Options Volume Pops On CA Inc. As Stock Hits Highest Since 2005
by Option Review - June 7th, 2013 9:04 pm
Today’s tickers: CA, GME & DGX
CA - CA, Inc. – Shares in the provider of IT management solutions rallied to the highest level since 2005 this morning, gaining as much as 6.6% in the early going to hit $29.83. An analyst at RBC Capital Markets raised his target price on the sector perform rated stock to $30.00 from $26.00 today. Options on CA Technologies are far more active than usual today, with volume in excess of 11,000 contracts versus average daily volume of around 500 contracts. June and July expiry calls also attracted heavier than usual trading traffic on Thursday, with much of the volume changing hands within minutes of the closing bell. Buyers of front month calls yesterday afternoon are seeing big overnight gains in the value of their positions today. The most-traded contracts by volume on CA yesterday were the Jun $28 strike calls. It looks like one or more traders may have purchased roughly 7,000 of the $28 calls for an average premium of $0.45 apiece. These contracts are currently trading at $1.35 each as of 11:15 a.m. ET, down from an earlier high of $2.00 in premium apiece. A burst of activity near the close of trading on Thursday occurred in the July expiry calls as well, with around 1,400 lots purchased at the $28 strike for an average premium of $0.80 each, and 500 calls picked up at each of the $29 and $30 strikes at average premiums of $0.40 and $0.20 apiece, respectively. The $28, $29 and $30 strike calls today are trading at $1.70, $1.10 and $0.65 per contract as of the time of this writing. Buyers of the bullish options yesterday have in some cases seen a three-fold increase in the value of their contracts overnight. Finally, traders positioning for shares in CA to extends gains snapped up calls on the stock straight out of the gate on Friday. Much of the volume is concentrated in the July expiry options, with calls purchased across the several in and out of the money striking prices.
GME - GameStop Corp. – Video game retailer, GameStop Corp., is in rally mode on Friday, with shares up as much as 8.2%…
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Big Prints In XLF Calls See Upside In Financial Stocks
by Option Review - November 16th, 2012 3:31 pm
Today’s tickers: GME, WMT & LULU
XLF - Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF – Heavy volume in February expiry call options on the XLF this morning may be the work of one or more traders positioning for shares in the financials ETF to get back to highs last seen in February 2011. The price of the underlying fund in the early going slipped 0.85% on Friday to a session and 11-week low of $15.06 before positive comments from Congressional leaders in Washington sparked a strong midday rally in equities. Shares in the XLF reversed earlier losses and now trades up 0.40% on the session at $15.24 as of 12:50 p.m. in New York. Traders exchanged nearly 100,000 call options at the Feb. $17 strike by 12:45 p.m. ET versus previously existing open interest of just 4,391 contracts. It looks like the bulk of the volume was purchased at a premium of $0.10 per contract, setting call buyers up to profit at expiration should XLF shares rally 12% during the next few months to top the effective breakeven price of $17.10. Upside call buyers are perhaps looking for financial stocks to move higher in the event that positive talk at the White House this afternoon translates into positive action from lawmakers in the months ahead.
V - Visa, Inc. – Stocks bounced off morning lows at midday after Congressional leaders meeting with President Obama to tackle the impending fiscal cliff made conciliatory and positive comments to members of the press at the White House today. Traders buying weekly calls on Visa, Inc. earlier in the trading session are seeing the value of their positions increase sharply intraday as the stock moves higher with the market. Shares in Visa are up 2.3% at present to stand at $143.21 as of 12:15 p.m. ET. Upside call buyers looked to the weekly Nov. 23 ’12 expiry options in morning trading, picking up a couple hundred of the $140 strike calls at an…
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GameStop Options Active On Earnings, Sales Of Call of Duty®: Black Ops II
by Option Review - November 15th, 2012 1:59 pm
Today’s tickers: GME, WMT & LULU
GME - GameStop Corp. – Shares in video-game retailer, GameStop Corp., increased as much as 6% this morning after the company forecast fourth-quarter earnings of $2.07 to $2.27 a share and posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings ahead of the opening bell on Thursday. Reports the company sold more than 1 million copies of Call of Duty®: Black Ops II worldwide yesterday during a midnight launch of Activision-Blizzard, Inc.’s newest addition to their popular Call of Duty® franchise, also lifted shares in the name today. A down-day for U.S. equities took some of the wind out of GME’s sails by midday, however, with the stock currently up 2% on the session at $23.96 as of 12:35 p.m. in New York. A number of options traders appear to be selling December expiry puts on the stock, a strategy that pays off if the price of the underlying holds onto recent gains through year end. At-the-money Dec. $24 strike puts changed hands roughly 550 times versus previously existing open interest of 327 contracts, and it appears the volume was sold for a premium of $1.33 apiece. Put sellers keep the full amount of premium as long as shares in GameStop Corp. exceed $24.00 at expiration next month. Similarly, many of the 2,300 put options in play at the Dec. $23 strike this morning were sold by traders pocketing an average premium of $0.80 per contract. Heavier volume in excess of 5,000 puts changed hands at both the Dec. $20 and $22 strikes in the early going. Much of the volume traded to the middle of the market at premiums of $0.23 and $0.58 each, respectively.
