BlackBerry Options In Focus As Shares Hit Highest In 7 Weeks
by Option Review - December 23rd, 2013 4:02 pm
BBRY – BlackBerry Ltd. – Shares in BlackBerry are moving higher today, up as much as 7.3% during the first half of the session to touch $7.75, the highest level since November 1st. Today’s gains add to the strong rally in BBRY shares seen on Friday on the heels of comments from the company’s interim CEO, John Chen. Currently trading at $7.64 on the day, the stock is up 40% since touching down at a record low of $5.44 on December 10th.
Upwards of 100,000 contracts have changed hands on BlackBerry as of 12:30 p.m. EST on Monday, which is around the total options volume the stock sees on average each day. Trading in BBRY calls is outpacing that of puts, with the call/put ratio hovering near 3.0 as of the time of this writing. Trading in far out of the money put options expiring in March, however, indicates some traders are prepared for the rebound in the price of the underlying to potentially reverse course during the next few months. It looks like traders snapped up around 2,500 of the Mar ’14 $4.0 strike puts at a premium of $0.08 each. The contracts may be profitable at expiration if shares in BlackBerry plunge roughly 50% from the current price of $7.64 to breach the breakeven point on the downside at $3.92.
KORS – Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. – Options on Michael Kors are more active than usual today, with volume above 12,000 contracts as of 11:30 a.m. EST versus the stock’s average daily options volume of around 7,800 contracts. Shares in the retailer fell 5.1% to $79.59 during morning trading on cautious comments regarding holiday sales from an analyst at Wedbush Securities, which has an ‘Outperform’ rating on Kors and a target price of $84.00 on the stock.
Trading in KORS weekly call and put options this morning suggests one trader is positioning for the price of the underlying to remain volatile this week. It looks like one strategist purchased a 300-lot 27 Dec ’13 $80 straddle for a net premium of $2.20 each. The position makes money if shares in the retailer rally above the upper breakeven price of $82.20 or below the lower breakeven point at $77.80 by expiration this week.
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Denbury Options In Play Ahead Of Q3 Earnings Report
by Option Review - November 4th, 2013 3:37 pm
DNR – Denbury Resources Inc. – Oil and natural gas producer Denbury Resources popped up on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner today amid heavier than usual trading in upside call options ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings report prior to the opening bell on Tuesday. Shares in DNR are up better than 2.0% at midday to stand at $19.30.
The Nov $20 strike calls are the most traded options on Denbury today, with volume currently above 6,400 contracts versus previously existing open interest of 1,076 calls. Traders appear to have purchased most of the $20 calls this morning for an average premium of $0.32 each. Buyers of the calls may profit at expiration next week if shares in Denbury Resources.
MAT – Mattel Inc. – Shares in Mattel are on the rise today, rallying as much as 2.0% to $45.70 in the first half of the trading day. Options changing hands on the maker of Barbie dolls and board games suggests some traders are positioning for the price of the underlying to extend gains in the near term.
The most traded options on MAT today are the Nov $45 strike calls, with upwards of 3,000 contracts in play against open interest of 610 contracts. Time and sales data indicates most of the $45 calls were purchased for an average premium of $0.74 each. Traders long the calls stand ready to profit at expiration this month in the event that Mattel’s shares settle above the average breakeven price of $45.74.
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Heavy Volume In BlackBerry Options
by Option Review - September 23rd, 2013 4:30 pm
BBRY – Blackberry Ltd. – Shares in BlackBerry, which were halted just before 1:30 p.m. ET with news pending, resumed trading at 2:00 p.m. ET, immediately rallying 5% to $9.15 to reverse earlier declines on reports the company has signed a letter of intent agreement with a group led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited to take the company private in a deal valued at $4.7 billion. Investors in BBRY would receive $9.00 a share in cash under the terms of the deal.
When the stock was halted, shares in the name were off 5.7% on the session at $8.23, and options volume was above 200,000 contracts, more than twice the stock’s average daily volume of around 90,000 contracts. Trading in puts on BBRY had been outpacing that of calls prior to the trading halt, with the put/call ratio at 1.6 prior to the resumption of trading.
At last check, shares in BBRY are off their highs, up 1.15% at $8.82. Options volume jumped to 335,000 contracts within 25 minutes of the resumption of trading.
