Options Player Plants Short Straddle on Health Management Associates
by Option Review - June 6th, 2011 4:15 pm
Today’s tickers: HMA, DELL, AWI & DISCA
HMA - Health Management Associates, Inc. – A sizable short straddle on the provider of health care services yields maximum benefits to the seller at expiration if the price of the underlying stock remains fairly stagnant in the next couple of months. Shares in Health Management Associates fell 1.75% this afternoon to $10.69 just before 12:30pm in New York. Options volume in the amount of 10,000 calls and 10,000 puts employed by the straddle-strategist is huge compared to overall previously existing open interest on HMA of 12,857 contracts. It looks like the trader sold the straddle outright, receiving $0.45 per contract on the sale of 10,000 calls at the August $11 strike, and taking in $0.90 per contract on the sale of 10,000 puts at the same strike. Gross premium pocketed on the trade amounts to $1.35 per contract, which the trader keeps in full if shares in HMA settle at $11.00 at expiration day in August. The investor may retain some portion of the $1.35 per contract as long as shares remain range-bound within the upper breakeven price of $12.35, and the lower breakeven point at $9.65, through expiration. Shares in the health care provider have traded above $9.65 since the end of February, and have not topped $12.35 since 2007. Of course, the options player need not hold the position through expiration to make the transaction worth his while. The effects of time erosion on options premium as well as lower volatility could be beneficial for the investor, and may allow him to buy back the straddle at an advantageous price at some point ahead of August expiration. Health Management Associates is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings after the closing bell on July 26, 2011.
DELL - Dell, Inc. – Shares in…