Homebuilders ETF Bull Ditches Massive Call Position in the Nick of Time
by Option Review - May 7th, 2010 5:07 pm
Today’s tickers: XHB, XLV, SHW, CSCO, AMR, DD & FRX
XHB – SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF – It looks like one big options player threw in the towel on a massive bullish stance involving XHB call contracts today as shares of the underlying fund surrendered 2% to stand at $17.31 as of 1:00 pm (ET). The investor appears to have purchased roughly 50,000 calls at the January 2011 $22.5 strike for an average premium of $0.60 apiece back on April 22, 2010, when shares of the fund were trading at a volume-weighted average price of $19.04. Just four days after the purchase of the call contracts, the homebuilders fund’s share price touched a new 52-week high of $20.00. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s clear the trader would have been better off ditching the calls back on April 26, 2010. However, it seems the investor decided to sell the calls today – perhaps fearing the fund’s shares are only heading lower – for an average premium of $0.66 apiece to take in average net profits of $0.06 per contract. Again, with our hindsight coming in at a perfect 20/20, the trader made the right decision to sell the calls this morning because shares of the XHB are now down 3.1% to $17.11 as of 1:15 pm (ET), and the calls may now be sold for just $0.57 per contract. Waiting just a couple of hours more to sell the calls today would have resulted in a net loss rather than a net gain to the trader.
XLV – Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund – Shares of the XLV, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price and yield performance of the Health Care Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index, are trading 0.90% lower at $29.85 as of 12:35 pm (ET). Options traders populating the fund today are mostly placing bearish bets that shares of the underlying fund are set to decline ahead of May expiration. However, there was some notable contrarian activity in May contract calls, as well. Pessimistic players bracing for continued share price erosion picked up roughly 5,400 puts at the now in-the-money May $30 strike for an average premium of $0.56 apiece. Put buyers at this strike price make money if the XLV’s share price slips beneath the average breakeven point to the downside at $29.44 by expiration day. Buying interest continued at the more bearish…
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DiggBears Bombard Blackberry-Maker, Research in Motion
by Option Review - March 1st, 2010 5:00 pm
Today’s tickers: RIMM, CAT, MGM, F, SLM, FRX, FXI, MWW & AIG
RIMM – Research in Motion Limited – Blackberry maker, Research in Motion, attracted bearish options strategists even though the firm’s target share price was upped to $100.00 this morning from $95.00 at Canaccord Adams. RIMM opened the session higher, but slipped slightly in afternoon trading by 0.05% to $70.85. One bearish tactic employed today was the use of a plain-vanilla put spread in the March contract. The trader responsible for the transaction purchased 4,400 puts at the March $65 strike for a premium of $0.54 apiece and sold the same number of puts at the lower March $60 strike for $0.20 each. The net cost of the spread amounts to $0.34 per contract. Maximum potential profits of $4.66 per contract are available to the investor if RIMM’s share price slumps 15.30% beneath the current value to $60.00 by expiration. We note that the mobile device manufacturer’s shares last traded below $60.00 on December 4, 2009. The bearish risk reversal is another pessimistic tactic utilized today. One trader sold 5,000 calls at the April $75 strike for a premium of $2.66 each in order to purchase 5,000 puts at the lower April $70 strike for $3.80 apiece. The net cost of the reversal play amounts to $1.14 per contract. The investor stands ready to accrue profits to the downside if shares of the underlying stock trade beneath the effective breakeven point at $68.86 by expiration in April.
CAT – Caterpillar, Inc. – February marked the seventh consecutive month of manufacturing expansion in the United States; this fact, coupled with today’s jump in equities’ prices, inspired bullish options trading on machine-maker, Caterpillar. CAT’s shares rallied 1.50% during the session to $57.92 after its earnings forecast through the year 2012 were increased by analysts at Morgan Stanley. MS maintains an ‘overweight’ rating on CAT and a $70 share price target, at present. Bullish options activity appeared on the put side of the field where one investor established a credit spread. The trader sold roughly 16,300 puts at the April $55 strike for a premium of $1.38 apiece, and purchased the same number of puts at the lower April $50 strike for $0.47 each. The investor pockets a net credit of $0.91 per contract, and keeps the full amount as long as Caterpillar’s share price remains above $55.00 through expiration day in…
Testy Tuesday – Have the Markets Become Comfortably Numb?
by Phil - January 19th, 2010 8:08 am
"There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship’s smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I can’t hear what you’re saying.
When I was a child
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown,
The dream is gone.
but I have become comfortably numb." – Pink Floyd
I have a theory that the markets (and the American people in general) aren’t irrational, they are simply shell-shocked after suffering a very traumatic group financial experience…
To be shell-shocked is to be "mentally confused, upset, or exhausted as a result of excessive stress" and the most common symptoms are: Fatigue, slower reaction times, indecision, disconnection from one’s surroundings, and inability to prioritize – That certainly sounds like our Congress doesn’t it? Combat stress disorder was first diagnosed in WWI, when 10% of the troops were killed and 56% wounded – far worse than had been experienced in previous wars. Our current financial crisis has similarly affected more people than any previous crisis with almost everyone knowing someone who is bankrupt or lost their jobs or homes and almost no one escaped the carnage of the downturn without some financial damage.
