Put Player Near-Term Bullish On Pandora Post Earnings
by Option Review - August 26th, 2011 2:26 pm
Today’s tickers: P, IYR, TIF & BAC
P - Pandora Media Inc. – Demand for options covering Pandora, the online music company that went public in June, jumped after the company reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.02 a share for the second quarter. Pandora’s first earnings report since become a publicly traded company sent shares up as much as 11.5% to an intraday high of $13.90 as its top- and bottom-line results topped expectations. Despite the spike in the price of the underlying today, shares continue to trade at a substantial discount to its initial public offering price of $16.00. The positive earnings report spurred bulls to the options market, with notable volume building in September contract puts. It looks like one trader expecting Pandora’s shares to resist above $12.00 through expiration next month sold roughly 3,000 put options outright at the September $12 strike at a premium of $0.70 per contract. The put seller walks away with the full amount of premium at expiration as long as shares in Pandora exceed $12.00 and the options expire worthless. The short stance in Pandora puts suggests the trader may wind up having around 300,000 shares put to him at an effective price of $11.30 each at September expiration if the stock slips beneath $12.00 in the next three weeks. Options implied volatility on Pandora Media Inc. stand 29.2% lower post earnings at 82.54% this afternoon.
IYR - iShares Dow Jones US Real Estate Index Fund – A sizable put spread on the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index Fund yields maximum benefit to one bearish strategist if the price of the underlying drops substantially by the end of the year. Shares in the IYR, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index, turned positive in the aftermath of…
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DiggStampede of Bulls into Goldcorp Calls as Shares Hit Two-Year Highs
by Option Review - March 1st, 2011 4:04 pm
Today’s tickers: GG, LINE, IYR & YHOO
GG - Goldcorp, Inc. – Shares of the gold mining company are trading up at their highest in more than 2 years, and a number of options traders are betting Goldcorp’s shares have more room to run in the near term. Call options on GG are in high demand, with more than 3.1 calls changing hands on the stock for each single put option in action today. Shares in the name are currently up 3.5% at an intraday- and new 2-year high of $49.50. Investors expecting the price of the underlying to continue to move higher picked up more than 1,750 calls at the March $50 strike for an average premium of $0.84 apiece. Traders exchanged more than 6,600 calls up at the March $52.5 strike versus previously existing open interest of just 537 contracts. The majority of the calls, or roughly 4,500 contracts, were purchased at the March $52.5 strike for an average premium of $0.29 a-pop. Call buyers at this strike start making money if shares in Goldcorp rally another 6.6% over today’s high of $49.50 to surpass the average breakeven point at $52.79 by March expiration. Options implied volatility on the gold mining company increased 8.0% to 30.88% by 12:45pm.
LINE - Linn Energy LLC – The oil and natural gas company popped up on our scanners this morning due to options activity in the July contract. The spread appears to be the work of an investor positioning for shares to hit a new 52-week high ahead of expiration. Shares in Linn Energy LLC are down slightly by 0.33% to stand at $38.70 in early afternoon trade. It looks like the strategist responsible for the transaction sold 2,000 puts at the July $36 strike for a premium of $1.15 per contract…
World of Worry Wednesday – The China Syndrome
by Phil - November 17th, 2010 7:52 am
Strap in kids, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!
Nomura Holdings joined Goldman Sachs in advising investors to cash out of China and that sent the Hang Seng down 478 points for the day (2%) along with another 2% loss on the Shanghai. “The likelihood of a re-introduction of price controls on food is growing,” Nomura’s Sean Darby said in a report today. “The recent run-up in agriculture prices worldwide and signs of hoarding appear to have pushed the authorities to reconsider draconian measures.” Premier Wen Jiabao confirmed on state television that the cabinet is drafting measures to counter overly rapid price gains. “Command style economic principles generally mean much lower multiples over time on the sector and stocks,” said Darby.
