Rumor Mill Drives Heavy Action In Valero Options
by Option Review - October 26th, 2011 1:42 pm
Today’s tickers: VLO, EBAY, TMO & TRGT
VLO - Valero Energy Corp. – Reports of takeover chatter fueled frenzied trading in Valero Energy Corp. options, with volume in VLO topping 83,000 contracts by 12:05 pm in New York. Shares in the producer of gasoline, jet fuel and other refined products surged 11.1% to $24.28 in early-afternoon trade. Call options are changing hands at a rate of more than three contracts to each single put option in play on the stock. November and December contracts are the most heavily trafficked thus far in the session, although options plays are present in each available expiry. While trading in Nov. and Dec. calls is mixed, there does appear to be a bullish bias to the transactions. Investors snapped up calls at the Nov. $24, $25, $26 and $27 strikes to position for continued bullish movement in the price of the underlying through expiration next month. The Nov. $25 strike call has generated the most volume, with more than 3,500 contracts having changed hands so far today. It appears buyers of the Nov. $25 strike call picked up more than 1,800 lots for an average premium of $0.99 each. Traders long the contracts may profit at expiration day if shares in VLO rally another 4.7% to surpass the average breakeven price of $25.99. Investors hoping to see sharp gains in the stock over the next few weeks purchased around 515 calls up at the Nov. $31 strike for an average premium of $0.09 each. Premium paid to get long the calls may be lost and gone forever in the event that shares are trading below those levels come expiration day in a few weeks time. Valero Energy Corp. is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings before the opening bell on November 1.
EBAY - eBay, Inc. – Bearish activity in eBay, Inc. options this morning suggests one strategist may profit if shares in the provider of online marketplaces and secure payment services decline substantially within the next four weeks. Meanwhile, trading traffic in November contract call options may be the work of an investor throwing in the towel on hopes for a sharp near-term rally in the price of the underlying. Shares in EBAY slipped 2.75% to $30.80 by 11:30 am in New York. Volume in eBay’s options is heaviest at the Nov. $29 strike, where it appears one trader purchased around 6,000 puts for an average premium of…
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DiggCrowd Forms Around Clorox Call Options
by Option Review - July 11th, 2011 6:05 pm
Today’s tickers: CLX, IGT, EBAY & NVLS
CLX - Clorox Co. – Bullish options activity on the manufacturer and marketer of a range of consumer goods jumped this afternoon with shares in Clorox Company rising 5.6% to $71.94. Clorox has been the subject of takeover chatter on several occasions over the years, which in the past tended to drive up the price of the underlying as well as call volume and options implied volatility. No rumors have come to our attention today, but shares are soaring, calls are in high demand and implied volatility is up sharply by 82.6% to arrive at 25.20% by 1:55 pm ET. Options traders are piling into Clorox calls to buy into the rapid rise in the price of the underlying. Volume is heaviest at the July $70 strike where more than 4,200 now deep in-the-money calls changed hands against open interest of 2,322 contracts. Most of the calls at this strike were purchased by first-responders for an average premium of just $0.40 each. The huge run-up in volatility and rally in share price has lifted premium on the July $70 strike calls up to $1.90 each this afternoon. Bulls tacked August contract calls, as well. Traders purchased the majority of the 1,285 calls exchanged at the August $72.5 strike for an average premium of $0.44 a-pop. Investors long the calls profit in the event that shares exceed the average breakeven price of $72.94 through August expiration. Shares in Clorox Co. reached their current all-time high of $72.43 back on February 11. The maker of bleach and Burt’s Bees® personal care products reports fourth-quarter earnings ahead of the opening bell on August 3.
