for a premium of $2.45 each, sold 10,000 calls at the higher November $28 strike for a premium of $0.70 each, and finally sold 10,000 puts at the November $17.5 strike for a premium of $1.30 a-pop. The net cost of the transaction amounts to $0.45 per contract. Thus, the investor responsible for the three-legged play is positioned to make money as long as PXP’s shares rally 9.4% to surpass the effective breakeven price of $22.95 by expiration day in November. Maximum potential profits of $5.05 per contract are available to the trader if Plains’ shares surge 33.5% to surpass $28.00 by November expiration.

MRVL – Marvell Technology Group Ltd. – Global semiconductor maker, Marvell Technology Group Ltd., popped up on our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner in the second half of the trading session due to rampant bearish options activity in the July and August contracts. Marvell’s shares edged 1.50% lower this afternoon to stand at $17.11 just ahead of the closing bell. Pessimistic traders expecting shares to continue lower ahead of July expiration sold 3,100 calls at the July $17 strike for an average premium of $0.74 each. Call selling spread to the August $15 strike where 2,300 in-the-money calls were sold at an average premium of $2.52 per contract. Perhaps in-the-money call sellers are hoping to keep…
continue reading


Tags: , , , , , , ,




Put Sellers Endorse AFLAC Rally

www.interactivebrokers.com

Today’s tickers: AFL, IYR, ENDP, ABC, GE, & DOW

AFL – The world’s largest seller of supplemental health insurance reported that second-quarter profits fell 35% on “larger-than-usual realized investment losses”. Despite the decline in earnings, options activity on the stock today revealed bullish sentiment by investors amid a more than 8% rally in shares to $38.34. Traders hoping for further upward momentum purchased 1,200 calls at the September 40 strike price for an average premium of 1.37 apiece. Call-buyers will profit if shares of AFL climb 8% higher and surpass the breakeven point at $41.37 by expiration. Additional bullish positioning was seen at the November 35 strike price where 5,000 puts were shed for 2.63 per contract. Investors short the put options receive premium in exchange for bearing the risk that shares decline by expiration. If the puts land in-the-money, traders would have shares of the underlying put to them at an effective price of $32.37. Otherwise, these put-sellers retain the full 2.63 premium. – AFLAC, Inc.

IYR – Shares of the U.S. real estate exchange-traded fund have moved nearly 4.5% higher during today’s trading session to stand at $36.14. Contrarian option traders flooded the ETF, despite the surge in shares, and drove the put-to-call ratio up to more than 19-to-1. The favored approach taken by bearish investors today was the plain-vanilla put spread. The first of two trades up for discussion involved the purchase of 3,000 puts at the September 36 strike price for a premium of 2.00 apiece spread against the sale of 3,000 puts at the lower September 33 strike for 85 cents each. The net cost of the trade amounts to 1.15 and yields maximum potential profits of 1.85 per contract if shares slip to $33.00 by expiration. A much larger put spread was established further out in the January 2010 contract. The trade may have been the work of an investor seeking downside protection on a long position in the underlying. Otherwise, the trader responsible for the spread is hoping to amass profits on bearish movement in the stock. The transaction involved the purchase of 40,000 puts at the January 30 strike price for 1.97 each, spread against the sale of 40,000 puts at the lower January 25 strike for an average premium of 77 cents per contract. The net cost amounts to 1.20 to the investor who will realize maximum gains of 3.80
continue reading


Tags: , , , , ,




 
 
 

Zero Hedge

What Did Obama Know About The IRS (And When)?

Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.

Submitted by Tyler Durden.

Amid the sound and fury of yesterday's IRS hearing were a few small tidbits which raise significant questions about who knew what and when within the Obama administration. While getting the answer (the real honest truth) is highly unlikely, as the Wall Street Journal notes, the IRS's watchdog told top Treasury officials around June 2012 (when Republican lawmakers were complaining publicly about alleged IRS targeting of tea-party groups) he was investigating allegations the tax agency had targeted conservative groups, for the first time indicating that Obama admini...



more from Tyler

Phil's Favorites

Poll Shows 46% in UK Want to Exit EU, 30% Want to Stay In

Courtesy of Mish.

By a wide margin, but not quite a majority (yet), Let's quit EU say 46 per cent of voters in poll. Asked the exact question Conservatives want to put the public in the 2017 referendum – “Do you think that the UK should remain a member of the EU” – 46 per cent opt to come out, a higher figure than in other recent surveys.

Just 30 per cent say they want to remain.

In a further boost for the eurosceptic cause, 44 per cent want an “in/out” referendum immediately, although 29 per cent are prepared to wait until 2017, David Cameron's preferred option.

The headline figure using ICM’s “Wisdom Index” method – which asks voters to predict the result of the ...



more from Ilene

Chart School

Best Stock Market Indicator Ever: Unchanged at 96%; Secondaries Confirm ’Tradable’

Courtesy of Doug Short.

Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.

The $OEXA200R Monthly (the percentage of S&P 100 stocks above their 200 DMA) is a technical indicator available on StockCharts.com used to find the "sweet spot" time period in the market when you have the best chance of making money. See Is This the Best Stock Market Indicator Ever? for a discussion of this technical tool.

The charts below are current through the week's close.


Monthly OEXA200R Over the Past Few Years

Interpretation:

The OEXA200R ended the week un...



more from Chart School

Insider Scoop

Benzinga Market Primer: Tuesday, May 14

Courtesy of Benzinga.