WMT - Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. – The world’s largest retailer forecast fourth-quarter profit and sales below average analyst estimates during the company’s third-quarter earnings report ahead of the open this morning, pulling stock indexes lower and sending the price of its own shares down nearly 5% to $67.85. Shares…
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Takeover Offer Drives Up Volume In Focus Media Options
by Option Review - August 13th, 2012 1:55 pm
Today’s tickers: FMCN, GME & PLCE
FMCN - Focus Media Holding Ltd. – Shares in the operator of China’s largest lifestyle targeted interactive digital media network jumped 13% to $26.46 on news the company received a preliminary takeover offer of $27.00 per ADR share from a private equity group that includes FountainVest Partners and Carlyle Group LP. The initial rally has cooled somewhat, but options traders targeting Focus Media Holding Ltd. calls this morning are positioned to benefit from further upside in the shares this month and next. August expiry options are most active as the trading week gets underway, with the bulk of the volume changing hands at the $24 strike. More than 7,600 of the Aug. $24 strike calls have traded so far and it appears most of the in-the-money contracts were purchased for an average premium of $1.90 each. The $23 strike call, also squarely in-the-money at present, was purchased more than 3,100 times earlier today for an average premium of $2.90 apiece. August $25 and $26 strike calls have traded upwards of 1,000 times each as of 11:30 a.m. in New York. Trading traffic in Focus Media calls spread to the Sept. $26 and $27 strikes as more than 1,000 contracts were snapped up at each strike at average premiums of $1.65 and $0.99 apiece, respectively. Reports of the takeover offer have lifted options volume on the stock above 50,000 contracts before midday, more than five times Focus Media’s 90-day average daily options volume of 9,191 contracts.
GME - GameStop Corp. – Put options on GameStop Corp. are active today ahead of the company’s second-quarter earnings report prior to the opening bell on Thursday. Shares in the name are up 0.90% on the session at $17.90 as of 11:40 a.m. ET. The stock has had a rough first half of the year, however, down 30% since January. Put buying on the name this morning suggests some strategists are wary the price…
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GameStop Bear Positions For Post-Earnings Pullback
by Option Review - November 15th, 2011 12:48 pm
Today’s tickers: GME, FTR, SUN & HNZ
GME - GameStop Corp. – The remainder of the trading week is unlikely to be all fun-and-games for shareholders in GameStop Corp., according to bearish trading in its put options this morning. Protective or perhaps outright bearish positioning in GME options arrives just in time for the world’s largest video game retailer’s third-quarter earnings report due out ahead of the opening bell on Thursday. It looks like the buyer of a debit put spread in the front month is prepared for shares in GME to head lower following the release. Shares in the world’s largest video game retailer are currently down 3.0% to stand at $23.90 as of 11:50 AM in New York. The investor responsible for most of the volume in GameStop Corp. options in the first half of the trading session on Tuesday purchased a 1,000-lot Nov. $23/$24 put spread for a net premium of $0.30 per contract. The trader makes money if shares in GME settle below the effective breakeven price of $23.70 at expiration this week. Maximum potential profits of $0.70 per contract are available to the put player in the event that shares in the video game retailer drop 3.75% from the current price of $23.90 to settle below $23.00 at expiration.
