Put Options Change Hands On U.S. Bancorp
by Option Review - December 19th, 2013 4:35 pm
USB – U.S. Bancorp – Shares in the financial services provider yesterday rallied to the highest level since September of 2008, moving sharply higher during the final two hours of the session on Wednesday following the Fed’s announcement that it will reduce its asset purchases by $10 billion starting in January. The stock is off 0.50% on Thursday to stand at $39.92 just before 11:30 a.m. in New York trading.
Trading in the regular Jan ’14 $39 strike puts on USB near the start of the session suggests at least one options player is bracing for the price of the underlying to potentially edge lower during the next four weeks to expiration. It looks like one strategist purchased 5,000 of the Jan ’14 $39 puts for a premium of $0.41 per contract. The trade may represent downside protection to hedge a long position in the underlying shares or an outright bearish play that may be profitable in the event that shares in U.S. Bancorp pullback in the near term. The puts make money at expiration next month if shares in USB decline 3.3% from the current price of $39.92 to breach the effective breakeven point on the downside at $38.59. The 17 Jan ’14 expiry puts expire the week prior to the company’s fourth-quarter earnings release scheduled for January 22nd ahead of the opening bell.
KBH – KB Home – Shares in KB Home are moving lower on Thursday after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that missed the average of analyst estimates prior to the opening bell this morning. The stock is down 3.5% on the day at $16.94 as of 11:10 a.m. EST.
December expiry put options changing hands on the homebuilder during the first 10 minutes of the session look for shares…
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Dreamworks Draws Heavy Options Volume As Shares Soar
by Option Review - October 30th, 2013 5:44 pm
DWA – Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc. – Shares in Dreamworks are soaring on Wednesday, rallying as much as 18.7% to a fresh 52-week high of $33.02, after the animated feature film maker reported third-quarter profits well above average analyst estimates following the closing bell on Tuesday.
Options traders looking for shares in Dreamworks to continue to hit new highs during the next couple of weeks picked up November expiry calls on the stock this morning, helping drive overall options volume on DWA to more than four times the average daily level as of 11:00 a.m. ET. Traders positioning for shares to continue higher appear to have purchased more than 500 of the now in-the-money Nov $32 strike calls for an average premium of $0.95 apiece during the first 20 minutes of the session. Intraday gains in the price of the underlying now finds the $32 strike calls changing hands at $1.65 each as of the time of this writing.
Bullish strategists also appear to be buying the Nov $34 and $35 strike calls, purchasing around 400 of the $34 calls at a premium of $0.55 each and picking up more than 250 of the $35 calls for a premium of $0.30 apiece. Traders long the $34 and $35 strike calls stand ready to profit at expiration in the event that Dreamworks shares rally another 4.6% and 6.9% to exceed breakeven prices of $34.55 and $35.30, respectively. Shares in Dreamworks Animation are up roughly 95% since the start of the year.
EA – Electronic Arts Inc. – Better than expected second-quarter earnings reported by videogame maker Electronic Arts and an upgrade of the stock to ‘Strong Buy’ from ‘Hold’ with…
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Trading Picks Up In Dreamworks Calls Prior To Q3 Earnings Next Week
by Option Review - October 22nd, 2013 4:51 pm
DWA – Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc. – Animated feature film producer Dreamworks Animation popped up on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner on Tuesday morning due to heavier than usual trading in November expiry calls.
Trading in the Nov $30 calls suggests at least one strategist may be positioning for the price of the underlying to hit fresh 52-week highs after the company’s third-quarter earnings report after the closing bell next Tuesday. Roughly 1,900 of the Nov $30 calls have changed hands so far today, which is more than three times previously existing open interest in the $30 calls of 489 contracts. Time and sales data indicates most of the calls were purchased during the first five minutes of the session at a premium of $1.00 each. Call buyers stand ready to profit at expiration next month in the event that Dreamworks Animation’s shares rally 6.6% to exceed the breakeven price of $31.00.
Shares in DWA are currently up 0.45% on the session at $29.07 as of 10:45 a.m. ET.
FDX – FedEx Corp – Shares in shipping solutions provider FedEx Corporation are up strongly on Tuesday, gaining 3.0% to $131.23 during morning trading after the stock was upgraded to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Neutral’ with a target share price increase to $153.00 from $134.00 at J.P. Morgan.