IGT - International Game Technology – Options on International Game Technology, which were popular with strategists positioning for shares in the maker of…
eBay Call Options Active Ahead of Earnings
by Option Review - April 25th, 2011 5:40 pm
Today’s tickers: EBAY, NTAP, GT & BONT
EBAY - eBay, Inc. – At least one bullish options strategist is positioning for a rally in eBay’s shares ahead of the company’s first-quarter earnings report after the final bell on Wednesday. Shares in the operator of online marketplaces increased as much as 3.1% during the first half of the session to secure an intraday high of $32.94. It looks like one or more investors initiated debit call spreads, buying around 2,000 calls at the June $34 strike for an average premium of $1.04 per contract, and selling roughly 2,000 calls up at the June $36 strike at an average premium of $0.44 apiece. The average net cost of buying the spread amounts to $0.60 per contract. Thus, investors employing call spreads start making money in the event that eBay’s shares rally another 5.0% over today’s high of $32.94 to surpass the average breakeven price of $34.60 by expiration day in June. Maximum potential profits of $1.40 per contract are available on the position if the price of the underlying stock jumps 9.3% to exceed $36.00 at expiration. EBAY’s shares secured a 52-week high of $35.35 back on February 17, 2011.
NTAP - NetApp, Inc. – The provider of enterprise storage and data management software and hardware products and services appeared on our scanners today after sizable prints popped up in long-dated call and put options. Shares in NetApp are currently up 2.1% at $52.10 just after 11:45am. The stock was upgraded to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Sector Perform’ with a 12-month target share price of $64.00 at Pacific Crest this morning. Activity in NetApp LEAPS indicates one options player expects the price of the underlying to improve going forward. It looks like the trader initiated a bullish risk reversal, selling approximately 5,500 puts at the…
Vale Options Combination Play
by Option Review - February 17th, 2011 4:08 pm
Today’s tickers: VALE, BID, EBAY & YGE
VALE - Vale S.A. – Earlier we reported that a large-volume three-legged bearish transaction had taken place on iron ore producer, Vale. Market sources have since informed us that the direction of the trade is the reverse of what had been indicated by raw time and sales data. The new information regarding the transaction alters our interpretation of the spread to bullish from the previously reported bearish view. Shares in the Brazilian firm increased as much as 0.82% during the session to secure an intraday high of $35.60, but are currently trading 0.20% high on the session at $35.38 as of 2:50pm. The options investor responsible for most of the volume in options exchanged on Vale today reportedly sold a large number of puts on the stock in order to buy in- and out-of-the-money call options in the May contract. The investor paid a net $2.24 per contract, selling 23,000 May $30 strike puts in order to buy 11,500 May $35 strike calls and another 11,500 calls up at the May $40 strike. The transaction positions the trader to benefit from bullish movement in the price of the underlying shares heading into Vale’s fourth-quarter earnings report on February 24, 2011, through to expiration day in May.
BID - Sotheby’s Holdings Inc. – One options player pocketed big profits on a well-timed bullish bet in Sotheby’s calls this morning. The auctioneers’ shares are currently up 0.2% at $48.34 as of 11:30am in New York, but hit a 6-month high of $49.03 yesterday, driving the stock’s run up to 86.4% since August 31, 2010. The gavel-bearer populating Sotheby’s today initiated a bullish bet back on January 25, 2011, when shares in the name encountered a bump in rally-road and slipped to a three-month low of $38.23.…
Bullish Player Rigs Up Call Spread on Oil Services HOLDRS Trust
by Option Review - January 18th, 2011 4:19 pm
Today’s tickers: OIH, AFFY, CAT, EBAY, IYT & RIG
OIH - Oil Services HOLDRS Trust – Shares in the Oil Services HOLDRS Trust are up 0.50% in the final hour of trading to secure an intraday- and new 52-week high of $147.34. One options player expecting shares to continue to hit new highs through February expiration initiated a debit call spread. Shares in the OIH, an issuer of depository receipts known as Oil Service HOLDRS that represent ownership in the common stock of companies engaged in drilling, well-site management and other services for the oil service industry, are up 5.25% year-to-date, and have surged 57.75% since touching down at a six-month low of $93.36 on July 1, 2010. The optimistic options trader looked to out-of-the-money calls expiring next month, buying 3,600 calls at the February $155 strike for a premium of $1.48 each, and selling the same number of calls up at the February $160 strike at a premium of $0.58 apiece. Net premium paid to initiate the spread amounts to $0.90 per contract. Thus, the investor is prepared to make money should the price of the underlying shares rally another 5.8% over today’s high of $147.34 to surpass the effective breakeven price of $155.90 by expiration day in February. Maximum potential profits of $4.10 per contract are available to the call-spreader should shares in the OIH jump 8.6% to trade above $160.00 before the contracts expire. Options implied volatility inched up 3.2% to 26.42% by 3:55pm in New York.