The US has it’s own "command style" economy with B-B-B-Bennie and the Fed commanding our inflation to go higher while China is trying to get their 4.4% inflation under control. The joke is, like Sidney Poitier and and Tony Curtis, our economies are shackled together through the Yuan peg as well as our codependent trading relationship. That has the World’s #1 (falling) and #2 (rising) economies engaged in a Global tug of war that threatens to tear the rest of the World to pieces and it’s just getting worse every day.
With the US pushing top-down QE2 inflation and China’s Premier calling for consumer price controls on food (and soon fuel too as a severe winter is forecast for China) it’s not surprising that Carlsberg’s Chongquing Brewery Company fell limit down (10%) on the Shanghai this morning along with several other food and beverage distributors. Copper, sugar and rubber also went limit-down in China with copper dropping all the way to $3.60 (down 10% in a week) into China’s close at 3am.
Meanwhile Bernanke is like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Given the magic hat – he commands his broom army to fetch buckets of dollars to inflate the economy the easy way but his lazy solution quickly turns into disaster as the waters start rising and he finds he has no way to stem the rising tide of inflation. Already, the rest of the world is drowning and not many have China’s ability to bail themselves out. This is not likely to end well…
Europe (who are caught in the middle) is already under tremendous strain with Matt…
Enormous Prints in Put Options on Tech. Select Sector SPDR Fund
by Option Review - October 27th, 2010 4:35 pm
Today’s tickers: XLK, ENR, IYR, ALTR, AVP, JCP & TQNT
XLK - Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund – One big options market participant traded a total of 524,600 put options on the technology SPDR ETF this afternoon. It looks like the party responsible for the massive transactions rolled a previously established debit put spread in the December contract forward to the longer-dated March 2011 contract. Shares of the XLK, an exchange-traded fund that mirrors the performance of the Technology Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index, are down slightly by 0.20% to stand at $24.19 as of 2:15 pm in New York. The XLK jumped to the top of our ‘most active by options volume’ scanner after the 112,300-lot December $23/$20 put spread was sold for a net $0.31 per contract. This spread appears to have been initially purchased for a net premium of $0.68 each back on October 7, 2010, when the price of the underlying fund was trading around $23.14. Today, the XLK-options player sold the massive spread in order to purchase an even larger one at the same strike prices in the March 2011 contract. The new put position involved the purchase of 150,000 lots at the March 2011 $23 strike for a premium of $0.96 each, and the sale of the same number of puts at the lower March $2011 $20 strike at a premium of $0.31 apiece. In isolation, the net cost of buying the longer-dated put spread amounts to $0.65 per contract and yields downside protection for the investor should shares of the XLK trade below the breakeven price of $22.35 by March expiration. Enormous trades such as these tend to be tied to stock. Perhaps this trader is augmenting the size of the put spread because he has increased his exposure to the technology sector. Around the same time the puts were bring traded, some 733,000 shares of the underlying were purchased for $24.12 each. We note, however, that at this time there is no way…
Strangle Strategist Sees Range-Bound Shares at The Cheesecake Factory
by Option Review - September 7th, 2010 4:03 pm
Today’s tickers: CAKE, LVS, IYR, TEVA, EEM, S, CREE & EXPE
CAKE – The Cheesecake Factory, Inc. – One premium-hungry options strategist sold a strangle on the full-service dining restaurants operator this afternoon in the expectation that its shares are set to trade within a narrow range through October expiration. Cheesecake Factory’s shares fell 1.45% late in the session to trade at $25.38 by 3:35 pm ET. The investor sold 3,000 puts at the October $25 strike for premium of $1.05 apiece and sold 3,000 calls at the October $26 strike at a premium of $1.05 each in order to pocket gross premium of $2.10 per contract. Full retention of the premium received today occurs as long as shares of the underlying stock trade between $25.00 and $26.00 through October expiration. Wayward shifts in the price of CAKE’s shares could give this strangle-player a severe stomachache as losses start to build should shares rally above the upper breakeven price of $28.10, or if shares dip under the lower breakeven point at $22.90, ahead of expiration day in October.