Trading traffic in weekly calls on FDX indicates some options players are positioning for the price of the underlying to extend gains during the next few sessions. The most-traded weekly calls are the Oct…
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Bears Eye Alpha Natural Resources Options
by Option Review - June 17th, 2013 7:57 pm
Today’s tickers: ANR, DWA & PVR
ANR - Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. – Front month put options changing hands on coal producer, Alpha Natural Resources, Inc., this morning suggests some traders are positioning for shares in the name to extend losses, with the stock down roughly 8.0% to a six-month low of $5.50. Coal stocks are being pressured for a second consecutive session on news released Friday that Walter Energy pulled out of a $1.55 billion refinancing loan due to market conditions. Traders bracing for Alpha’s shares to continue to slide in the near term snapped up roughly 3,000 puts at the Jun $5.5 strike for an average premium of $0.09 apiece today. The contracts make money at expiration if shares in ANR decline another 3.0% from the current price of $5.58 to settle below the average breakeven point at $5.41. Shares in the name last traded below $5.41 back in September of 2012.
DWA - Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc. – Upside call options are active on Dreamworks this morning, with shares up as much as 8.5% near the open at a new 52-week high of $24.75 after the maker of animated feature films announced a multi-year deal to provide original content to video-streaming services company, Netflix. Traders positioning for shares in DWA to continue to climb picked up roughly 1,000 calls at the Jul $25 strike for an average premium of $0.63 apiece. Call buyers stand ready to profit at expiration next month should shares in Dreamworks climb another 3.5% to top $25.63.
PVR - PVR Partners L.P. – The owner and operator of natural gas pipelines and processing plants popped up on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner on Monday morning due to heavier than usual activity in bearish puts on the stock. Shares in PVR Partners L.P., formerly known as Penn Virginia Resources Partners, L.P., are currently unchanged on the day at $27.19 as of 1:05 p.m. ET,…
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CBS Put Options Active Ahead Of Earnings After The Close
by Option Review - May 1st, 2013 5:53 pm
Today’s tickers: CBS, DWA & EEM
CBS - CBS Corp. – Shares in media and entertainment company, CBS Corp., are advancing today ahead of the company’s first-quarter earnings report after the closing bell. The stock is up 1.2% at $46.31 just after midday in New York, but options activity on CBS this morning indicates some traders are bracing for the price of the underlying to pull back. Front month at- and out-of-the-money put options are the most actively traded contracts as measured by volume, with the $44 strike calls seeing the most volume of any single striking price. Less than 10 minutes after U.S. markets opened for trading today, one or more traders started snapping up the May $44 strike puts, buying roughly 2,500 lots at an average premium of $0.55 each. The bearish options make money if shares in CBS drop more than 6.0% from the current level to breach the average breakeven point on the downside at $43.45 by May expiration. Options traders appear to be buying the May $45 and $46 strike puts today as well.
DWA - DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. – Shares in DreamWorks Animation are up more than 6.0% at $20.46 near midday in New York after the company reported a surprise first-quarter profit and higher-than-expected revenue after the closing bell on Tuesday. According to a press release issued by the Glendale, California-based company this morning, DreamWorks agreed to acquire AwesomenessTV, a teen network on YouTube, for approximately $33 million in cash. Shares in DreamWorks are up more than 25% year to date, and it looks like some options players are positioning for the stock to extend gains in the near term. The Jun $22.5 strike calls attracted the most volume during the first half of the trading session, with upwards of 2,800 lots changing hands versus open interest of 733 contracts. Time and sales data indicates the bulk of the volume was purchased at a premium of $0.25 each. The bullish position starts making money if shares in DWA rally 11%…
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Bed Bath & Beyond Options Active As Shares Reach New Heights
by Option Review - April 5th, 2012 1:37 pm
Today’s tickers: BBBY, DWA & HD
BBBY - Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. – Shares in the operator of retail chain stores Bed Bath & Beyond and Christmas Tree Shops are up the most in the S&P 500 Index today following the release of better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday. The stock is currently higher by 9.0% to stand at a record high of $72.19 as of 12:00 p.m. in New York. Options on BBBY are more active than usual, with volume fast-approaching 30,000 contracts versus the stock’s 90-day average options volume of 5,564 contracts. Traders appear to be selling the majority of the April expiry puts in play, while the calls are seeing a mix of both buying and selling. The April $70 strike put options are leading in terms of volume, with more than 3,100 contracts changing hands against open interest of 59 positions. It looks like most of the puts were sold for an average premium of $0.91 apiece. Sellers of the contracts walk away with the full amount of premium as long as shares in BBBY top $70.00 through expiration. Sellers appear to be dominating trading traffic at the April $65 and $67.5 strike put options, as well. Finally, pre-earnings bullish positions initiated yesterday in the April expiry calls may yield hefty profits for some traders. It looks like most April $67.5 calls purchased yesterday afternoon prior to the earnings report cost $1.36 apiece. Premium on these calls sky-rocketed overnight, with the now deep in-the-money contracts displaying a last-traded price of $4.80 each.
