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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Bearish Options Combo Player Mauls Financials ETF
by Option Review - June 23rd, 2010 4:25 pm
Today’s tickers: XLF, VALE, MSFT, FTO, FITB, BRK B, PPL & GCI
XLF – Financial Select Sector SPDR – A bearish three-legged options combination play initiated on the XLF, an exchange-traded fund designed to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Financial Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index, indicates one big options player expects shares of the underlying fund to decline ahead of August expiration. Shares of the ETF are currently down 0.55% to stand at $14.49 with just under 30 minutes remaining before the closing bell. The pessimistic options strategist appears to have sold call options in order to partially offset the cost of buying a debit put spread. The investor sold 17,500 calls at the August $16 strike for a premium of $0.18 each, purchased 17,500 puts at the lower August $14 strike for a premium of $0.52 per contract, and finally sold 17,500 puts at the August $12 strike for a premium of $0.14 apiece. The net cost of the transaction is reduced to just $0.20 per contract. Thus, the bearish trader is poised to profit if shares of the XLF fall another 4.75% from the current price of $14.49 to breach the effective breakeven price of $13.80 by August expiration. The investor walks away with maximum potential profits of $1.80 per contract – for total gains of $3.150 million – if the price of the underlying fund plummets 17.2% to trade at or below $12.00 by expiration day in August.
VALE – Vale S.A. – Two-opposite minded options strategists initiated spreads on the iron-ore producer today. One of the investors displayed bearish sentiment on the stock by purchasing a plain-vanilla debit put spread, while the other options player put forth an optimistic stance on Vale by enacting a bullish risk reversal. Vale’s shares are up 0.70% to stand at $27.40 as of 3:40 pm (ET). The Vale-bear initiated a debit put spread, buying 7,500 lots at the September $25 strike for a premium of $1.36 apiece, and selling the same number of puts at the lower September $20 strike for $0.40 in premium per contract. The net cost of the transaction amounts to $0.96 per contract and prepares the investor to profit if Vale’s shares fall 12.25% from the current price to breach the effective breakeven point on the spread at $24.04. The put-spreader pockets maximum potential profits of…
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Bears Once Again Bombard Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF)
by Option Review - April 23rd, 2010 4:19 pm
Today’s tickers: XLF, CECO, SLB, CTB, WFC, CACI, WSM, CTXS & FITB
XLF – Financial Select Sector SPDR – A massive put spread comprised of approximately 200,000 put options on the XLF, an exchange-traded fund that corresponds to the price and yield performance of the Financial Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index, indicates investor pessimism is alive and well despite positive first-quarter earnings announcements from a number of large financial firms this week. Bearish plays also dominated activity on the XLF earlier in the week. Shares of the underlying fund are currently down 1.2% to $16.54 as of 3:10 pm (ET). The pessimistic options player appears to have purchased roughly 100,000 put options at the June $16 strike for an average premium of $0.39 each, marked against the sale of about the same number of puts at the lower June $15 strike for $0.16 apiece. Net premium paid for the spread amounts to $0.23 per contract. The massive size of the transaction suggests the trade was initiated by an investor seeking downside protection on sizeable underlying stock positions in either the XLF itself, related holdings of the fund, or perhaps both, through June expiration. Suppose the investor is building up insurance on a large position in the underlying shares of the XLF. In this scenario, downside protection kicks in should shares of the XLF breach the effective breakeven point on the spread at $15.77 ahead of June expiration. Options players exchanged more than 415,000 option contracts on the XLF as of 3:10 pm (ET), with put options trading more than 3.5 times to each single call option in play today.
CECO – Career Education Corp. – Shares of the provider of private, for-profit, postsecondary education in the United States jumped 4.8% during the session to a new 52-week high of $35.41 after the firm received an upgrade to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’ at Barclays Capital today. Options movement on the stock suggests one investor was prepared for the breakout in CECO’s shares. It looks like the investor first banked profits today by selling a previously established long call position in the July contract, and next extended and augmented bullish sentiment on the stock by purchasing fresh calls at a higher strike price. The trader likely purchased 1,900 calls at the July $35 strike f or an average premium of $1.70 each back on March 17, 2010, when shares of…
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Bears Once Again Bombard Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF)
by Option Review - April 22nd, 2010 5:13 pm
Today’s tickers: XLF, CECO, SLB, CTB, WFC, CACI, WSM, CTXS & FITB
XLF – Financial Select Sector SPDR – A massive put spread comprised of approximately 200,000 put options on the XLF, an exchange-traded fund that corresponds to the price and yield performance of the Financial Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index, indicates investor pessimism is alive and well despite positive first-quarter earnings announcements from a number of large financial firms this week. Bearish plays also dominated activity on the XLF earlier in the week. Shares of the underlying fund are currently down 1.2% to $16.54 as of 3:10 pm (ET). The pessimistic options player appears to have purchased roughly 100,000 put options at the June $16 strike for an average premium of $0.39 each, marked against the sale of about the same number of puts at the lower June $15 strike for $0.16 apiece. Net premium paid for the spread amounts to $0.23 per contract. The massive size of the transaction suggests the trade was initiated by an investor seeking downside protection on sizeable underlying stock positions in either the XLF itself, related holdings of the fund, or perhaps both, through June expiration. Suppose the investor is building up insurance on a large position in the underlying shares of the XLF. In this scenario, downside protection kicks in should shares of the XLF breach the effective breakeven point on the spread at $15.77 ahead of June expiration. Options players exchanged more than 415,000 option contracts on the XLF as of 3:10 pm (ET), with put options trading more than 3.5 times to each single call option in play today.