LVS – Las Vegas Sands Corp. – Shares in casino resort operator Las Vegas Sands commenced the session in the red but rallied in afternoon trading to stand 1.05% higher on the day at $31.32 as of 3:45 pm ET. Earlier in the day shares increased as much as 1.5% to secure a new 52-week high of $31.46. One long-term bullish investor hoping to see continued appreciation in the price of the underlying stock established a covered call in the March 2011 contract. The trader sold 10,000 calls at the March 2011 $40 strike for premium of $1.73 per contract. The transaction had a delta of .30 and was tied to the purchase of LVS shares at $31.20 each. Premium received on the sale of the calls effectively reduces the price paid by the investor to get long the stock. The bullish player is poised to accumulate maximum potential gains of 35.7% on the run up in LVS shares from an effective purchase price of $29.47 to $40.00 if the calls land in-the-money at expiration and the underlying position is called away from the trader at that time.
IYR – iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index ETF – The construction of a debit put spread on the IYR, an exchange-traded fund that corresponds to the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index…
Three-Legged Bearish Tactician Targets iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index ETF
by Option Review - August 28th, 2010 5:04 pm
Today’s tickers: IYR, NSM, IGT, GFRE, LNC, BHI, ONNN & HPQ
IYR – iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index ETF – A three-legged bearish options combination play on the IYR, an exchange-traded fund designed to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index – an index created to measure the performance of the real estate sector of the U.S. equity market, indicates one big player is bracing for a pullback in shares of the ETF through the end of 2010. Shares of the fund went the way of the market this afternoon and rallied 1.05% to $50.71 with less than one hour remaining in the trading week. The investor sold roughly 10,000 calls at the December $55 strike at an average premium of $1.35 each, purchased about 10,000 puts at the December $50 strike for an average premium of $3.65 apiece, and shed 10,000 puts at the lower December $43 strike at an average premium of $1.43 a-pop. The net cost of the pessimistic play is reduced to $0.87 per contract. The transaction could be a hedge to protect the value of a large position in IYR shares. But, if the spread represents an outright bearish bet on the ETF, the investor is poised to profit should shares dip below the average breakeven price of $49.13 by December expiration. Maximum available profits in this scenario amount to $6.13 per contract if the fund’s shares plummet 15.2% from the current price to trade below $43.00 by expiration day.
NSM – National Semiconductor Corp. – Shares in semiconductor manufacturer, National Semiconductor Corp., earlier slipped 2.05% to touch a new 52-week low of $12.41, but the stock came roaring back to life in afternoon trading, rallying as much as 3.2% to an intraday high of $13.08. The significant shifts in the price of the underlying shares inspired investors to purchase both call and put options on the stock today. Options traders may also be gravitating toward NSM options ahead of the firm’s first-quarter earnings report scheduled for September 9, 2010. Investors heartened by the turn-around in shares purchased approximately 5,800 calls at the November $13 strike for an average premium of $0.85 apiece. Call buyers make money if National Semiconductor’s shares rally another 5.9% over today’s high of $13.08 to trade above the average breakeven price of $13.85 by expiration…
Delta Air Lines Receives Contrarian Bullish Combo Play
by Option Review - August 19th, 2010 4:44 pm
Today’s tickers: DAL, AKAM, GG & IYR
DAL – Delta Air Lines, Inc. – One contrarian investor initiated a three-legged bullish options combination play on Delta Air Lines today with shares of the underlying stock trading lower by 6.25% on the day at $10.65 as of 12:55 pm ET. It looks like the trader is betting Delta’s shares are not likely to fall much lower ahead of expiration in January 2011. The investor sold 4,000 puts at the January 2011 $10 strike for premium of $1.17 each, shed another 4,000 puts at the lower January 2011 $9.0 strike for premium of $0.80 apiece, and finally purchased 4,000 calls at the higher January 2011 $12.5 strike at a premium of $0.98 a-pop. The transaction yields a net credit of $1.00 per contract to the investor, which he keeps in full as long as the airline’s shares exceed $10.00 through expiration day. The long stance in call options implies the potential for additional profits to be made should DAL’s shares surge 17.4% over the current price of $10.65 to surpass the $12.50-level ahead of expiration in January. If shares continue to descend, however, the investor could wind up having a total of 800,000 shares put to him in the event both chunks of puts at the January 2011 $10/$9.0 strikes land in-the-money at expiration.