DWA - DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. – The maker of animated feature films appeared on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner this morning after a large bullish spread was initiated in the September expiry. The transaction, comprising a total of 15,000 contracts,…
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Monday Market Movement – Trying to Get Bullish
by phil - March 19th, 2012 8:23 am
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We are still trying to get more bullish.
Over the weekend we set a new, higher set of levels for our Big Chart on the assumption that our breakout levels hold up and our new Must Hold lines become Dow 13,600 (not there yet), S&P 1,360, Nasdaq 3,000, NYSE 8,000 and Russell 800, which means it's now up to the Dow and Nasdaq to continue to show leadership if we're going to be having a rally good enough to get us to add our next 10 bullish plays.
I already added 2 aggressive upside trade ideas on XLF and SPY in the weekend post and last week we already looked at WFR, X, BAC, GLW, BBY, CHK, AAPL, AA, and BA but we also added a new Long Put List (Members Only), which had 19 stocks that we thought were good downside horses to ride if, per chance, we fail to hold 3 of our 5 breakout levels.
It shouldn't be too much to ask – IF this is a real bull market. We've been extremely skeptical up to this point and, Fundamentally, I still have my doubts but Technically, we can't keep fighting the tape so were drawing a line in the sand for Mr. Market to cross and, if it does so, we're happy to play along. If it fails to do so, however, well – we've already made those bets!
Our aggressive take on the Dow is the result of analyzing the 5 components that were replaced since the crash with MO and HON thrown out for BAC and CVX in Feb of 2008, AIG replaced by KFT in Sept 2008 and C and GM replaced by CSCO and TRV in June 2009, causing a massive distortion in the index, meaning 16,000 is the old 15,000, possibly even lower:
The Nasdaq is similarly distorted by AAPL, who are up 500% since 2009 and when a stock that is 11.5% of an index is up 500%, that stock alone causes the index to go up 57.5%, which is why we now call it the AAPLdaq. The AAPLdaq itself is "only" up 100%, which means the ENTIRE rest of the index is lagging with a 42.5% contribution – those who tell you that tech is somehow loved again are fooling themselves…
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Options See Little Hope For Near-Term Dreamworks Rally
by Option Review - November 18th, 2011 1:38 pm
Today’s tickers: DWA, GPS, SM & ACHN
DWA - Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc. – The creator of family-favorite feature films such as the Shrek movies and more recently, Puss in Boots, popped up on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner this morning after a large block of call options changed hands in the December contract. It looks like the investor responsible for the transaction may be writing the calls, perhaps in the expectation that shares in Dreamworks Animation are unlikely to increase much from their current level. Shares in DWA currently trade 0.90% lower on the day at $17.24 as of 12:45 PM in New York. The investor appears to have sold 6,000 calls outright at the Dec. $17.5 strike for a premium of $0.75 per contract. The trader walks away with the full amount of premium in hand, a total of around $450,000, as long as shares in Dreamworks settle below $17.50 at expiration next month. While the calls do not appear to be tied to any simultaneous transaction in the underlying stock, it is possible the investor is already long the stock and selling covered calls. However, if the trader is naked short the call options, he could face potentially devastating losses in the event that shares spike higher in the next four weeks. In the latter scenario, the investor starts losing money on the position if shares rally 5.9% to surpass the effective breakeven price of $18.25 at expiration.