CECO – Career Education Corp. – Shares of the provider of private, for-profit, postsecondary education in the United States jumped 4.8% during the session to a new 52-week high of $35.41 after the firm received an upgrade to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’ at Barclays Capital today. Options movement on the stock suggests one investor was prepared for the breakout in CECO’s shares. It looks like the investor first banked profits today by selling a previously established long call position in the July contract, and next extended and augmented bullish sentiment on the stock by purchasing fresh calls at a higher strike price. The trader likely purchased 1,900 calls at the July $35 strike f or an average premium of $1.70 each back on March 17, 2010, when shares of…
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Long-Term Bullish Spread Unfolds On IBM
by Option Review - January 25th, 2010 4:39 pm
Today’s tickers: IBM, XLF, TXN, XLF, CTXS, EBAY, HAL & FITB
IBM – International Business Machines Corp. – A long-term bullish transaction on IBM suggests one investor is positioning for a significant boost in share price at the computer services firm by expiration in January 2011. IBM’s shares are trading 0.75% higher this afternoon to $126.47. The optimistic trader purchased a ratio call spread on the stock, buying 5,000 calls at the January 2011 $135 strike for an average premium of $6.24 apiece, and selling 10,000 calls at the higher January 2011 $150 strike for a premium of $2.33 each. The net cost of the ratio spread amounts to just $1.58 per contract. Thus, the trader accrues profits if IBM’s shares rally 8% over the current price to surpass the breakeven point at $136.58 by expiration next year. Maximum available profits of $13.42 per contract amass only if shares surge 18.60% to $150.00. IBM’s shares must increase to a new 52-week high in order for the investor to break even on the transaction. The current 52-week high on the stock is $134.25, attained back on January 19, 2010.
XLF – Financial Select Sector SPDR – Option traders continue to initiate bearish strategies on the financial ETF today despite the 0.90% rebound in shares of the underlying to $14.31. Earlier we reported a June $14/$10 ratio put spread, which established downside protection beneath a breakeven share price of $13.30. This afternoon we observed a similar transaction take place. Another pessimistic investor purchased an even larger ratio put spread in the June contract. It looks like this individual bought 27,500 puts at the now in-the-money June $15 strike for an average premium of $1.52 apiece, spread against the sale of 55,000 puts at the lower June $12 strike for about $0.39 each. The net cost of the ratio transaction amounts to $0.74 per contract, and provides downside protection beneath a breakeven share price of $14.26.
TXN – Texas Instruments, Inc. – Chipmaker, Texas Instruments, is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results after the closing bell this afternoon, and although analysts expect the firm to post profits of $0.49 per share on a 19% increase in sales, option traders initiated near-term protective plays. Shares of the semiconductor company are up 1.80% to $23.52 ahead of earnings. One investor established a bearish risk reversal by selling 5,000 calls at the February $24 strike for a…
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Goldman Sachs Bulls and Bears Collide
by phil - January 21st, 2010 5:13 pm
Today’s tickers: GS, WFT, FITB, NITE, USU, KFT, UNP, EBAY, SBUX & HOTT
GS – Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. – Near-term bears and bulls crossed paths in the February contract on global investment banking firm, Goldman Sachs Group, today. The past 48 hours have stirred up a plethora of concerning news for investors, most recently, President Obama’s call to limit the size and trading activity of large financial institutions, which pummeled the financial sector like a ton of bricks, dragging equities down across the board. Additionally, markets are still smarting from China’s reining in of monetary policy, which sent the US dollar up over the past couple of days. The VIX jumped yesterday and continues higher during the current session. The fear-gauge increased 19.67% today to an intraday high of 21.90 countering the declines in the S&P 500. Investors watched Goldman’s shares fall 4% to $161.07 this afternoon even though the firm earned $8.20 per share in the fourth-quarter, which blew right past average estimates of $5.19 a share. Frenzied options trading exploded on the financial institution with roughly 358,000 contracts exchanged on the stock by 2:50 pm (EDT). Bearish bets were plentiful, although there is also evidence of contrarian bullish plays, as well. Put options were purchased as low as the February $145 strike where 3,500 contracts were purchased for an average premium of $1.46 per contract. Shares are still 12.20% greater at the current level than the breakeven price on the puts at $143.54. The heaviest put trading occurred at the nearest to-the-money February $160 strike where more than 23,000 contracts changed hands. At least 8,100 of the contracts were purchased for $4.12 per contract. Contrarian players sold 2,300 puts at the February $135 strike to pocket an average premium of $0.93 each. Put sellers retain the full premium as long as Goldman’s shares trade above $135.00 through expiration next month. Some investors are looking right through the negative news and buying call options. Most notable is the 7,200 calls purchased at the February $165 strike for an average premium of $4.52 each. The stock must rebound back to $169.52 in order for call buyers to breakeven on their purchases. Other traders threw in the towel at the higher February $170 strike by selling at least 8,900 calls to receive an average premium of $3.02 per contract. Two-way trading traffic in GS options and investor uncertainty has lifted…