Futures Slightly Lower on Mixed European Data

U.S. equity futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade following mixed economic data out of the eurozone. The moves follow basically flat trading on Wall Street from Monday after futures rallied into the open following weaker than expected Chinese data.

Top News

In other news around the markets:

  • The German ZEW Economic Sentiment Index rose to 36.4 in May from 36.3 in April but missed expectations of a gain to 38.3. The current conditions index was also weak and over 77 percent of respondents said they do not expect another rate cut in the next six months.
  • Industrial Productio...


http://www.insidercow.com/ more from Insider

All About Trends

Mid-Day Update

Reminder: David is available to chat with Members, comments are found below each post.

Click here for the full report.




To learn more, sign up for David's free newsletter and receive the free report from All About Trends - "How To Outperform 90% Of Wall Street With Just $500 A Week." Tell David PSW sent you. - Ilene...

more from David

Sabrient

Sector Detector: Investors stay focused on their Silver Linings Playbook

Courtesy of Sabrient Systems and Gradient Analytics

It seems that every Tuesday in 2013 since January 8 has been positive on the Dow. And this past Tuesday was no exception. Now that sounds like a trend to put money on -- buy the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) at the close each Monday and close out the position late on Tuesday.

The Dow and S&P 500 both hit new all-time highs once again on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq hit its highest level since November 2000. The “risk on” allocation of new investment capital into cyclicals continues, although Wednesday saw leadership from defensive sectors Consumer Staples, Utilities, and Telecom, along with Financials. Nevertheless, ConvergEx reports that the average correlation of the ten S&P business sectors to the overall index averaged 82% last month. While that is below the 86% averag...



more from Sabrient

Option Review

Busy Day For Bristol-Myers Options As Shares Sprint Higher

Options brief will resume May 20th, 2013.

Today’s tickers: BMY, TIBX & WM

BMY - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. – Shares in drug maker, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., are ripping higher today, up 6.5% at $44.94, the highest level in more than a decade, ahead of the release of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2013 Annual Meeting abstracts tonight. The ASCO Annual Meeting begins on May 31st in Chicago. Options on BMY are far more active than usual today, with overall volume topping 64,000 contracts by 12:25 p.m. ET, versus average daily volume of around 11,400 c...



more from Caitlin

Market Montage

SPX Reaching Historical Extremes on Weekly/Monthly Chart

Submitted by Mark Hanna

Courtesy of MarketMontage. View original post here.

We are starting to see some very extreme readings on our monthly and weekly index charts since there has been no correction this year.  I posted below first the monthly chart of the S&P 500 going back 15 years showing bollinger bands – rarely do we get above the upper one, and never have we been this far above.  Then below that I posted (with 4 charts of 4 years each) the weekly data and you can see we are at a rare time we are above the weekly bollinger band as well.  This non stop rally is getting very historical.

Monthly – we've never been this far a...



more from Mark

OpTrader

Swing trading portfolio - week of May 13th, 2013

Reminder: OpTrader is available to chat with Members, comments are found below each post.

This post is for all our live virtual trade ideas and daily comments. Please click on "comments" below to follow our live discussion. All of our current  trades are listed in the spreadsheet below, with entry price (1/2 in and All in), and exit prices (1/3 out, 2/3 out, and All out).

We also indicate our stop, which is most of the time the "5 day moving average". All trades, unless indicated, are front-month ATM options. 

Please feel free to participate in the discussion and ask any questions you might have about this virtual portfolio, by clicking on the "comments" link right below.

To learn more about the swing trading virtual portfolio (strategy, performance, FAQ, etc.), please click here

Optrader 

...

more from OpTrader

ETF Selector

Stock Market Gets Big News After Friday’s Close

Courtesy of John Nyaradi.

Stock market posts another record setting week, but the big news came after Friday’s close.

Courtesy of NASA

The stock market put on another record setting show with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA) closing at a record high 15,118 and the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) closing at 1633.70, another all time closing high.

For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA) gained 1%, the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) climbed 1.2%, the Nasdaq Composite (NYSEARCA:...



more from John

Stock World Weekly

Stock World Weekly

NEW: Newsletter writers are available to chat with Members regarding topics presented in SWW, comments are found below each post.

Here's the new Stock World Weekly newsletter. Please sign in with your user name and password for PSW, or sign up for a free trial. Thanks! 

...

more from SWW

Pharmboy

Give Them an Inch, They Will Take a Mile

Reminder: Pharmboy is available to chat with Members, comments are found below each post.

Well, well, well....it is good to know that there are others in the scientific arena who believed that YMI Bioscience's data (cough - Gilead) is a better drug than Incyte's Jakafi.  Now, the definitive data are still unknown, but there was enough evidence from a Phase 2 trial to take a small risk for a huge reward.  So, let's forget about Apple (AAPL), and do nothing but biotechs from now until Congress passes universal health care coverage for prescriptions....and drive the prices down so that research and development is no longer feasible to conduct in the US. Even Seattle Genetics (SGEN) has been on a tear as of late...



more from Pharmboy

IRA Strategy/Income Trader

Virtual Portfolios Update - 11/18/2012

FAS Money

$25KPA

$25KPM

AAPL Money

Peter's Strangle Portfolio

Income Portfolio

...

more from Strategies




FeedTheBull - Top Stock market and Finance Sites



About Phil:

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...

Learn more About Phil >>


As Seen On:




About Ilene:

Ilene is editor and affiliate program coordinator for PSW. She manages the Favorites backup site (blogroll, archives, more). Contact Ilene to learn about our affiliate and content sharing programs.

Favorites Site >>