GameStop Bear Positions For Post-Earnings Pullback
by Option Review - November 15th, 2011 12:48 pm
Today’s tickers: GME, FTR, SUN & HNZ
GME - GameStop Corp. – The remainder of the trading week is unlikely to be all fun-and-games for shareholders in GameStop Corp., according to bearish trading in its put options this morning. Protective or perhaps outright bearish positioning in GME options arrives just in time for the world’s largest video game retailer’s third-quarter earnings report due out ahead of the opening bell on Thursday. It looks like the buyer of a debit put spread in the front month is prepared for shares in GME to head lower following the release. Shares in the world’s largest video game retailer are currently down 3.0% to stand at $23.90 as of 11:50 AM in New York. The investor responsible for most of the volume in GameStop Corp. options in the first half of the trading session on Tuesday purchased a 1,000-lot Nov. $23/$24 put spread for a net premium of $0.30 per contract. The trader makes money if shares in GME settle below the effective breakeven price of $23.70 at expiration this week. Maximum potential profits of $0.70 per contract are available to the put player in the event that shares in the video game retailer drop 3.75% from the current price of $23.90 to settle below $23.00 at expiration.
FTR - Frontier Communications Corp. – Options traders appear to be bulking up on bearish positions in Frontier Communications for the second consecutive day this week, with shares in the Stamford, Connecticut-based company sliding 2.3% lower to $5.43 by 11:15 AM ET on Tuesday. The stock also fell 2.3% on Monday to close at $5.57. Investors positioning for the stock to continue to drop within the next few months are accumulating sizable positions in the closest-to-the-money strike put available in the February contract. It looks like one investor snapped up more than 4,500 puts at the Feb. 2012 $5.0 strike for a premium of $0.35 each in the first 30 minutes of the trading session. The put buyer may profit at expiration next year if shares in Frontier fall 14.4% to breach the effective breakeven point on the downside at $4.65. Bearish trading in the same Feb. 2012 $5.0 strike put occurred in the final 10 minutes of trading on Monday, as well. It appears one investor purchased a block of 5,000 of the put options for a premium of $0.30 apiece yesterday. Both positions, which may or may not…
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DiggOptions Look For GM Rebound Down The Road
by Option Review - August 16th, 2011 1:50 pm
Today’s tickers: GM, BCSI, DSX & GME
GM - General Motors Co. – A couple of bullish bets in options covering automobile manufacturer, General Motors, may prove prudent investments for some strategists should shares in GM increase approximately 15.0% by January expiration. Shares in the Detroit, MI-based company are on the rise in early-afternoon trade, standing 0.45% higher on the session at $26.54 as of 12:10 pm in New York. It looks like options players initiated two ratio call spreads this morning. The larger of the transactions involved the purchase of 3,602 calls at the Jan. 2012 $26 strike at a premium of $2.82 each, against the sale of 7,204 calls up at the Jan. 2012 $30 strike for a premium of $1.22 apiece. Net premium paid for the spread amounts to $0.38 per contract, thus positioning the trader to make money should shares in the automaker exceed the effective breakeven price of $26.38 at expiration in January. The investor could rake in maximum potential profits of $3.62 per contract in the event that shares in GM rally 13.0% to settle at $30.00 at expiration next year. Meanwhile, the smaller and more optimistic of the trades engaged the purchase of 1,000 Jan. 2012 $27 strike calls for an average premium of $2.37 each, and the sale of twice as many of the Jan. 2012 $31 strike contracts at an average premium of $0.97 a-pop. The net cost of the spread amounts to $0.43 apiece, and therefore an average breakeven share price of $31.43. Maximum potential profits of $3.57 per contract are available on the trade should shares in the car maker surge 16.8% to settle at $31.00 at expiration day. Shares in GM last traded above $31.00 back in mid-July.
BCSI - Blue Coat Systems, Inc. – Call options on Blue…
DHH Options Time
by Sabrient - March 18th, 2011 4:01 pm
Dark Horse Hedge is Rocking (2) & Options Time Again
By Scott at Sabrient and Ilene at Phil’s Stock World
My heater’s broke and I’m so tired
I need some fuel to build a fire (actually need something that cools heat down)
The girl next door (Tokyo), her lights are out, yeah
The landlord’s gone, I’m down and out
It’s cold gin (option) time again
You know it’ll always win – KISS
The tragic developments in Japan took center stage this past week and our hearts go out to everyone in Japan, and everyone who is touched by this catastrophic event.
Prior to the earthquake and tsunami, the VIRTUAL Dark Horse Hedge virtual portfolio was positioned with a 70% Long / 30% Short tilt. We are now considering moving to a 50% / 50% balance. We will most likely do that, assuming no material change in the world events, by adding to our short positions next week. In the meantime, we have two option positions which are expiring today and we wanted to add to the review we began last week. (Click here for our first four long positions reviewed a week ago.)