AKAM – Akamai Technologies, Inc. – Bullish players are dominating trading activity in Akamai Technologies’ options this morning due to reports of renewed takeover chatter. Investors expecting AKAM’s shares to climb higher are scooping up call options in the August and September contracts. The firm’s shares are currently up 2.8% on the day to arrive at $45.30 as of 11:30 am ET. Traders purchased at least 4,200 now in-the-money calls at the August $45 strike for an average premium of $0.45 apiece. Call buyers at this strike make money if, by expiration tomorrow, Akamai’s shares exceed the average breakeven price of $45.45. Optimism spread to the September contract where traders picked up 1,100 call options at the September $49 strike for an average premium of $0.69 a-pop. Investors long the September $49 strike calls are positioning for AKAM’s shares to rally to a new 52-week high by expiration day next month. The current 52-week high on the stock is $46.72, but the price of the underlying stock would need to surge 9.7% over the current price of…
Investor Optimism Apparent in Yahoo! Options Action
by Option Review - July 8th, 2010 5:59 pm
Today’s tickers: YHOO, PG, MWW, PWER, IYR, HRB, ANF, CSC & EWH
YHOO – Yahoo!, Inc. – The online media company made an appearance on our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner after one investor initiated a long-term bullish stance on the stock. Yahoo’s shares increased 1.10% to stand at $14.56 by 3:05 pm (ET). Optimism on the operator of one of the most heavily trafficked Internet destinations was perhaps inspired by words from the firm’s CFO, Tim Morse, who intends to end the company’s pattern of poor M&A decisions. Morse addressed Yahoo’s history of overpaying for acquisitions and later selling those assets at a disadvantageous price by announcing plans to improve the company’s return on invested capital to 18% to 24% in 2013 from approximately 5% in 2009. One optimistic options trader opted to purchase a plain-vanilla debit call spread on Yahoo! in order to position for share price appreciation through expiration in January 2011. The investor picked up 5,000 in-the-money calls at the January 2011 $14 strike for a premium of $1.92 apiece, and sold the same number of calls at the higher January 2011 $17.5 strike for a premium of $0.58 each. Net premium paid to establish the spread amounts to $1.34 per contract. Thus, the bullish trader makes money if Yahoo’s shares rally 5.35% to trade above the effective breakeven point on the spread at $15.34 by expiration day in January 2011. The investor exits with maximum potential profits of $2.16 per contract if the online media company’s shares surge 20.2% over the current price of $14.56 to trade above $17.50 by expiration.
PG – The Proctor & Gamble Co. – Investor demand for call options on the global provider of branded packaged consumer goods surged during afternoon trading with options participants exchanging more than 4.4 calls on the stock to each single put option in play thus far in the session. PG’s shares rallied 1.7% to $61.85 by 3:30 pm (ET). It looks like bullish players expecting Proctor & Gamble’s shares to trade at a new 52-week high by August expiration purchased at least 17,900 calls options at the August $65 strike for an average premium of $0.21 per contract. Call buyers are poised to profit should shares of the underlying stock jump 5.4%, surpass the stock’s current 52-week high of $64.10, and trade above the average breakeven price of $65.21 by August expiration.…
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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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