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Caterpillar Sees Sizeable Options Activity
by Option Review - October 22nd, 2009 7:32 am
Today’s tickers: CAT, EEM, FITB, VALE, SLM, EXPE, SNDK, SLM & YHOO
CAT – Caterpillar, Inc. – A long-term bullish play on the world’s largest maker of bulldozers and excavators proved highly profitable for one investor who banked hefty gains in the January 2010 contract this afternoon. Shares of CAT are currently up less than 0.5% to $59.80 on an upgrade to ‘neutral’ from ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs. It appears the trader originally purchased 15,000 calls at the January 55 strike for 3.50 apiece, and 20,000 calls at the higher January 60 strike for 1.95 each, back on September 25, 2009. Today the investor sold the January 55 strike calls for 6.90 and the January 60 strike calls for 3.85 per contract. Net profits to the trader amount to $8.9 million. Elsewhere, it seems a large bullish call position was partially financed through the sale of put options. It looks like a chunk of 25,000 put options sold for 68 cents apiece at the December 50 strike at the same exact moment 40,000 call options were purchased for 1.50 each at the February 70 strike. The investor responsible for the trade likely expects shares of CAT to remain above $50.00 through expiration in December. This short sale partially offsets the cost of taking a massive bullish stance through expiration in February.
EEM – iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF – Shares of the emerging markets exchange-traded fund are trading more than 1% higher today to stand at the current price of $41.45. A 100,000-lot straddle caught our attention in the November contract this afternoon. It appears one investor has taken advantage of lower volatility on the EEM by purchasing a long straddle. The transaction involved the purchase of 50,000 calls at the November 41 strike for 1.53 apiece, and the purchase of 50,000 puts at the same strike for 1.21 each. The net cost of the trade amounts to 2.74 per contract. Volatility on the EEM has fallen to 27%, the lowest reading on the fund since August of 2008. Perhaps the long-straddle player expects volatility to jump higher before the options expire in November. The nature of the strategy is such that he will benefit given a sufficient shift in the price of the EEM in either direction. Profits are available if shares swing either above the breakeven point to the upside at $43.74, or if shares dip beneath…
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$101,674 Virtual Portfolio Update – Week 3
by phil - September 13th, 2009 8:26 am
Slow and steady wins the race!
We had a big run and capped our gains a little early for the week by doubling up on our PSQ (short Nasdaq) calls on Thursday's mad run. This did the job of locking in our profits but that hedge is now making up $450 of losses, which is 1/3 of all our losses for the month. Still we managed to gain $396 for the week with still just $28,537 in positions so that's another 1% for the week, a pretty good clip…
I am happy to say that our $100K Virtual Portfolio is now live and available on WallStreetSurvivor.com at:
We're actually well ahead of our cash goal as we also have $86,101 in cash along with our $28,537 in positions with $13,768 in margin devoted to some of the longer hedges we've sold. That leaves us with $147,935 in margin buying power and we're going to use it to do a few "stupid option tricks" into expirations that should pick us up a little extra cash over the next 5 days and Wednesday or Friday we must expect to make our rolling moves for the current month and I'll be sending out Alerts to Members later in the week. For now, we are very happy with all of our current positions as we have 16 winners and just 7 losers – that's very good for a well-hedged virtual portfolio…
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Genworth Financial Rallies Amidst Reversal Positioning Through Options
by Option Review - August 12th, 2009 5:23 pm
Today’s tickers: GNW, ERTS, RCL, WFT, PETM, BBY, AKAM, KR, & FITB
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Energy Options Strangle Play Delivers the Goods for Investor
by Option Review - June 29th, 2009 4:27 pm
Today’s tickers: XLE, MFE, FITB, SLM, XHB, F, INTC & XLF
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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.