AFFY - Affymetrix, Inc. – Investors are buying call options on the biotechnology company today with shares in the Santa Clara, CA-based firm rising as much as 7.6% during the session to an intraday- and 6-month high of $5.67. Bullish players expecting shares in Affymetrix to continue to rally picked up…
Bull Constructs Three-Legged Spread on Beazer Homes USA
by Option Review - January 12th, 2011 4:05 pm
Today’s tickers: BZH, HBC, MON, EBAY, ELX & PMCS
BZH - Beazer Homes USA, Inc. – A three-legged options combination play initiated on the homebuilder that designs, sells and builds single-family and multi-family homes in the U.S. indicates one strategist sees shares improving ahead of August expiration. Shares in Beazer Homes USA rose 1.5% this afternoon to $5.99 in the final hour of the session. The homebuilding company will reveal its performance for the first quarter before the market opens for trading on February 4, 2011. The investor responsible for the bullish spread sold 5,000 puts at the August $4.0 strike for a premium of $0.25 each, purchased 5,000 calls at the August $6.0 strike for a premium of $1.05 a-pop, and sold the same number of calls at the higher August $7.0 strike at a premium of $0.60 apiece. The net cost of putting on the trade amounts to $0.20 per contract. Thus, the trader stands ready to make money should shares in BZH rally 3.5% over the current price of $5.99 to surpass the effective breakeven point to the upside at $6.20 by expiration day. Maximum potential profits of $0.80 per contract are available to the trader if the homebuilder’s shares surge 16.9% to trade above $7.00 by the time the contracts expire in August. Selling the upper-strike calls as well as the out-of-the-money put options greatly reduced the cost of taking a bullish stance on the stock. The sale of the August $4.0 strike put options suggests this trader is more than willing to bear the risk of having 500,000 shares of the underlying stock put to him at $4.00 each should the puts land in-the-money at expiration.
HBC - HSBC Holdings PLC – Some investors trading options on the financial services firm are positioning for the price of the underlying to appreciate in the next couple of months, while others appear to be taking profits off the table today. Shares in London-based HSBC Holdings increased as much as 4.9% during the current…
New IRS Reporting Rules to Hit eBay and Paypal; Government Crackdown on Trinket Sellers; Campaign Bribes and Tax Policy
by ilene - September 20th, 2010 4:45 am
New IRS Reporting Rules to Hit eBay and Paypal; Government Crackdown on Trinket Sellers; Campaign Bribes and Tax Policy
Courtesy of Mish
Inquiring minds are interested in 2011 tax policy changes that will affect sellers of merchandise on eBay. John R writes ….
Starting next year Paypal will have to start reporting to the IRS. The selling limits will be 200 items or $20K before they report. This tax change was part of the ’08 stimulus.
Reporting on 200 items annually is a real killer. That’s a mere 17 items a month. We’ve already shut our eBay business down. It’s simply not worth the effort.
Most eBay/auction site margins are extremely low. Thus, I wonder how many people will set up a business, keep the books, pay state and federal taxes, just to make a few bucks.
Thanks,
John
New Form 1099-K will debut for 2011 tax year
John is discussing eBay Sellers and Tax Changes
Tax time is upon us again, and this year the IRS has a bit of a warning for eBay sellers: next year you’ll be on the hook for the taxes you owe.
