Staples Firm – Proctor & Gamble Options Suggest Further Upside
by Andrew Wilkinson - November 6th, 2009 4:53 pm
Today’s tickers: PG, CTXS, LINTA, HIG, CVS, UUP, VIX, AONE, SWKS, CLX, BCSI & NVDA
PG - The Proctor & Gamble Co. – Bullish action on Proctor & Gamble today suggests one investor expects shares to continue to rally ahead of expiration in November. Shares are currently trading 1% higher to $61.13. The trader purchased 10,000 calls at the now in-the-money November 60 strike for 1.39 each, and simultaneously sold 10,000 calls at the higher November 62.5 strike for 26 cents apiece. The net cost of buying the call spread amounts to 1.13 per contract and yields maximum potential profits of 1.37 each if shares rally up to $62.50 by expiration. Shares need only rally another 2.2% from the current price to reach the $62.50-level.
CTXS - Citrix Systems, Inc. – Software developer, Citrix Systems, attracted bullish option traders to the November contract today amid a 1% increase in shares to $38.80. Investors displayed optimistic sentiment on the stock by selling approximately 10,600 puts at the November 35 strike for 10 cents premium apiece. Put-sellers retain the full dime-per-contract as long as shares remain above $35.00 through expiration this month. Shares of CTXS have traded above $36.00 since September 4, 2009.
LINTA - Liberty Media Corp. – Shares of the broadcasting and entertainment company rallied 1% during the trading session to $12.14. Plain-vanilla call buying action on the stock today suggests some investors expect shares to rise significantly by expiration in January 2010. Traders purchased about 11,800 calls at the January 15 strike for an average premium of 25 cents apiece. Call-buyers will accumulate profits if shares surge at least 26% from the current price to surpass the breakeven point at $15.25 by expiration.
HIG - Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. – Medium-term investors placed bearish bets on the insurance and financial services firm today. Shares are currently trading less than 0.25% higher to $24.16 after suffering significant erosion throughout the week. One pessimistic trader initiated a bearish risk reversal in the January 2010 contract. The investor sold 4,500 calls at the January 27 strike for an average premium of 78 cents apiece to partially finance the purchase of the same number of put options at the lower January 21 strike for 1.68 each. The net cost of the transaction is reduced to a more palatable 90 cents per contract, but does leave the investor exposed in the event of a rally of more than 11.7% by expiration…
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$101,674 Portfolio Update - Week 3
by Phil - September 13th, 2009 8:26 am
Slow and steady wins the race!
We had a big run and capped our gains a little early for the week by doubling up on our PSQ (short Nasdaq) calls on Thursday’s mad run. This did the job of locking in our profits but that hedge is now making up $450 of losses, which is 1/3 of all our losses for the month. Still we managed to gain $396 for the week with still just $28,537 in positions so that’s another 1% for the week, a pretty good clip…
I am happy to say that our $100K Portfolio is now live and available on WallStreetSurvivor.com at:
We’re actually well ahead of our cash goal as we also have $86,101 in cash along with our $28,537 in positions with $13,768 in margin devoted to some of the longer hedges we’ve sold. That leaves us with $147,935 in margin buying power and we’re going to use it to do a few "stupid option tricks" into expirations that should pick us up a little extra cash over the next 5 days and Wednesday or Friday we must expect to make our rolling moves for the current month and I’ll be sending out Alerts to Members later in the week. For now, we are very happy with all of our current positions as we have 16 winners and just 7 losers - that’s very good for a well-hedged portfolio…- AMZN has a great premium and selling 5 $85 calls for $1.25 and 5 $85 puts for $1.75 (any net $3 combo) will either put $1,500 in our pockets or become a trade we will roll out to October.
