Road To Commodity Meltdown Paved In Silver Put Options
by Option Review - April 12th, 2011 4:39 pm
Today’s tickers: SLV, COF, DPS & ADI
SLV - iShares Silver Trust ETF – The rebound in investor sentiment following the post-earthquake, fear-driven spike in the Japanese yen was quite remarkable, with global equity benchmarks almost rebounding to February peaks. During that recovery period something critical developed in the currency world that lifted commodity prices to new heights. The debate between FOMC members regarding whether less rather than more stimulus was needed, was eclipsed by the ECB’s reversal of monetary policy, which in turn hobbled the dollar. Demand for commodities took a further step forward as investors swiftly concluded that the dollar was most likely to trail the euro even in a risk-on environment. That has made the cascade in commodity prices all the more spectacular today as growth-sensitive currencies lose favor. The IMF downgrade to growth and Goldman’s warning over a possible stall in the advance has investors targeting downside risk across the commodity field. Silver prices, already at a 30-year high, are likely to stumble further and faster according to a sizable put butterfly strategy on the iShares Silver Trust ETF today. The put ‘fly follows Monday’s massive bearish play on the SLV in which some 100,000 July $25 strike puts were picked up at a premium of $0.10 apiece. The 0.40% decline in the price of the ETF’s shares to $39.05 this afternoon saw the asking price on the July $25 strike puts more than double to $0.21 per contract at times on Tuesday. In contrast, the put’ fly player accelerated the bearish view on the price of silver by targeting May contract put options. The 25,000-lot May $34/$36/$38 bearish butterfly spread positions the player to attain maximum benefits should the price of SLV shares fall around 7.5% to $36.00 by expiration day. The spread cost the trader a net $0.31 in premium per contract, but prepares him to accumulate up to $1.69 per contract if the price of the underlying fund settles at $36.00 at expiration. Nearly 400,000 option contracts have changed hands on the SLV as of 1:15pm in New York.…
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Regional Banking ETF Put Volume Pops During Afternoon Trading
by Option Review - December 17th, 2010 4:20 pm
Today’s tickers: KRE, CPN, PRGO, FITB, DPS, SMH & M
KRE - SPDR KBW Regional Banking ETF – A large-volume debit put spread initiated on the SPDR KBW Regional Banking ETF this afternoon suggests one options investor is wary that the significant run up in the price of the underlying fund since the start of December could reverse course next year. Shares of the KRE, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the performance of the KBW Regional Banking Index, are up slightly by 0.10% to trade at $25.18 as of 3:30pm. The strategist responsible for the put spread may be building up downside protection, or alternatively, could be taking an outright bearish stance on the regional banking sector through March 2011. Shares in the fund rallied 14.25% during December so far to reach a 6-month high of $25.59 this past Wednesday. The put-spreader picked up 19,000 put options at the March 2011 $24 strike for a premium of $0.81 each, and sold the same number of puts at the lower March 2011 $20 strike at a premium of $0.16 apiece. Net premium paid to initiate the spread amounts to $0.65 per contract. Thus, the investor is prepared to make money, or realize downside protection, if shares of the KRE fall 7.3% from the current price of $25.18 to breach the effective breakeven point on the spread at $23.35 by March 2011 expiration. Maximum potential profits of $3.35 per contract are available to the put-spreader should shares of the underlying fund plummet 20.6% lower to trade below $20.00 by expiration day next year. The fund’s shares have not traded below $20.00 in more than a year.
CPN - Calpine Corp. – A large chunk of call options were picked up on Calpine Corp. late in session by a bullish strategist positioning for shares to rally substantially ahead of January 2011 expiration. Shares of the independent power generation company are up 2.6% this afternoon to stand at $13.22 in the final hour of the trading week. Calpine was recently…
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Frenzied Bearish Options Activity Ensues as Visa, MasterCard Shares Take a Big Hit
by Option Review - May 18th, 2010 4:20 pm
Today’s tickers: V, MA, JPM, COF, EEM, STX, MDC, DPS, MYL & LEN
V – Visa, Inc. – Shares of the world’s largest payments network are down sharply by 7.75% to stand at $68.92 as of 2:55 pm (ET) after Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D – RI) suggested Monday that the U.S. should cap interest rates on credit cards. Other credit card companies such as MasterCard and Capital One Financial Corp. are also suffering significant share price erosion this afternoon. Bearish options investors flooded the May contract with pessimistic plays, while more optimistic traders appear to be positioning for a rebound in Visa’s share price by June expiration. Investors bracing for continued bearish movement in the price of the underlying stock picked up 3,600 now in-the-money puts at the May $70 strike for an average premium of $1.15 apiece. Buying interest spread to the lower May $65 strike where 1,400 puts were purchased at an average premium of $0.36 each. Finally, uber-bearish traders scooped up 1,290 puts at the May $60 strike – the lowest strike price currently available in the front month – for an average premium of $0.16 apiece. Investors long the May $60 strike puts make money if Visa’s shares plummet 13.15% from the current value of $68.92 to breach the average breakeven point to the downside at $59.84 by expiration on Friday. Bearish traders also ravaged May contract calls, selling roughly 7,000 lots at the May $75 strike to take in an average premium of $0.71 per contract. Investors also shed 2,000 calls at the May $70 strike to receive an average premium of $2.47 apiece. Call sellers retain the full premium received today as long shares of the underlying stock do not exceed $70.00 ahead of expiration. Finally, optimistic options investors are positioning for a rebound in the credit card company’s shares by purchasing 1,800 calls at the June $70 strike for an average premium of $4.71 each. Shares must rally 8.4% over the current price of the stock before June $70 strike call buyers start to make money above the average breakeven price of $74.71. Bullish call buying activity spread to the higher June $72.5 strike where 2,500 calls were picked up for an average premium of $3.64 per contract. Investor uncertainty, as measured by the overall reading of options implied volatility, is net up on Visa today with volatility rising 16.5% to 52.68% as…
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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.