Kaleidoscope of Butterflies Lie in Wait for Goldman Sachs Rebound
by Option Review - April 28th, 2010 4:32 pm
Today’s tickers: GS, BAC, AEA, QDEL, DUK, HTZ, EFA, MAR, PXD & WLP
GS – Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. – Bullish options strategists touting butterfly wings were once again enticed by the sweet nectar of potential profits hinging on Goldman Sachs’ shares ability to continue to climb out of the hole created by the drama and uncertainty surrounding the SEC’s suit against the investment banking firm. Goldman’s shares are up 2.36% in late afternoon trading at $156.65, but the stock realized a 4.9% rebound in its shares from Tuesday’s intraday low of $150.15, to an intraday high of $157.45 during the current session. We observed bullish butterfly plays on Goldman Sachs each day this week suggesting investors are pre-ordering their tickets on the rebound-boat so as not to miss out on profits to the upside. Tuesday’s call-fly engaged the October 160/175/190 strikes while Monday’s butterfly spread involved the May 150/160/170 strikes. Today, butterflies parked themselves in the June contract, buying approximately 8,000 calls at the June $165 strike for a premium of $4.66 each [wing 1] and purchasing roughly 8,000 calls at the higher June $185 strike for $0.88 apiece [wing 2]. The body of the butterfly centered at the June $175 strike where some 16,000 calls were shed for an average premium of $1.99 a-pop. Average net premium paid for the spread amounts to just $1.56 per contract. The investor or investors holding the bullish stance stand ready to accrue maximum potential profits of $8.44 per contract should GS shares surge up to $175.00 by expiration day. The transaction is a very efficient way to act on bullish sentiment because maximum loss potential – $1.56 per contract in this case – is scant when compared to potential profits which are 5.4 times greater. Profits start to amass if Goldman’s shares rally 6.33% from the current price of $156.65 to breach the average breakeven price of $166.56 ahead of June expiration. Finally, not all optimistic options players selected the butterfly spread strategy. A long-term bullish trader targeted the October contract to enact a plain-vanilla debit call spread. The investor picked up 3,000 in-the-money calls at the October $155 strike for a hefty average premium of $16.50 apiece, and sold the same number of calls at the higher October $180 strike for $6.55 each. The net cost of the call spread amounts to $9.95 per contract, and yields maximum potential profits…
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Patient XLF optimist targets January 2011 combination
by Option Review - March 5th, 2009 6:21 pm
Today’s tickers: XLF, DUK, DOW, GE, CX, GME, SEPR & ADBE
XLF – Financial Select Sector SPDR – Helping pummel the S&P index and continuing to sour the tone today is a 9.5% slump in the financial select sector ETF, which is now trading at $6.22 and as if we need to mention it, that’s a fresh lifetime low. In the front March contract there is heavy call volume at the 8.0 and 9.0 strikes, both trading to bid and ask illuminating a decidedly mixed picture. Catching our eye at the January 2011 strike is a curious bullish combination in which an investor appears to have created a ratio put spread at the 4.0 and 5.0 strikes in which twice as many puts were sold at the lower strike. Some 10,000 puts were sold at a premium of 96 cents while 5,000 were bought at the 5.0 strike for 1.51. The net premium creates downside losses starting at $3.45. The other leg of the trade appears much higher up on the call side where some 5,000 calls were paid for at the 20 line with a 21 cent premium. We’re assuming that this investor is pitching camp in the 2011 contract to help weather the financial storm in hopes that sunny days will prevail after the clouds dissipate leaving him well positioned for the inevitable rebound.
DUK – Duke Energy Corporation – The energy company experienced a 3% decline to $12.06, but did not deter bullish action by one investor in the April contract. At the 12.5 strike price, over 18,000 calls were purchased for an average price of 53 cents apiece. Perhaps this trader was taking advantage of falling call premiums given today’s share price decline. In order to profit from the trade shares will need to rally by 8% to the breakeven price of $13.03. Option implied volatility has surged from 37% earlier in the day to the present reading of 49.5%.
DOW – Dow Chemical Co. – Shares of the chemical manufacturer have declined 6.5% to $6.60, reaching a new 52-week low for the stock. We observed bearish option trades in play, the largest of which occurred at the March 5.0 strike price where 20,500 puts were purchased for 34 cents each. This investor is likely buying protection from further downside movement in shares, and it is likely that he is long the stock. The bearish picture…
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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. She manages the site