- BAC is one we already have in the portfolio and we can double up on…
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AIG Options Volume Surges Once Again
by Andrew Wilkinson - August 6th, 2009 5:41 pm
Today’s tickers: AIG, CAT, UAUA, WFC, HIG, CHK, FRE & SLV
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Microsoft Option Traders Geared Up For Disappointment
by Andrew Wilkinson - July 23rd, 2009 4:35 pm
Today’s tickers: MSFT, CMCSK, HIG, PNC, F, WFC, XLU & FXI
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Savient calls in play at heady volatility readings
by Andrew Wilkinson - May 28th, 2009 4:41 pm
Today’s tickers: SVNT, WFC, EEM, MCO, XHB, EXEL, GDX & HIG
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Option trader predicts natural gas set to rally into next heating season
by Andrew Wilkinson - May 15th, 2009 6:08 am
Today’s tickers: UNG, HIG, XLF, XRT, CLF, WFMI & VRTX
UNG– Shares of the natural gas fund have rallied by more than 1% to stand at $16.66. We observed some bullish call buying on the ETF by one investor looking for natural gas prices to heat up as we head into the beginning of ‘heating season’ in October. It appears that this individual looked to the October 20 strike price and purchased 26,000 calls for an average premium of 1.45 apiece. The 31,000 call options traded at the October 20 strike today is more than five times the existing open interest at the strike of just 6,834 lots. With a breakeven point of $21.45 on the trade, the investor is hoping to see shares of UNG rally by a minimum of 29% from the current price so he may begin to garner profits to the upside. – United States Natural Gas ETF
HIG– Investors in the insurance and financial services firm have witnessed HIG’s shares surge more than 21% today to the current price of $15.23. While a mass of more than 120,000 option contracts exchanged hands on the stock throughout the trading day, our attention was drawn to a couple of bullish plays. Traders who expect the stock to retain gains into next month looked to the June 16 strike price and purchased some 4,000 calls for an average premium of 1.20 each. Investors will breakeven at a price of $17.20 by expiration. Uber-bullishness was observed at the September 25 strike where about 4,400 calls appear to have been purchased for a premium of 91 cents per contract. These call-buyers have thrown a Hail Mary pass today, but they will have to wait to see whether it will be received in the end zone or whether it will fall short by expiration. To profit from the long-call position, shares will need to rally with a vengeance by about 70% through the breakeven point at $25.91. Option implied volatility has climbed throughout the week from 112% on Monday to the current reading of 144%. – Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
XLF– The financials ETF, a daily presence on our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner, has enjoyed a more than 3.5% rally to $11.80 amid broad gains enjoyed by financial firms today. While more than 250,000 option contracts were traded on the fund, we focused in on one trade in particular…
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UPS Put Action
by Andrew Wilkinson - May 12th, 2009 4:58 pm
Today’s tickers: UPS, BBY, MBI, XLF, HIG, MOS & ASML
UPS United Parcel Service, Inc. – The package delivery company, which delivers an average of more than 14.7 million pieces per day around the globe, has experienced a share price decline of more than 2.5% to $54.35. UPS appeared near the top of our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner this afternoon after one investor traded massive chunks of put options on the stock. The trader looks to be extending downside protection by establishing a multi-leg calendar spread. The now in-the-money May 55 strike price saw the sale of 36,000 puts for a premium of 1.85 apiece spread against two purchases. The first 20,000 puts were picked up at the June 55 strike price for a premium of 3.40 each while the second chunk of 20,000 put options were bought at the July 55 strike price at a cost of 4.10 to the trader. All three legs of the trade were enacted simultaneously and protect the investor – who is likely long the stock – from downward movements in the share price over the next couple of months. Other noteworthy activity on UPS occurred at the June 60 strike price where bullish individuals purchased 3,700 calls for an average premium of 45 cents apiece. Shares would need to rally by 11% from the current price and breach the breakeven point at $60.45 in order for bulls to profit on the June 60 calls by expiration.
BBY Best Buy Company, Inc. – Shares of the specialty retailer have suffered a decline of more than 3.5% to $36.75. We observed option traders taking a bearish stance on the stock today, particularly in the June contract. The June 35 strike price had traders stocking up on downside protection as some 9,000 puts were coveted for an average premium of 1.96 apiece. An additional 1,750 put options were picked up at the higher June 36 strike for a pricier 2.41 each. The pessimistic view for next month was confirmed as some 1,800 calls were sold at the June 42.5 strike price for about 81 cents per contract. Option implied volatility on Best Buy has climbed since yesterday’s reading of 54% to the current value of 62%.
MBI MBIA Inc. – The financial services firm climbed as high as $7.90 today after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter results, although the stock has seen gains erode over the course of the trading day…
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Uranium company sees calendar call spread
by Andrew Wilkinson - April 20th, 2009 5:05 pm
Today’s tickers: CCJ, BAX, XHB, T, VIX, PCP, PG, JNJ, HIG & USO
CCJ Cameco Corporation – The producer of commercial-use uranium to fuel nuclear power plants has experienced a share price decline of about 4.5% to $17.08. According to one news source, uranium-oxide concentrate for immediate delivery rose 2.5% or $1, to $41.50 per pound last week, although uranium spot prices have declined by more than 26% since December 1, 2008. Additionally, trading last week jumped to more than 4.3 million pounds up from just 2.2 million pounds in the first three months of the year. CCJ edged onto our ‘hot by option volume’ market scanner after one investor initiated a calendar spread. Perhaps with revived demand for uranium and trading volume for the commodity on the rise, this investor is hoping that CCJ’s share price will receive a boost in the next six months. The trader purchased 7,500 calls at the September 22.5 strike price for an average premium of 52 cents per contract. The long call position was funded by the sale of 7,500 calls at the January 2010 22.5 strike price for 1.15 apiece. The investor receives a credit of 63 cents on the trade and is hoping shares rally through $22.50 by expiration as he would then be able to exercise the call options and take delivery of the underlying shares. The fact that the sooner-to-expiration September calls have a higher gamma means that its premium will rise faster for a given rally in the underlying share price. On the flip side, the investor could see the credit pocketed today erode if the calls fail to land in-the-money by expiration in September. We’re unsure what the investor will do with this strategy should shares rally but not far enough to allow September exercise – an event that would leave him short of calls after expiration.
