Upside Calls In Play On Big Lots
by Option Review - December 17th, 2013 4:38 pm
BIG – Big Lots, Inc. – Options volume on broadline closeout retailer Big Lots is roughly 2.5 times the average daily level for the stock, with roughly 7,200 contracts traded as of 11:15 a.m. EST versus the average 2,800 contracts that trade on BIG per day. The most actively traded contracts on Big Lots this morning indicate some traders may be positioning for shares in the name to rally substantially at the start of the New Year.
The Jan ’14 $32.5 strike calls have traded more than 6,500 times against open interest of just 813 contracts. Time and sales data suggests much of the volume was purchased in the early going for an average premium of $0.60 apiece. Buyers of the $32.5 strike calls stand ready to profit at expiration next month should shares in Big Lots rally more than 6.0% over the current price of $31.14 to exceed the breakeven point at $33.10. Shares in BIG fell sharply earlier in the month after the company posted a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss and lowered its full-year earnings forecast; shares in the name are down more than 15% since the December 5th earnings report.
GM – General Motors Co. – Shares in GM rallied during the first hour of the session, briefly trading up to a fresh record high of $41.85 before retreating into negative territory. The stock is currently down 0.50% on the day at $41.22 just before 11:00 a.m. EST.
Among GM options contracts set to expire at the end of this week, the 20 Dec ’13 $40.5 strike puts attracted the most volume near the open. Upwards of 3,500 of the $40.5 strike puts changed hands against open interest of 1,778 contracts, with most of the volume purchased at a premium of $0.15 each at around the same time that the price of GM shares were pushing toward the highest level of the day. The subsequent dip in the price of the underlying this morning has nearly doubled the asking premium on the $40.5 strike weekly puts to $0.28 each as of the time of this writing.
The 20 Dec ‘13 $40.5 puts may be profitable at expiration this week if shares in General Motors slip 2.1% from the current level to trade below the breakeven point at $40.35.
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Big Lots Options Active As Shares Slide After Q3 Earnings
by Option Review - December 6th, 2013 5:13 pm
BIG – Big Lots, Inc. – Shares in the largest U.S. broadline closeout retailer are down big today, with the stock dropping nearly 14% to $32.00, the lowest level since August 23rd., after Big Lots posted a wider than expected third-quarter loss of $0.18 a share on revenue that came in below the average analyst estimate for the metric.
December expiry options changing hands on Big Lots in the early going today indicate some traders are positioning for the price of the underlying to sell down further during the next couple of weeks. Traders appear to have purchased around 770 of the Dec $30 strike puts at a premium of $0.20 each. Put buyers may profit at expiration if shares in BIG decline 7.0% from today’s low of $32.00 to trade below the breakeven point on the downside at $29.80. Shares in Big Lots last traded below $29.80 back in January.
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Volume In Big Lots Put Options On The Rise Ahead Of Earnings
by Option Review - August 15th, 2013 4:53 pm
Today’s tickers: BIG, INTC & SWHC
BIG - Big Lots, Inc. – Shares in closeout retailer, Big Lots, are in negative territory this morning, down 2.6% at $35.06 as of 11:00 a.m. ET amid a down day for U.S. equities. The stock popped up on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner near the start of the trading session due to heavier than usual trading in September expiry puts. The Sep $32.5 strike puts are the most traded options by volume on BIG thus far in the session, with more than 2,800 lots in play versus open interest of 368 contracts. Time and sales data suggests most of the put options were purchased for an average premium of $0.77 apiece. Put buyers stand ready to profit at expiration should shares in Big Lots drop 9.5% from the current price of $35.06 to settle below the breakeven point at $31.73. Shares in BIG last traded below $31.73 on July 1st. The company’s unconfirmed second-quarter earnings release date is next Thursday, August 22nd.
