Put Plays Suggest Dim View Of First Solar Through Year End
by Option Review - September 28th, 2011 2:15 pm
Today’s tickers: FSLR, DBC, CDE & SNDK
FSLR - First Solar, Inc. – Put options are active on the world’s largest maker of thin-film solar modules this morning, with shares in the Tempe, Arizona-based company falling as much as 8.35% to touch an intraday low of $66.23. Shares fell after analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their 2011 EPS estimates for First Solar, cut their target share price to $55.00 from $88.00, and reiterated a ‘Sell’ rating on the stock. A debit put spread initiated in the December contract may yield maximum potential profits to one bearish trader if shares in FSLR drop to $55.00 at expiration. It looks like the trader purchased 2,000 in-the-money puts at the Dec. $70 strike for an average premium of $11.50 each, and sold the same number of puts at the lower Dec. $55 strike at an average premium of $4.83 apiece. Net premium paid to initiate the spread amounts to $6.67 per contract. The investor profits at expiration in December if shares in First Solar fall 4.4% off today’s low of $66.23 to breach the effective breakeven point on the spread at $63.33. Maximum potential profits of $8.33 per contract are available to the trader should shares plunge 16.95% to trade below $55.00 at December expiration. Options implied volatility on the stock is up 10.05% at 85.13% as of 12:30 pm EDT.
DBC - PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund – Shares in the PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund, an ETF that tracks the performance of the DBIQ Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Index Excess Return, are down slightly by 0.20% to stand at $27.05 this morning. The price of the underlying has fallen 10.5% since the start of September, but options activity on the fund today suggests at least one strategist may benefit from…
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn 
del.icio.us
DiggOptions Strategist Portends Sharp Rally in St. Jude Medical
by Option Review - June 24th, 2011 5:30 pm
Today’s tickers: STJ, POT, SNDK & FXI
STJ - St. Jude Medical, Inc. – A three-legged bullish options combination play on St. Jude Medical cost $8,500 to initiate today, but the strategist responsible for the transaction could walk away with more than $1.26 million in his wallet come January 2012 expiration. The options player appears to have sold puts on the medical devices maker to offset premium required to purchase a bull call spread. Shares in St. Jude Medical are currently down 1.9% to stand at $46.49 as of 1:10pm on the East Coast.
The investor sold 1,700 puts at the Jan. 2012 $40 strike for a premium of $1.70 each, purchased the same number of calls up at the Jan. 2012 $50 strike at a premium of $2.45 per contract, and sold 1,700 calls at the Jan. 2012 $57.5 strike for premium of $0.70 apiece. The net cost of putting on the three-way trade amounts to $0.05 per contract or a total of $8,500. The spread positions the trader to make money should STJ’s shares rally 7.7% over the current price of $46.49 to exceed the effective breakeven price of $50.05 at expiration next year. Maximum potential profits of $7.45 per contract, or $1,266,500, are available to the investor if the price of the underlying stock jumps 23.7% in the next seven months to trade above $57.50 at expiration in January. The trader loses the $8,500 paid to establish the position if shares fail to rally as predicted. Additional losses accumulate if shares are sharply lower at expiration. The short stance in Jan. 2012 $40 strike puts indicates the investor may wind up having 170,000 shares of the underlying put to him at $40.00 each should the options land in-the-money at expiration day. The maximum payload requires STJ…
Options Strategists Take the Wheel at Ford Motor Co.