P – Pandora Media, Inc. – Shares in Internet radio provider Pandora Media, Inc. are trading sharply lower today after Apple said more than 11 million unique listeners have used its iTunes Radio feature since its release. Pandora’s shares are currently down 11% at $24.00 as of 11:35 a.m. ET. Despite the rough start to the trading week, Pandora’s shares are still up approximately 130% since this time last year.
Trading in weekly call and put options on Pandora this morning suggests some traders are positioning for shares in the name to rebound, while others brace for further declines. More than 1,800 of the Sep 27 ’13 $24 strike puts changed hands by midday in New York versus open interest of 945 contracts, with much of the volume purchased at an average premium of $0.40 each. Buyers of the at-the-money puts may profit at expiration if shares in Pandora decline another 1.7% to trade below the average breakeven point at $23.60. In contrast, traders buying around 1,000 of the Sep 27 ’13 $25 strike call options for an average premium of $0.96 apiece today stand ready to profit at expiration given a more than 8.0% rebound in the price of the underlying to exceed $25.96.
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Weekly Calls In Play On Boeing As Shares Soar To Record Highs
by Option Review - September 19th, 2013 3:51 pm
BA – Boeing Company – Trading in weekly call options on Boeing today suggests some traders are positioning for shares in the maker of the Dreamliner 787 to extend gains in the near term. Shares in BA, up roughly 75% since this time last year, increased 1.6% today to a fresh record high of $120.38.
More than 2,500 of the Sep 27 ’13 $119 strike call options changed hands during morning trading against zero open positions. It looks like most of the volume was purchased for an average premium of $1.72 each. Buyers of the $119 calls stand ready to profit should shares in Boeing rally above the average breakeven price of $120.72 by expiration next week.
BBRY – BlackBerry Ltd. – Shares in the smartphone maker got off to a rocky start this morning, slipping 1.6% to $10.23 during the first thirty minutes of the session, but have since recovered to trade up 0.40% as of midday in New York.
Trading traffic in Oct 04 ’13 expiry put options today indicate at least one trader is bracing for the price of the underlying to dip sharply during the next few weeks. Around 3,000 of the Oct 04 ’13 $9.0 strike puts appear to have been purchased this morning for an average premium of $0.22 each. The bearish position makes money if shares in BlackBerry drop 14% from today’s low of $10.23 to trade below the breakeven point at $8.78 by expiration.
RAD – Rite Aid…
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BlackBerry Options Draw A Crowd As Shares Rise
by Option Review - August 13th, 2013 4:10 pm
Today’s tickers: BBRY, OSIR & EBAY
BBRY - BlackBerry Ltd. – Shares in BlackBerry are moving higher on Tuesday, extending Monday’s rally after the smartphone maker yesterday said it would explore strategic options, including a possible sale of the company. The stock popped nearly 13% to $12.18 in the early going, the highest level in six weeks. Options traders positioning for the price of the underlying to continue to climb snapped up weekly call options on BBRY straight out of the gate this morning. Trading traffic in the Aug 23 ’13 $9.5 and $12 strike calls suggests one strategist may be rolling up a bullish stance on BBRY, selling roughly 2,000 of the $9.5 calls for an average premium of $1.59 each, and buying roughly the same number of $12 calls at an average premium of $0.23 apiece within the first 20 minutes of the opening bell. Meanwhile, it looks like traders purchased more than 2,600 calls at the Aug 23 ’13 $11.5 strike for an average premium of $0.56 apiece, and around 400 calls at the Aug 23 ’13 $12 strike at a premium of $0.25 each. Buyers of the $12 calls stand ready to profit by expiration next week should shares in BlackBerry rally 3.8% over the current price of $11.80 to exceed the average breakeven price of $12.25. Not all of the trading traffic in BlackBerry options today looks for the price of the underlying to extend gains. Buyers of more than 3,200 of the Aug 23 ’13 $11 strike put options at an average premium of $0.43 per contract this morning are positioned to make money in the event that the smartphone maker’s shares drop 11% from the current price to settle below the breakeven point on the downside at $10.57 at expiration. Upwards of 204,000 options contracts have changed hands on BBRY as of 11:20 a.m. ET versus the stock’s average daily volume of around 75,000 contracts.
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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.