Enter the 2011 Form 1099-K
Though sellers won’t have to change their filing habits in 2010, a new Form 1099-K for 2011 promises to change income reporting by online sellers. The draft Form 1099-K for 2011implements payments reporting to the IRS for PayPal and credit card merchants, much as already happens with forms W-2 or 1099-MISC for employees and independent contractors.
Starting in 2011, therefore, sellers will be expected to report gross payments via online or credit card payments that coincide with reported 1099-K amounts, then to make adjustments to account for expenses and cash equivalents, fees, chargebacks, refunds, and so on.
Details and Caveats
As a practical matter, if you’re an eBay seller, this will affect you unless your gross sales are under $20,000 for the year or you receive fewer than 200 transactions. Reporting for small sellers at this level is not required.
Otherwise, if you exceed this volume, you’ll be required to provide tax identification information (SSN or EIN number, for example) to payment processors like PayPal and will be expected by the IRS to account in your return for the amounts reported on your 1099-K form(s).
The 1099-K form wasn’t introduced for the 2010 tax year, so as you do your taxes this year, enjoy
…
Contrarian Player Sees Visa Recovery Story Unfolding by Jan. 2012
by Option Review - September 13th, 2010 8:09 pm
Today’s tickers: V, EMC, MON, SAY, MJN, ADM, BBY, EDMC, EBAY & CHS
V – Visa, Inc. – Shares of the global payments company plunged 4.7% this afternoon to an intraday and new 52-week low of $64.90 following reports that said federal caps and pending litigation may limit Visa’s ability to increase prices. The price of the underlying was also helped lower by a downgrade to ‘market perform’ from ‘outperform’ at Sanford Bernstein, where analysts have a 12-month target price of $77.00 a share on the stock. The sharp decline in the price of the credit card issuer’s shares inspired near-term bearish options trading. More interesting, however, were the contrarian players seen initiating bullish positions in the longer-dated January 2012 contract. One optimistic strategist enacted a three-legged bullish combination play to position for a rebound in Visa’s shares. The investor appears to have sold roughly 2,500 puts at the January 2012 $50 strike for premium of $4.39 each, purchased about the same number of January 2012 $70 strike calls at an average premium of $8.37 a-pop, and sold approximately 2,500 calls at the higher January 2012 $90 strike for a premium of $2.50 apiece. The average net cost of the transaction reduces to $1.48 per contract. Thus, the contrarian player stands ready to make money should Visa’s shares jump 10.1% over today’s low of $64.90 to exceed the average breakeven price of $71.48 by expiration day. Maximum potential profits of $18.52 per contract are available to the investor should shares surge 38.7% to trade above $90.00 by January 2012 expiration. Visa’s shares last traded above $90.00 back on May 4, 2010. Options implied volatility on Visa, Inc. is up 10.8% at 33.75% with just over 20 minutes remaining ahead of the closing bell.
EMC – EMC Corp. – A large chunk of call options were purchased on EMC Corp. in early afternoon trading, however, it looks like the investor responsible for the transaction is taking a bearish stance on the stock rather than a bullish one. EMC’s shares rallied as much as 2.25% in the first half of the trading day to reach an intraday high of $20.43. The current 52-week high on the stock is $20.97, attained back on August 4, 2010. At first glance, the purchase of 20,000 calls at the January 2011 $21 strike at a premium of $1.00 each looks like a bullish bet by an…
Put spreader portends near-term erosion in Energy fund’s shares
by Option Review - September 10th, 2010 8:29 am
Today’s tickers: XLE, CROX, COCO, PCX, EBAY, NTAP, MW, ARG & AXL
XLE – Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF – A massive put spread purchased on the XLE, an exchange-traded fund designed to correspond to the performance of the Energy Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index, points perhaps to one investor’s expectation that the price of the fund’s shares are set to decline ahead of September expiration day. Shares of the fund are currently up 0.40% at $54.06 as of 3:45 pm ET. It looks like the pessimistic player picked up approximately 40,000 puts at the September $53 strike for an average premium of $0.21 each, and sold about the same number of puts at the lower September $52 strike at an average premium of $0.44 a-pop. Net premium paid to purchase the spread amounts to $0.23 per contract. The investor responsible for the transaction stands ready to make money if shares of the XLE fall 2.4% from the current price of $54.06 to breach the effective breakeven point at $52.77 by expiration next Friday. Maximum potential profits of $0.77 per contract – for a total of $3,080 million – are available to the trader if the XLE’s shares drop 3.8% to slip beneath $52.00 by expiration day.