BAX Baxter International, Inc. – Shares have dipped by about 1.5% to $50.95 for BAX, a company that develops, manufactures, and markets products that aid persons with hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases and other chronic and acute medical conditions. A complex combination trade took place that grabbed our attention, but the trade is likely marked inaccurately on the exchange. The trade shows the sale of twice as many calls purchased, which makes little sense and so we’ll describe the way we think the trade went. Using the May contract an investor possibly initiated…
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Vulcan Materials calendar put spreads predicts continued slide
by Andrew Wilkinson - March 11th, 2009 5:11 pm
Today’s tickers: VMC, ORCL, XLU, XHB, XTO, C, MS, HIG & MT
VMC Vulcan Materials Company – The distributor of construction materials must feel a bit left out given its failure to join in the market rebound festivities. Its shares are flat at $36.35 today, just a scant 5% off the 52-week low of $34.32. Vulcan edged onto our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner after one investor established calendar spread positions in the April and May contracts. We reckon that this investor has already established a short position on the shares which have declined by more than 50% since the start of 2009. By selling April puts and buying those at the same strike in May the investor is opening the door to having stock put to him should the price settle in-the-money by expiration in the nearby April contract. By establishing the long May put positions the investor retains his short position, although only via options since the short stock position was already put back to him. The trade employed 3,000 spreads at each of the 30 and 35 strike contracts, which also lowered the full premium paid for the May put options. This provides a longer amount of time for this trader to watch the stock’s movement, yet enables him to lock down profits should exercise occur. The worst case scenario would be if shares were to rebound above $35 in April because this would devalue his short position, although the April puts would expire worthless while the May puts would decrease in value. Optimally, this trader would like to see shares decline below $30 by expiration in April as the value of the long puts in May would greatly increase and the puts in April would allow him to take delivery of the underlying shares.
ORCL – Oracle Corp. – Despite a drop of 1.5% to $14.86 in shares of the software and server manufacturer, option investors spent 75 cents scooping up calls expiring in January at the 20 strike. Some 20,000 contracts changed hands adding to an existing 70,000 of open interest at the strike. While these investor are setting lofty expectations about an ultimate increase of more than one third for Oracle’s shares within nine months, it wouldn’t take that much to shift the premium on the calls. The 0.27 delta indicates gains of around a quarter for each dollar recovery in the share price. If shares gain,…
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Hartford covered call writer strikes gold, albeit rather early in the game
by Andrew Wilkinson - February 24th, 2009 5:19 pm
Today’s tickers: HIG, ORCL, LDK, AXP, MS, JNPR, RIO & BWA
HIG – The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. – The roof is on fire at HIG after shares sky-rocketed up by over 23.5% to $8.25. But, one investor appears to have jumped the gun today by initiating the sale of over 17,000 calls at the January 2011 7.5 strike price for a premium of 3.90 at which point the tinder was aflame, but the roaring blaze was yet to come. We believe the sale was part of a covered call in which the underlying shares were purchased simultaneously. The investor appears to have been selling volatility which was 130.3% at the 7.5 strike when shares were at $6.65. It is likely that he was happy with the 3.90 in premium coupled with the hope inherent in this trade of a 13% rally in shares to $7.50. The investor was likely thinking that if shares rose to meet the strike price, the underlying stock would likely get called away from him at expiration. However, in hindsight it seems the timing of his trade was poor as premiums have since soared to 5.20 and shares have exited the building (so to speak).
ORCL – Oracle Corporation – Shares of the software and services company have increased by roughly 3% to stand at $16.35. ORCL caught our attention due to a number of noteworthy options trades that played out today. A sold strangle was initiated in April by selling 7,500 puts at the 14 strike price for a premium of 50 cents, and by selling 7,500 calls at the April 18 strike for a premium of 53 cents each. The gross premium pocketed by this investor amounts to 1.03 on the trade. Thus, it appears that this trader does not see much by way of recovery for Oracle in the next couple of months, rather seeks experience maximum retention of the 1.03 premium if shares remain within the borders set by the April strikes selected. If shares were to swing outside the strikes, this investor would experience losses beginning at $12.97 on the downside and at $19.03 on the upside. Looking past April showers, a number of bulls were observed scooping up calls in June. Purchases were made at a number of strikes and settled as far up as the June 22 strike price, where 6,000 calls were bought for 15 cents apiece. The calls yield…
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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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