by Option Review - December 21st, 2010 4:10 pm
Today’s tickers: F, NKE, TSRA, PCX, STI, CSCO & SNDK
F - Ford Motor Co. – A couple of large-volume spreads initiated in longer-dated call and put options on the automaker caught our eye this afternoon. Shares in Ford Motor Company increased 0.90% this afternoon to stand at $17.00 in the final minutes of the trading day. It looks like one bullish player employed the use of a debit call spread in the April 2011 contract while a more cautious investor utilized a ratio put spread expiring in June of 2011. The options optimist picked up 10,000 calls at the April 2011 $17 strike for a premium of $1.25 each, and sold the same number of calls at the higher April 2011 $20 strike at a premium of $0.29 apiece, in order to position for continued bullish movement in the price of the car manufacturer’s shares. The trader paid a net premium of $0.96 per contract for the spread, and is positioned to make money should Ford’s shares rally another 5.6% over the current price of $17.00 to exceed the effective breakeven point at $17.96 by expiration day in April. Maximum potential profits of $2.04 per contract are available to the call-spreader if Ford’s shares jump 17.6% to first surpass the current 52-week high of $17.42 on the stock, and ultimately trade above $20.00 ahead of expiration. Further along in the June 2011 contract, another strategist dabbled in put options, perhaps as a way to hedge a long position in the underlying shares through the first half of 2011, or alternatively to bet on a pullback in Ford’s shares. It looks like the investor picked up 12,500 puts at the June $17 strike at a premium of $1.63 each, and sold 25,000 puts at the lower June 2011 $14 strike for a premium of $0.54 a-pop. The trader paid a net $0.55 per contract for the ratio spread and starts making money if Ford’s shares slip beneath the effective breakeven price of $16.45 ahead of June expiration. The investor may walk away with maximum potential profits of $2.45 per contract in the event that the automaker’s shares plunge 17.6% to settle at $14.00 at expiration day. Selling twice…
Contrarian Player Positions for Rebound in Cytokinetics Shares in 2011
by Option Review - December 13th, 2010 4:03 pm
Today’s tickers: CYTK, SNDK, XCO, GIII & CFN
CYTK - Cytokinetics, Inc. – One bullish options investor appears to be taking advantage of the massive pullback in the price of the biopharmaceutical company’s shares today by initiating a sizeable buy-write strategy using call options expiring in June of 2011. Cytokinetics’ shares fell as much as 23.2% during the session to touch an intraday low of $2.25 despite seemingly positive results from its Phase 2a trial of its experimental drug therapy aimed at improving quality of life for patients suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Reports indicated the firm plans to launch another mid-stage trial to test multiple doses of the drug over a three-month period in the first half of 2011. The covered-call seller populating CYTK today is well positioned to benefit from a rebound in the price of the underlying shares in the first half of 2011. It looks like the investor purchased 395,000 shares of CYTK at a price of $2.32 each, and sold 3,950 calls at the June 2011 $2.5 strike for a premium of $0.45 a-pop. The sale of the call options effectively reduces the price paid to get long the stock from $2.32 a share to $1.87 each. Thus, the buy-write strategist is positioned to accrue maximum gains of 33.7% on the long stock position in the event that Cytokinetics’ shares surge 11.1% over today’s low of $2.25 to exceed $2.50 a share ahead of expiration day in June. The investor may have the underlying stock position called from him at $2.50 each if the calls land in-the-money at expiration, thus allowing him to exit the position with the 33.7% rise in shares from $1.87 to $2.50. More than 4,050 calls changed hands at the June 2011 $2.5 strike today, versus previously existing open interest of just 451 contracts at that strike.