CROX – Crocs, Inc. – The footwear firm’s shares plunged 15.5% in afternoon trading to touch down at an intraday low of $11.68. Sharp share price erosion spurred put buying by options traders expecting the stock to continue lower ahead of October expiration. Investors purchased approximately 5,100 now in-the-money puts at the October $12 strike for an average premium of $0.85 each. Put players make money if shares fall another 4.5% from today’s low of $11.68 to breach the average breakeven point at $11.15 by expiration day next month. Options implied volatility on the shoe maker shot up 26.7% to 66.39% as of 3:40 pm ET.
COCO – Corinthian Colleges, Inc. – Shares in for-profit university, Corinthian Colleges, Inc., shot up 14.5% to an intraday high of $5.61 this morning on speculation the company may be acquired. Options traders were quick to initiate bullish stances on the stock in case the rumors end up having some truth to them. COCO’s shares cooled slightly in afternoon trading and are currently up 9.8% on the day to stand at $5.38 as of 2:50 pm ET. Speculators hoping to see shares continue higher picked…
Bank of America Bear Cleans Up
by Option Review - May 28th, 2010 5:41 pm
Today’s tickers: BAC, FXY, VALE, ATPG, CAT, EBAY, CSCO, KG, NE & AGN
BAC – Bank of America Corp. – Activity in out-of-the-money call options on Bank of America in the first half of the trading session appears to be the work of an investor taking profits on the closing purchase of a previously established bearish short call position. BAC’s shares surrendered 1.85% today to stand at $15.88 as of 2:45 pm (ET). It looks like the investor originally sold 20,500 calls at the November $24 strike for an average premium of $0.37 per contract back on April 28, 2010, when shares of the underlying stock were trading at a volume-weighted average price of $17.73 each. In the past four weeks since the initial sale of the calls, Bank of America’s shares declined 12.12% down to the current price of $15.88. The call seller was properly positioned to benefit from share price erosion, and today was able to buy back the same call options for just $0.10 apiece. Thus, the closing purchase of the calls yields net profits of $0.27 per contract to the responsible party.
FXY – CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Index Fund – A sizeable debit call spread enacted on the FXY, an exchange-traded fund designed to reflect the price of the Japanese Yen, indicates one options strategist is expecting shares of the underlying fund to rally sharply by expiration in January 2011. Shares of the fund are currently up 0.18% at $109.14 as of 1:52 pm (ET). The investor purchased 8,709 calls at the January 2011 $110 strike for a premium of $4.40 apiece, and sold the same number of calls at the higher January 2011 $125 strike for $1.00 in premium each. The net cost of the transaction amounts to $3.40 per contract, thus dictating a breakeven price – above which profits start to accumulate – of $113.40. Shares of the FXY must rally at least 3.90% from the current value of $109.14 before the responsible party starts to make money. Maximum potential profits of $11.60 per contract are available to the spread trader if shares jump 14.53% from the current value of the fund to $125.00 in the next eight months to expiration. It does not appear the fund’s share price has ever exceeded the current 52-week high of $115.40, attained back on November 30, 2009.
VALE – Vale S.A. – Shares of the world’s largest…
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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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