Combat fatigue may go a long way to explaining the severe drop-off in volume that has plagued the markets since March, with participation now down to 25% of where we were last January and that leaves us open to the blatant sort of market manipulation that Karl Denninger caught last week as well as the usual nonsense we get daily from HFT programs that drive the market with such precision that we are able to tell how the day is going to go by simply checking our hourly volume targets. Here’s a clip from CNBC where a floor trader discusses market manipulation as a fact of trading (2 mins in).
As Nicholas Santiago points out on In The Money Stocks, "January is usually a very high volume month, yet it has started off the New Year even lighter than the last two months of 2009. Light volume markets are very difficult to short. Hence the old saying, ‘never short a dull market’." Not only is the market volume…
Risk Reversal Pops Up on Biotech-Company, Life Technologies
by Option Review - November 3rd, 2009 4:08 pm
Today’s tickers: LIFE, FL, VTR, WFC, RRI, WFR, CAR, FRX, SWK, BNI & WFR
LIFE – Life Technologies Corp. – Biotechnology company, Life Technologies, popped up on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner this morning after one investor initiated a risk reversal in the December contract. Shares are relatively flat on the day at $47.58. The reversal is most likely the work of a bullish individual positioning for a rally in shares of LIFE by expiration next month. It appears the trader sold 5,200 puts short at the December 45 strike for an average premium of 1.30 apiece to finance the purchase of the same number of call options at the higher December 50 strike for 1.20 each. The investor receives a credit of 10 cents per contract on the transaction. The 10 cent credit is money in the bank as long as shares remain above $45.00 through expiration. Additional profits on the trade require the stock to surge to a new 52-week high of $50.00. Shares must rally 5% from the current price before the investor begins to accumulate profits. The 10,400 contracts exchanged in the spread represent about 23% of the total existing open interest on LIFE of 45,963 lots.
FL – Foot Locker, Inc. – A long-term bullish play in the January 2011 contract pushed the global retailer of athletic footwear and apparel onto our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner this afternoon. Shares are currently up nearly 1% to $10.25. It looks like the trader initiated a bullish risk reversal by selling 3,500 puts at the December 7.5 strike for 1.10 each, and by buying the same number of calls at the higher December 12.5 strike for 1.10 apiece. The investor put on the trade for free and hopes to see shares rise above $12.50 by expiration in 14 months. Profits begin to accumulate if the stock rallies 22% over the current price to surpass the breakeven point at $12.50. We note that shares of FL have traded beneath $12.50 since November 11, 2008.
VTR – Ventas, Inc. – Shares of the real estate investment trust edged slightly higher by less than 0.25% to $40.56 during the trading day. An investor expecting shares to appreciate by expiration in December put on a bullish risk reversal strategy. The trader sold 3,000 puts at the December 35 strike for 60 cents premium and simultaneously purchased the same…
Emerging market options see maelstrom of action
by Option Review - April 2nd, 2009 5:52 pm
Today’s tickers: EEM, QCOM, EWZ, FRX, CSX, RIMM & BIIB
EEM iShares MSCI Emerging Market ETF – For the most part, option traders were observed shedding calls and buying puts as though they were going out of style, despite the more than 5.5% rally in shares to $27.09. The trading pattern on the emerging markets ETF was bearish except for one investor who went against the grain today. At the April 25 strike price about 30,500 puts were purchased for an average premium of 48 cents each, while the June contract enticed investors looking for protection at even lower strikes. At the June 21 strike price 10,000 puts were picked up for 66 cents apiece whereas 5,000 puts were coveted at the June 24 strike for 1.37 apiece. Call options were sold in high volume, with 5,000 shed at the in-the-money June 24 strike for 4.45, some traders were seen banking gains on the current share price rally. Similarly, 10,000 calls were sold at the now in-the-money June 27 strike for 2.55 per contract. Some investors do not see the rally continuing through $31.00 by expiration in June as 32,500 calls were shed at the June 31 strike price for 90 cents apiece. Finally, the contrarian trade occurred in the midst of the put buying and call selling late in the trading day. One investor sold 25,000 puts at the June 24 strike for 1.32 each in order to fund the purchase of 25,000 calls at the June 29 strike price for a premium of 1.64. The net cost of getting long of the bullish call options amounts to 32 cents. This optimistic trader will begin to reel in profits if shares can breach the breakeven point at $29.32 by expiration.
QCOM Qualcomm, Inc. – The wireless communications company has experienced a 3% increase in shares to $40.93. QCOM appeared on our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner as more than 75,000 contracts traded hands throughout the day. Put options traded twice for each call in action yielding a put-to-call ratio of 2.0. The May contract in particular caught our eye as one investor appears to have initiated a ratio put spread. At the May 40 strike price 7,000 puts were purchased for an average premium of 2.37 while the May 35 strike had about 14,000 puts sell for 86 cents apiece. By selling twice as many put options…
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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...
Ilene is editor and affiliate program
coordinator for PSW. She manages the Favorites backup site
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