SNDK - SanDisk Corp. – Bulls are picking up in- and out-of-the-money call options on the maker of flash-based storage products once again today with shares in SanDisk Corp. trading…
Bulls Find Lululemon Call Options Irresistible as Shares Soar
by Option Review - December 10th, 2010 4:59 pm
Today’s tickers: LULU, IRM, GAP, SNDK, STI & DFS
LULU - Lululemon Athletica, Inc. – Shares of the yoga clothing and accessories maker stretched and lengthened up to new all-time highs yet again today, attracting bullish options players more than willing to flex their call-buying muscles in the December and January 2011 contracts. LULU’s shares jumped more than 8.95% to secure an intraday- and new all-time high of $69.25 in the final thirty minutes of the trading week. The Canadian company’s shares have been unstoppable, rallying an incredible 167.5% to today’s high from a 52-week low of $25.75 on February 5, 2010. Shares are up 1,490.8% since March 6, 2009, when the stock touched down at an all time low of $4.33 a share at around the same time the S&P 500 Index hit rock-bottom in the most recent economic recession. Investors unwilling to stand in the way of such a driving force picked up call options on Lululemon to position for additional share price gains going forward. Traders purchased some 1,100 in-the-money calls at the December $65 strike for an average premium of $2.67 each. Call buyers at this strike profit if LULU’s shares exceed the average breakeven price of $67.67 through December expiration. Other bullish players sold roughly 1,650 puts at the December $65 strike to pocket premium of $1.08 per contract. Put sellers keep the full premium received on the transaction as long as shares trade above $65.00 through expiration in one week. Investors short the puts are happy to have shares of the underlying stock put to them at an average price of $63.92 a share in the event that the puts land in-the-money at expiration. Bullish players skipped to the January 2011 contract to purchase out-of-the-money calls, as well. Investors bought more than 1,000 January 2011 $70 strike calls for an average premium of $2.21 each. Uber-bullish players picked up another 2,000 calls at the higher January 2011 $75 strike at an average premium of $1.19 a-pop. Call…
JP Morgan Options Player Portends Near-Term Rebound in Shares
by Option Review - November 30th, 2010 4:18 pm
Today’s tickers: JPM, UPS, GM, SNDK, FO & SVU
JPM - JPMorgan Chase & Co. – One options strategist expecting a near-term turnaround in JPMorgan’s shares purchased a call spread in the December contract today. Shares of the financial services firm are currently down 0.75% to stand at $37.62 in the final hour of the trading session. It looks like the investor picked up 7,000 calls at the December $38 strike at a premium of $0.80 each, and sold the same number of calls at the higher December $40 strike for a premium of $0.22 apiece. Net premium paid to initiate the bullish spread amounts to $0.58 per contract, thus positioning the trader to make money should shares in JPMorgan climb 2.55% to surpass the effective breakeven price of $38.58 by December expiration day. The call-spreader stands prepared to accumulate maximum potential profits of $1.42 per contract if shares rally 6.3% over the current price of $37.62 to trade above $40.00 by expiration day in the final month of the year.
UPS - United Parcel Service, Inc. – Bullish options traders are scooping up in- and out-of-the-money call options on UPS this afternoon. Shares of the package delivery services provider increased as much as 0.80% today to hit an intraday- and new 52-week high of $70.44. The stock is currently up 0.40% to arrive at $70.15 as of 1:50 pm. More than 25,700 option contracts have changed hands on UPS thus far today, with more than 4.25 calls exchanged on the stock for each single put contract that has traded. Near-term bulls purchased more than 1,400 now in-the-money calls at the December $70 strike for an average premium of $1.16 each. Optimists looked up to the higher December $72.5 strike where more than 13,000 calls changed hands versus previously existing open…
Analyst Upgrades Spur Options Traders to Action at SanDisk Corp.
by Option Review - November 24th, 2010 4:54 pm
Today’s tickers: SNDK, NTT, SNIC & DE
SNDK - SanDisk Corp. – Options on the manufacturer of data storage products are popular today after analyst upgrades sent shares of the underlying stock up as much as 6.145% to an intraday high of $45.60. An analyst at UBS upped his share price target on SanDisk to $55.00 from $50.00, while analysts at Morgan Stanley reiterated their ‘overweight’ rating on SNDK with a share price target of $49.00. Options expiring in December are the most active as of 12:55 pm in New York with shares in the name trading 5.15% higher on the day at $45.18. Notable bullish interest in out-of-the-money calls caught our eye. More than 4,200 calls changed hands at the December $46 strike, surpassing volume represented by previously existing open interest at that strike. It looks like the majority of those calls were purchased for an average premium of $1.46 per contract. Call buyers stand prepared to profit in the event that SanDisk’s shares surge 5.05% over the current price of $45.18 to surpass the average breakeven point to the upside at $47.46 by expiration day in December. Meanwhile, near-term put action was largely generated by an investor purchasing a put spread. It looks like the trader picked up roughly 2,000 puts at the December $42 strike for a premium of $0.85 a-pop, and sold about the same number of puts at the lower December $41 strike for a premium of $0.57 each. Net premium paid for the spread amounts to $0.28 per contract and positions the trader to make money if shares slip beneath the effective breakeven price of $41.72 by expiration day. Maximum available profits of $0.72 apiece pad the investor’s wallet if SNDK’s shares plunge 9.25% lower to trade below $41.00 ahead of expiration in the final month of the year.…
Which Way Wednesday – Top of the Charts Edition
by Phil - October 13th, 2010 4:20 am
Is it time to throw fundamentals out the window?