INTC - Intel Corporation – Trading in weekly options on Intel is mixed this morning, with shares in the chipmaker off 2.0% to stand at $22.12 as of midday in New York. Volume in the newly issued August 23 ’13 expiry options is heaviest in the $22 puts, with more than 18,000 contracts traded thus far in the session. A look at time and sales data suggests that most of the put options were purchased for an average premium of $0.18 apiece. The near-term bearish contracts make money at expiration next week if shares in Intel decline another 1.4% from the current price of $22.12 to breach the effective breakeven point on the downside at $21.82. Conversely, fresh interest in the Aug 23 ’13 $22.5 strike calls indicates some traders are…
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IBM Call Buyers Foresee New All-Time Highs Ahead
by Option Review - April 24th, 2012 2:41 pm
Today’s tickers: IBM, BIG & MMM
IBM - International Business Machines Corp. – Bullish options are in play on the world’s largest computer services provider this morning after IBM raised its quarterly dividend to $0.85 a share and increased the size of its stock buyback plan by $7 billion. Shares in the Armonk, New York-based Company are up 1.65% at $201.90 as of 11:05 a.m. ET. Weekly calls with a few trading days remaining to expiration are active, with the April ’27 $205 strike contracts drawing the heaviest volume in the expiry. The $205 calls have changed hands more than 2,300 times in the first half of the session versus 779 open positions, and it looks like most of the volume was purchased for an average premium of $0.26 apiece. Call buyers may profit at expiration as long as shares in IBM rally another 1.7% to surpass the average breakeven price of $205.26. Meanwhile, fresh interest in the June expiry calls suggests some traders are positioning for IBM’s shares to potentially hit fresh record highs in the next couple of months. The June $215 strike calls have traded more than 600 times this morning against open interest of 133 contracts, with much of the volume initiated by buyers paying $0.37 apiece, on average. Investors long the calls stand ready to profit in the event that shares in IBM surge 6.7% to top an average breakeven share price – and new all-time high – of $215.37 by June expiration.
BIG - Big Lots, Inc. – Shares in Big Lots are down big time after the discount retailer of consumer goods lowered its first-quarter sales forecast. The Columbus, Ohio-based Company’s shares are down more than 20.0% today to stand at $36.40 on the sales guidance and a slew of analyst…
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Coach Options Embossed With Bearish Paw Prints
by Option Review - September 30th, 2011 3:13 pm
Today’s tickers: COH, BIG & MOLX
COH - Coach, Inc. – Concern that growth may be slowing in China sparked selling pressure in shares of luxury goods retailers such as Coach, Inc. this week. Shares in the largest U.S. luxury leather goods seller fell 0.90% to $53.51 on Friday afternoon, adding to Thursday’s losses of roughly 6.0%. A three-legged options trade initiated on the stock this morning suggests one strategist expects shares to continue to decline in the next couple of months. The trader may be assuming an outright bearish or protective stance on Coach ahead of the company’s first-quarter earnings report on October 25.
The investor appears to have sold 1,100 calls at the Nov. $57.5 strike for a premium of $2.50 each, in order to offset the cost of buying the 1,100-lot bearish Nov. $43/$50 put spread purchased at a net premium of $2.20 per contract. The trader pockets a net credit of $0.30 per contract on the transaction, which he keeps in full as long as shares in Coach fail to rally above $57.50 at expiration. Additional profits are available to the investor should COH’s shares fall 6.6% from the current price of $53.51 to breach $50.00. Maximum potential profits of $7.30 per contract, including the net credit of $0.30, pad the investor’s hand-stitched fine Italian leather wallet if the stock drops 19.6% to settle beneath $43.00 a share at November expiration.