Options Expiration:
Radware Ltd (RDWR): On November 11, 2010 we added Radware (RDWR) to the virtual portfolio using Phil’s Buy/Write strategy. At that time RDWR was trading at $33.39 and we added half the shares we wanted (100) and sold the March $35 2011 call and March $35 2011 put to complete the buy/write. On December 7, 2010 when the stock traded up to $40, we rolled the call out to the Jan $35 2012 call, which we sold for $9. We kept the March $35 2011 put we had already sold for $5.10. The put (as 65-70% of options do) will expire worthless today yielding a $5.10 profit. At this time, we believe it is prudent to hold the shares, currently trading at $35.56, and the Jan $35 2012 call.
Xyratex (XRTX): On December 20, 2010 we added Xyratex (XRTX) using the buy/write strategy and acquiring half the shares we wanted exposure to and selling March $15 calls and puts for a net $3.60. XRTX is trading at $11.14 today on expiration day, so the call side will expire worthless ($1.80 profit) and the puts will be exercised – the
…
Long-Term Bullish Strategies Detected in Gamestop Corp. Options
by Option Review - October 4th, 2010 5:27 pm
Today’s tickers: GME, CHE, PENN, JPM, MED, SLE & WYNN
GME - Gamestop Corp. – Bullish options strategies were initiated on the video game retailer today despite the 0.70% dip in the price of the underlying shares to $19.86. One long-term optimistic individual employed the use of a three-legged combination, selling puts to buy a call spread, in order to prepare for a rebound in Gamestop’s shares by April expiration. The investor purchased 3,000 calls at the April 2011 $20 strike for a premium of $2.13 each, sold 3,000 calls at the higher April 2011 $24 strike for premium of $0.72 apiece, and shed 3,000 puts at the April 2011 $16 strike at a premium of $0.81 a-pop. Net premium paid to initiate the spread amounts to $0.60 per contract. Thus, the trader is poised to profit should GME’s shares rally above the effective breakeven price of $20.60 by April expiration day. Maximum available profits of $3.40 per contract are safe in the investor’s wallet if the video game seller’s shares jump 20.85% over the current price of $19.86 to exceed $24.00 by expiration. Finally, a 3,000-lot October $20/$24 strike call spread traded around the same time as the three-legged transaction. Open interest in the near-term calls is sufficient to cover today’s volume. The investor responsible for the October contract activity may be rolling the spread up to the April contract and adding the short puts to provide additional financing on the bullish stance.
CHE - Chemed Corp. – Shares of the provider of hospice care as well as various consumer services such as plumbing and sewer cleaning via its Roto-Rooter segment slipped 2.00% to $55.34 as of 3:40 pm ET. Investors with a near-term bearish view on the stock appear to have sold 2,000 calls outright at the November $60 strike to pocket premium of $0.55 per contract. Call sellers keep the full premium received on the trade as long as Chemed’s shares fail to rally above $60.00 by expiration day next month. Investors could…
DARK HORSE HEDGE – Any way the wind blows, doesn’t really matter
by ilene - September 1st, 2010 2:23 pm
Housing-keeping note: Thanks to WordPress’s destruction of Phil’s Favorites site (and replacement with an invite to sign up for its service!), I’ve been relocating my blog to TypePad. Benefits: it looks better, is very user friendly and offers an easy way to search archives for any topic. One unique feature is that while exploring the internet, I can simply click on a button to post an excerpt of an interesting article with a link to the full article. That ability allows me to post links to articles that are worth reading when I do not have reprinting permission, such as articles from major news sources.
The new Favorites site is here. I’ve also created a website for Dark Horse Hedge, here. - Ilene
DARK HORSE HEDGE – Any Way the Wind Blows, Doesn’t Really Matter
By Scott Brown at Sabrient & Ilene at Phil’s Stock World
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see
I’m just a poor boy (Poor boy)
I need no sympathy
Because I’m easy come, easy go
Little high, little low
Any way the wind blows
Doesn’t really matter to me, to me
*****
Ilene and I started the Dark Horse Hedge on July 1, 2010 with the goal of helping self-directed investors weather any storm, no matter which way the wind was blowing. Today completes the second month of publishing the Dark Horse Hedge and we thought it would be a good time to review.
The…
DARK HORSE HEDGE
by ilene - August 2nd, 2010 2:48 am
DARK HORSE HEDGE Weekend Catch-Up
By Scott at Sabrient and Ilene at Phil’s Stock World
Hedging into the week of August 2nd, the Dark Horse Hedge (DHH) is in a BALANCED tilt (long to short ratio) with 8 LONG and 8 SHORT positions. We used Phil’s BUY/WRITE strategy to enter two of our LONG positions (IM and GCI) at a 10-20% discount to the market. As you can see from the chart, the SPX wandered between the 50 and 200 day moving averages (MAs) all week before whimpering towards the bottom of the channel Thursday and Friday. The 12-26-9 MACD which is the faster of the 2 technical direction signals we follow has flat-lined at just above +6 and the slower RSI 14-day still remains just below 50.