FTR - Frontier Communications Corp. – Options traders appear to be bulking up on bearish positions in Frontier Communications for the second consecutive day this week, with shares in the Stamford, Connecticut-based company sliding 2.3% lower to $5.43 by 11:15 AM ET on Tuesday. The stock also fell 2.3% on Monday to close at $5.57. Investors positioning for the stock to continue to drop within the next few months are accumulating sizable positions in the closest-to-the-money strike put available in the February contract. It looks like one investor snapped up more than 4,500 puts at the Feb. 2012 $5.0 strike for a premium of $0.35 each in the first 30 minutes of the trading session. The put buyer may profit at expiration next year if shares in Frontier fall 14.4% to breach the effective breakeven point on the downside at $4.65. Bearish trading in the same Feb. 2012 $5.0 strike put occurred in the final 10 minutes of trading on Monday, as well. It appears one investor purchased a block of 5,000 of the put options for a premium of $0.30 apiece yesterday. Both positions, which may or may not…
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Options Look For GM Rebound Down The Road
by Option Review - August 16th, 2011 1:50 pm
Today’s tickers: GM, BCSI, DSX & GME
GM - General Motors Co. – A couple of bullish bets in options covering automobile manufacturer, General Motors, may prove prudent investments for some strategists should shares in GM increase approximately 15.0% by January expiration. Shares in the Detroit, MI-based company are on the rise in early-afternoon trade, standing 0.45% higher on the session at $26.54 as of 12:10 pm in New York. It looks like options players initiated two ratio call spreads this morning. The larger of the transactions involved the purchase of 3,602 calls at the Jan. 2012 $26 strike at a premium of $2.82 each, against the sale of 7,204 calls up at the Jan. 2012 $30 strike for a premium of $1.22 apiece. Net premium paid for the spread amounts to $0.38 per contract, thus positioning the trader to make money should shares in the automaker exceed the effective breakeven price of $26.38 at expiration in January. The investor could rake in maximum potential profits of $3.62 per contract in the event that shares in GM rally 13.0% to settle at $30.00 at expiration next year. Meanwhile, the smaller and more optimistic of the trades engaged the purchase of 1,000 Jan. 2012 $27 strike calls for an average premium of $2.37 each, and the sale of twice as many of the Jan. 2012 $31 strike contracts at an average premium of $0.97 a-pop. The net cost of the spread amounts to $0.43 apiece, and therefore an average breakeven share price of $31.43. Maximum potential profits of $3.57 per contract are available on the trade should shares in the car maker surge 16.8% to settle at $31.00 at expiration day. Shares in GM last traded above $31.00 back in mid-July.
BCSI - Blue Coat Systems, Inc. – Call options on Blue…
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DHH Options Time
by Sabrient - March 18th, 2011 4:01 pm
Dark Horse Hedge is Rocking (2) & Options Time Again
By Scott at Sabrient and Ilene at Phil’s Stock World
My heater’s broke and I’m so tired
I need some fuel to build a fire (actually need something that cools heat down)
The girl next door (Tokyo), her lights are out, yeah
The landlord’s gone, I’m down and out
It’s cold gin (option) time again
You know it’ll always win – KISS
The tragic developments in Japan took center stage this past week and our hearts go out to everyone in Japan, and everyone who is touched by this catastrophic event.
Prior to the earthquake and tsunami, the VIRTUAL Dark Horse Hedge virtual portfolio was positioned with a 70% Long / 30% Short tilt. We are now considering moving to a 50% / 50% balance. We will most likely do that, assuming no material change in the world events, by adding to our short positions next week. In the meantime, we have two option positions which are expiring today and we wanted to add to the review we began last week. (Click here for our first four long positions reviewed a week ago.)
Options Expiration:
Radware Ltd (RDWR): On November 11, 2010 we added Radware (RDWR) to the virtual portfolio using Phil’s Buy/Write strategy. At that time RDWR was trading at $33.39 and we added half the shares we wanted (100) and sold the March $35 2011 call and March $35 2011 put to complete the buy/write. On December 7, 2010 when the stock traded up to $40, we rolled the call out to the Jan $35 2012 call, which we sold for $9. We kept the March $35 2011 put we had already sold for $5.10. The put (as 65-70% of options do) will expire worthless today yielding a $5.10 profit. At this time, we believe it is prudent to hold the shares, currently trading at $35.56, and the Jan $35 2012 call.