The bear put spread normally limits an investor’s maximum loss potential to the net premium paid, however, the addition of the short calls introduces additional risk to the position. If…
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Bullish Players Frequent Las Vegas Sands as Shares Continue to Hit New 52-Week Highs
by Option Review - November 2nd, 2010 8:16 am
Today’s tickers: LVS, INTC, DFS, BIG, SWN, MRVL, XRT & FTNT
LVS - Las Vegas Sands Corp. – Shares of the casino resort operator rallied as much as 3.5% during the trading session to hit an intraday- and new 52-week high of $47.48 on news Macau casino revenue, bolstered by China’s Golden Week holiday, jumped 50% to a record in October. Analysts at Morgan Stanley raised their target price on LVS to $50.00 from $36.00, maintained an ‘overweight’ rating on the stock, upped their EPS estimate on the company for fiscal 2010 to $0.96 a share from $0.69 a share, and increased their EPS forecast for 2011 for LVS to $1.85 per share from $1.19 per share. Options traders are initiating bullish positions on the casino operator today and are currently trading more than 2.2 calls on the stock for each single put option changing hands. Near-term November contract calls and puts are the most popular with less than 30 minutes remaining before the final bell. Bulls sold more than 1,000 puts at the November $45 and $47 strikes to pocket an average premium of $1.23 and $2.10, respectively. Investors short the puts keep the premium received as long as shares exceed the strike prices described by November expiration. Meanwhile, call buyers scooped up 1,600 in-the-money contracts at the November $46 strike for an average premium of $2.63 each. Another 1,100 calls were purchased at the higher November $47 strike for an average premium of $2.14 a-pop. Investors hoping to see LVS shares increase significantly before the year ends purchased some 1,800 calls up at the December $50 strike for an average premium of $2.24 per contract. Traders holding these contracts profit if Las Vegas Sands’ shares surge 10.00% over today’s high of $47.48 to trade above the effective breakeven price of $52.24 by expiration day next month. Options implied volatility on LVS is up 5.7% to arrive at 50.30% as of 3:40 pm in New York trading.
INTC - Intel Corp. – One big options…
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Mixed Sentiment on BAC Pits Bulls Against Bears
by Option Review - December 4th, 2009 4:11 pm
Today’s tickers: BAC, XRX, XLF, CAR, XLU, BIG, SLM, TTWO, MRVL & TSN
BAC – Bank of America Corp. – Investors employed two contradictory option strategies in the February contract on Bank of America today. One trader initiated a large bearish risk reversal while the other put on a bullish call spread. BAC’s shares rallied 3.5% this afternoon to $16.30. The pessimistic investor appears to have sold 30,000 in-the-money call options at the February 15 strike for 1.74 apiece in order to purchase 30,000 puts at the same strike for 84 cents each. The reversal results in a net credit of 90 cents per contract to the trader. Perhaps this individual expects shares to decline beneath the $15-level by expiration so he may retain the full 90 cent credit on the trade. Bullish trading in the same February 2010 contract suggests shares are set to rally higher in the next few months. An optimistic investor purchased 10,000 calls at the February 17 strike for 89 cents each, and sold the same number of calls at the higher February 19 strike for 34 cents apiece. The net cost of the spread amounts to 55 cents per contract. Maximum potential profits of 1.45 are available to the investor if shares increase more than 16.5% from the current price to a new 52-week high of $19.00 by expiration in February.
XRX – Xerox Corp. – One investor utilized the risk reversal strategy in order to take a long-term bullish stance on Xerox. Shares moved 1% higher this afternoon to $7.85. It looks like the trader sold 20,000 puts at the January 2011 7.5 strike for a premium of 1.15 each to partially finance the purchase of 20,000 calls at the same strike for 1.60 apiece. The net cost of the reversal amounts to 45 cents per contract. The investor profits if shares surpass the breakeven price of $7.95 within the next 12 months to expiration.
XLF – Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF – Shares of the XLF rallied 0.75% in afternoon trading to stand at $14.46. Bullish options activity on the fund suggests shares are likely to appreciate within the next several months. Optimistic investors purchased 69,000 in-the-money call options at the March 14 strike for an average premium of 1.36 per contract. XLF shares must rise 6% from the current price before profits accumulate above the breakeven point at $15.35. Shares last…
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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.