Without some impressive economic reports coming this week or much better than expected earnings reports, we believe the market will drift down towards and test the 50 day MA. If a bullish tone sets back in, it is doubtful that it could easily push through the 200 day MA. Resistance points as well as the 50 and 200 day MAs all which fit into a fairly narrow trading channel.
[chart from FreeStockCharts.com]
We are happy with the positions we put on in DHH’s first 30 days of existence and we look forward to capturing more profit as the companies report earnings this week. We will continue to take profits "after the news" and rotate into newer, fresher positions while keeping an eye on the overall market to adjust our tilt for maximum Alpha*, which is why we all write and read DHH.
Summary of DHH positions in the virtual portfolio
LONG: XRTX, WDC, GCI, IM, DLX, GME, FRZ, and TEO
…
DARK HORSE HEDGE UPDATE
by ilene - July 23rd, 2010 3:38 am
DARK HORSE HEDGE UPDATE
By Scott at Sabrient and Ilene of PSW
You can run, you can run, tell my friend-boy, Willie Brown.
You can run, tell my friend-boy, Willie Brown.
Lord, that I’m standin’ at the crossroad, babe,
I believe I’m sinking down.- Crossroads, Robert Johnson
Heading into Friday July 23, 2010 the market is again at a technical crossroad with the SPX closing Thursday at 1093.7, above the 50-day Moving Average of 1085.5. The MACD 12-26-9 remains close but still under the (zero) signal line at -1.13, with the RSI 14-day at 45.26. There is lateral resistance at the 1096 level from the close last Thursday showing how the market has traveled a long way the past week to get nowhere.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) fell short of analysts’ forecasts after Thursday’s close and was down 14% in after-hours trading, suggesting that the market may follow the pattern it has been in most of the summer.
Up 200, down 200, up 200, down 200 - wash out your savings, rinse and repeat! What a total sham of a market we have these days with machines running us up and down on virtually no news at all. Yesterday they would have you believe that Ben Bernanke caused a sell-off. How ridiculous is that? He didn’t say one thing that he didn’t already say in the Fed Minutes that were released on the 14th, which were the notes from the meeting of June 23rd so for analysts to get on TV and say “the markets were concerned by the Chairman’s comments” is beyond stupid – it’s criminal negligence. Phil’s Thrill-Ride Thursday.
[chart from freestockchart.com]
Thursday’s economic releases were less than encouraging with a jump in the number of people seeking unemployment benefits. Sales of previously owned homes fell, but the market shrugged it off as seasonal and rallied on the earnings of Caterpillar Inc., UPS Inc., and others that beat estimates. However, the SPX hasn’t been able to break through resistance at 1096 and essentially has gone nowhere since last Thursday.…
Bulls Eye Caterpillar, Inc. Put and Call Options
by Option Review - June 15th, 2010 4:10 pm
Today’s tickers: CAT, BBY, NVTL, XLF, GME, ANF & GMCR
CAT – Caterpillar, Inc. – Bullish options traders stampeded machinery maker, Caterpillar, Inc., today with the firm’s shares rallying more than 2.75% to stand at $62.70 as of 12:55 pm (ET). CAT’s shares increase as much as 3.4% to touch an intraday high of $63.10 in the first half of the trading day. Near-term optimists sold at least 2,200 puts at the June $62.5 strike for an average premium of $1.06 apiece. Investors selling the puts could be ditching downside protection, or may be selling the contracts outright to pocket available put premium. CAT-bulls also purchased some 1,800 now in-the-money calls at the June $62.5 strike for an average premium of $0.88 apiece. Call buyers at this strike price are poised to profit should shares of the tractor manufacturer rally above the average breakeven price of $63.38 before the contracts expire on Friday. Caterpillar’s overall reading of options implied volatility is down 5.3% to 38.11% in afternoon trading.