Xyratex (XRTX): On December 20, 2010 we added Xyratex (XRTX) using the buy/write strategy and acquiring half the shares we wanted exposure to and selling March $15 calls and puts for a net $3.60. XRTX is trading at $11.14 today on expiration day, so the call side will expire worthless ($1.80 profit) and the puts will be exercised – the
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Long-Term Bullish Strategies Detected in Gamestop Corp. Options
by Option Review - October 4th, 2010 5:27 pm
Today’s tickers: GME, CHE, PENN, JPM, MED, SLE & WYNN
GME - Gamestop Corp. – Bullish options strategies were initiated on the video game retailer today despite the 0.70% dip in the price of the underlying shares to $19.86. One long-term optimistic individual employed the use of a three-legged combination, selling puts to buy a call spread, in order to prepare for a rebound in Gamestop’s shares by April expiration. The investor purchased 3,000 calls at the April 2011 $20 strike for a premium of $2.13 each, sold 3,000 calls at the higher April 2011 $24 strike for premium of $0.72 apiece, and shed 3,000 puts at the April 2011 $16 strike at a premium of $0.81 a-pop. Net premium paid to initiate the spread amounts to $0.60 per contract. Thus, the trader is poised to profit should GME’s shares rally above the effective breakeven price of $20.60 by April expiration day. Maximum available profits of $3.40 per contract are safe in the investor’s wallet if the video game seller’s shares jump 20.85% over the current price of $19.86 to exceed $24.00 by expiration. Finally, a 3,000-lot October $20/$24 strike call spread traded around the same time as the three-legged transaction. Open interest in the near-term calls is sufficient to cover today’s volume. The investor responsible for the October contract activity may be rolling the spread up to the April contract and adding the short puts to provide additional financing on the bullish stance.
CHE - Chemed Corp. – Shares of the provider of hospice care as well as various consumer services such as plumbing and sewer cleaning via its Roto-Rooter segment slipped 2.00% to $55.34 as of 3:40 pm ET. Investors with a near-term bearish view on the stock appear to have sold 2,000 calls outright at the November $60 strike to pocket premium of $0.55 per contract. Call sellers keep the full premium received on the trade as long as Chemed’s shares fail to rally above $60.00 by expiration day next month. Investors could…
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DARK HORSE HEDGE – Any way the wind blows, doesn’t really matter
by ilene - September 1st, 2010 2:23 pm
Housing-keeping note: Thanks to WordPress’s destruction of Phil’s Favorites site (and replacement with an invite to sign up for its service!), I’ve been relocating my blog to TypePad. Benefits: it looks better, is very user friendly and offers an easy way to search archives for any topic. One unique feature is that while exploring the internet, I can simply click on a button to post an excerpt of an interesting article with a link to the full article. That ability allows me to post links to articles that are worth reading when I do not have reprinting permission, such as articles from major news sources.
The new Favorites site is here. I’ve also created a website for Dark Horse Hedge, here. - Ilene
DARK HORSE HEDGE – Any Way the Wind Blows, Doesn’t Really Matter
By Scott Brown at Sabrient & Ilene at Phil’s Stock World
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see
I’m just a poor boy (Poor boy)
I need no sympathy
Because I’m easy come, easy go
Little high, little low
Any way the wind blows
Doesn’t really matter to me, to me
*****
Ilene and I started the Dark Horse Hedge on July 1, 2010 with the goal of helping self-directed investors weather any storm, no matter which way the wind was blowing. Today completes the second month of publishing the Dark Horse Hedge and we thought it would be a good time to review.
The…
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DARK HORSE HEDGE
by ilene - August 2nd, 2010 2:48 am
DARK HORSE HEDGE Weekend Catch-Up
By Scott at Sabrient and Ilene at Phil’s Stock World
Hedging into the week of August 2nd, the Dark Horse Hedge (DHH) is in a BALANCED tilt (long to short ratio) with 8 LONG and 8 SHORT positions. We used Phil’s BUY/WRITE strategy to enter two of our LONG positions (IM and GCI) at a 10-20% discount to the market. As you can see from the chart, the SPX wandered between the 50 and 200 day moving averages (MAs) all week before whimpering towards the bottom of the channel Thursday and Friday. The 12-26-9 MACD which is the faster of the 2 technical direction signals we follow has flat-lined at just above +6 and the slower RSI 14-day still remains just below 50.
Without some impressive economic reports coming this week or much better than expected earnings reports, we believe the market will drift down towards and test the 50 day MA. If a bullish tone sets back in, it is doubtful that it could easily push through the 200 day MA. Resistance points as well as the 50 and 200 day MAs all which fit into a fairly narrow trading channel.
[chart from FreeStockCharts.com]
We are happy with the positions we put on in DHH’s first 30 days of existence and we look forward to capturing more profit as the companies report earnings this week. We will continue to take profits "after the news" and rotate into newer, fresher positions while keeping an eye on the overall market to adjust our tilt for maximum Alpha*, which is why we all write and read DHH.
Summary of DHH positions in the virtual portfolio
LONG: XRTX, WDC, GCI, IM, DLX, GME, FRZ, and TEO
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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.