GPS - The Gap, Inc. – Shares in the operator of the Gap and Banana Republic fell 3.6% to $18.56 on Friday following the San Francisco, California-based company’s third-quarter earnings report after the final bell on Thursday. The largest U.S. clothing retailer earned $0.38 a share in the quarter, which beat average analyst expectations of $0.36 a share, however, the company reported sales of $3.58 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. One bearish options trader appears to be positioning for the price of the underlying to continue to head south for the winter. It looks like the investor purchased a 1,500-lot Dec. $15/$18 put spread for an average net premium of $0.53 per contract. The strategist may profit at expiration in the event that GPS shares decline another 5.9% to breach the average breakeven price of $17.47. Maximum potential profits of $2.47 per contract are available to the trader should shares in Gap, Inc. drop another 19.2% to trade…
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Traders Storm Netflix Weeklies As Shares Continue To Tank
by Option Review - September 29th, 2011 2:44 pm
Today’s tickers: NFLX, BIIB, DG & DWA
NFLX - Netflix, Inc. – The bloodbath at Netflix accelerated Thursday afternoon, with shares in the provider of subscription streaming service down 13.0% at $110.59 as of 2:00 pm in New York. Investors began purging their portfolios of NFLX more aggressively in recent weeks, but the stock’s pull back began in July. Shares peaked at an all-time high of $304.79 on July 13, and have since lost nearly 65.0% of their value. Frenzied trading in NFLX weekly options that have one more day of trading left before expiration suggest we may see the stock extend losses through the end of the week. While trading in Sept. ’30 contract calls and puts is mixed across the board, it does appear that bearish positions are more prevalent today. Certainly, the surge in demand for deep out-of-the-money puts on the stock is a sign of the times. More than 2,300 puts changed hands at the Sept. ’30 $100 strike against open interest of 621 contracts. Buyers of at least 930 of the contracts paid an average premium of $0.24 each this afternoon. Sept. ’30 $115 puts are the most active, with volume in excess of 10,100 contracts in play. Buyers of the now deep in-the-money contracts outnumbered sellers, and purchased around 3,800 of the puts for an average premium of $2.05 a-pop. The cost of protective puts on Netflix have climbed steadily throughout the session, helped by the hemorrhaging in its shares, and the more than 15.4% surge in implied volatility to 89.5% today. Options volume on the stock is fast approaching 155,000 contracts as of 2:15 pm EDT.
BIIB - Biogen Idec, Inc. – Fresh prints in deep in-the-money put options on the world’s oldest independent biotechnology company suggests one strategist is positioned for shares in…
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Fannie Mae Put Action Explodes in Afternoon Trading
by Option Review - February 5th, 2010 4:30 pm
Today’s tickers: FNM, EWZ, IYR, GILD, FXI, WLP, EEM, ARG, DWA & WMB
FNM – Fannie Mae – Mortgage-financer, familiarly known as Fannie Mae, jumped onto our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner after one investor went hog-wild with put options. Fannie’s shares slipped 3% during the trading day to $0.95 apiece. The investor appears to have traded 118,000 in-the-money put options at the March $1.0 strike for a premium of $0.15 apiece, spread against the sale of 118,000 puts at the January 2012 $1.0 strike for a premium of $0.40 each. Open interest of 156,689 puts at the March $1.0 strike indicate the trader could be buying-to-close a previously established 118,000-lot short put position initiated back in September of 2009. If this is the case, the investor is extending the short put position out to the January 2012 contract and expecting the government agency to ultimately survive the next couple of years. In this scenario, the trader keeps the $0.40 in premium on the sale of the fresh batch of put options if Fannie’s share price rallies above $1.00 by expiration in 2012. But, there are a other possible explanations for the trade. It is possible that the open interest at the March $1.0 strike is unrelated to today’s activity. In this second scenario, the trader is essentially predicting that shares will erode ahead of March expiration. If this is the case the trader sold 118,000 January 2012 $1.0 strike puts for $0.40 apiece in order to take a long 118,000-lot put stance at the March $1.0 strike for which he paid $0.15 each. The net credit received in this scenario amounts to $0.25 per contract and generates additional profits as Fannie’s shares continue to fall under $1.00. It will be interesting to see whether the open interest level at the March $1.0 strike changes to reflect the closing of a previously established long or short put position. Regardless of the direction of- or motivation behind- the transaction the large volume of the trading activity is certainly noteworthy.
EWZ – iShares MSCI Brazil Index ETF – A ratio put spread enacted on the Brazil ETF suggests we may continue to see bearish movement in the price of the underlying stock through expiration in June. Shares of the fund are down 3% to $61.80 as of 2:20 pm (EDT). The investor responsible for the transaction purchased 7,500 puts at…
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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.