BBY – Best Buy Co. – Contrarian options players are taking advantage of the more than 6.5% decline in Best Buy’s shares to $38.37 today by initiating near-term bullish transactions in the June contract. Shares of the world’s largest consumer-electronics retailer fell as much as 7.6% to touch down at an intraday low of $37.93 after the firm reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter profits of $0.36 a share, which underwhelmed analysts expecting average net income of $0.50 a share for the quarter. Best Buy bulls expecting the electronics retailer’s shares to rebound purchased 1,100 calls at the June $39 strike at an average premium of $0.54 apiece. Shares of the underlying stock must rally 3.05% from the current price of $38.37 before June $39 strike call buyers start to make money above the average breakeven point at $39.54. Buying interest spread to the higher June $40 strike where 2,300 calls were coveted for an average premium of $0.25 per contract. Investors long the calls profit if BBY’s shares surge 4.9% to trade above the average breakeven price of $40.25 by June expiration on Friday. Other optimistic investors engaged in put selling to take advantage of richer available premium. Bulls shed 3,600 puts at the June $38 strike to pocket an average premium of $0.53 per contract. Put sellers at this strike keep the full premium received on the transaction as long as BBY’s shares…
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. Call Options Fly Off The Shelves
by Option Review - June 11th, 2010 4:15 pm
Today’s tickers: MRVL, EFA, MSFT, PFE, BMY, BAC, GME, NFLX & PM
MRVL – Marvell Technology Group Ltd. – The semiconductor maker popped onto our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner late in the session due to rampant call buying in the June and July contracts. Marvell’s shares are higher by 1.65% to $17.74 just before 3:30 pm (ET). Near-term optimistic individuals itching for continued appreciation in the price of the underlying stock purchased approximately 9,000 calls at the June $18 strike for an average premium of $0.33 apiece. Investors long the calls make money if Marvell’s shares rally at least 3.325% from the current price of $17.74 to exceed the average breakeven point to the upside at $18.33 by expiration day in one week. Buying interest spread to the July $18 strike where bullish players paid an average premium of $0.89 per contract to take ownership of some 5,100 call options. Traders holding these contracts accumulate profits as long as MRVL’s shares increase 6.5% to surpass the average breakeven price of $18.89 by July expiration.
EFA – iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund – The implementation of a large-volume short strangle on the EFA, an exchange-traded fund designed to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the MSCI EAFE Index – an index which includes stocks from Europe, Australasia and the Far East, indicates one options strategist expects shares of the underlying fund to remain range-bound through September expiration. Shares of the EFA are trading lower by 0.63% to stand at $48.53 with less than 45 minutes remaining before the closing bell. The investor responsible for the strangle sold 16,000 puts at the September $42 strike for an average premium of $1.54 apiece in combination with the sale of the same number of calls at the higher September $52 strike for an average premium of $1.15 each. Gross premium pocketed on the transaction amounts to $2.69 per contract. The strangle-seller keeps the full premium received as long as the fund’s share price trades within the boundaries of the strike prices described through expiration. The short stance assumed in both call and put options expose the responsible party to losses in the event that shares rally above the upper breakeven price of $54.69, or if shares trade beneath the lower breakeven point at $39.31 at expiration. We note that shares of the fund have not…
Short Strangle Strategist Suggests Range-Bound Shares for China Fund
by Option Review - April 16th, 2010 4:12 pm
Today’s tickers: FXI, GFI, MCO, KWK, GME, JDSU & SVU
FXI – iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index Fund – A large-volume short strangle enacted on the FXI, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price and yield performance of the FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index – an index designed to mirror the performance of 25 of the largest and most liquid Chinese companies, implies one big options player expects shares of the underlying fund to train within a specified range through May expiration. Shares of the FXI are down more than 4% to $42.12 as of 12:15 pm (ET). The strangle-player sold 25,000 calls at the May $44 strike for a premium of $0.93 each, and sold 25,000 puts at the lower May $42 strike for $1.09 apiece. Gross premium pocketed on the transaction amounts to $2.02 per contract. The investor responsible for the short strangle keeps the full $2.02 premium received today as long as the FXI’s share price remains with the range of $42.00 to $44.00 through expiration day next month. The short position in both call and put options exposes the trader to losses in the event that shares rally above the upper breakeven price of $46.02, or if shares slip beneath the lower breakeven price of $39.98, ahead of May expiration. Options implied volatility is up 11.4% to 30.82% as of 12:20 pm (ET).
GFI – Gold Fields Ltd. – Shares of the gold mining company are down more than 5.2% to $12.35 today, but bullish options trading on the stock suggests one trader is itching for a rebound in the price of the underlying shares by July expiration. Gold Fields received an upgrade to ‘outperform’ from ‘sector perform’ earlier in the week at RBC Capital. The optimistic individual sold 7,000 calls at the July $15 strike for a premium of $0.20 apiece in order to partially finance the purchase of the same number of in-the-money calls options at the April $12 strike for $0.90 each. The net cost of getting long the near-term in-the-money options amounts to $0.70 per contract. The parameters of this transaction somewhat mimic those of a covered call strategy. This is because the in-the-money calls in the April contract – assuming shares are able to resist slipping beneath $12.00 through the end of the trading session – allow the investor to take ownership of shares of the underlying stock at an effective price…
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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
(