As we went through the Sept 21st Fed minutes in yesterday’s Member chat we read some things that were AWFUL about the economy. I went through my usual exercise of parsing out the minutes and making comments for Members and it’s been a long time since I had to use red highlights that often! Still the market rallied, ostensibly on the premise that the economy is SO BAD, that the Fed will have no choice but to flood the economy with newly printed Dollars so that a rising tide of currency will lift all asset ships.
The boy from Zimbabwe on the right is a multi-Trillionaire and those Trillions should be just enough to buy him a loaf of bread if he hurries to the store before they change the prices this morning. This is what is happening to our own economy, only on a smaller scale (so far). Our government, like Zimbabwe, has gotten into so much debt that they can never hope to repay it but new bills keep coming in every day so – What is a government to do?
Why print more money of course!
Now, when a bill comes in, they just crank up the presses and drop the fresh bills in an envelope. Unfortunately, after a while, the people who provide goods and services you and your government pay for begin to catch on that those bills are suddenly very easy to come by and they begin to demand more and more of them as exchange. It’s a little hard to picture unless you run it into the abstract but think of it like an auction, where 5 people have $5 each to bid on 5 items. Well those items (commodities) will get somewhere between $0 and $5 from the bidders, right? Now, what happens if one of the bidders prints himself up $45 additional dollars? Now he can bid $10 on each item and the other bidders will get nothing.
That’s what the top 1% are doing with commodities and other assets right now. The assets are the same assets they were last year and the year before that. There has been very little variation between supply and demand and demand has probably gone down a bit during the recession but that doesn’t matter as 1% of the people have MUCH…
Testy Tuesday – Fed Pop or Drop?
by Phil - September 21st, 2010 8:27 am
Isn’t this exciting?
We popped all of our 5% levels yesterday, now all we have to do is hold them and we can start looking ahead to the 10% lines. Just 10 days ago, on Friday the 10th, we did our last multi-chart study and I said in the morning post: "I am not TA guy but If I were a bear, I’d be pretty darned concerned about the charts as it looks to me like the 20-day moving averages are registering a short-term mistake in a generally rising trend." Look at how those 20 dma’s have snapped up in less than 2 weeks (blue lines are mid-points, green circles are 5% levels):
So Gold and Transports are running away with SOX falling behind. We’ve been playing the SOX up with USD, which is up 10% since I picked it in that Friday’s post but that’s been a relative underperformer for us as we nailed the bottom with a buying frenzy into the late August drop which culminated with my very bullish "September’s Dozen" from the 3rd. There were actually 10 stocks and only 9 fit in the multi-chart (I dropped HMY, who already gained 15%) with way more than a dozen trade ideas for our Members to take advantage of the anticipated short-term moves. Of the 10, only IRM has been laying around but we weren’t expecting a quick move on them and played a conservative April spread and took the risk on Oct $22.50 calls, which are our only loser, down 30% at .20 but I still like them if we break up from here.
The leverage you can gain with option plays is truly stunning. On BRCM, for example, the trade idea was a straight purchase of the Sept $32 calls for $1.25, BRCM topped out at $35.49 with the calls close to $3 on the 14th and they expired on Friday at $2.16, which is up 72%, even for people who didn’t stop out between there and up 140% that Tuesday. That trade was a combo trade with the sale of the October $30 puts at .70 and those are down to .30 (up 57%) which are well on their way to expiring worthless for a full 100% gain. We also took an artificial buy/write that stretched from Jan to Jan 2012 so that was 3 trade ideas on one stock – you can see how quickly we get past a dozen!
We get aggressive at the inflection points – had we…
German
Spanish
French
Italian
Portuguese
Japanese
Korean
Russian
Chinese
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
(