Bullish Options Again Active On Halcon
by Option Review - April 3rd, 2013 1:11 pm
Today’s tickers: HK, TSLA & DOW
HK - Halcon Resources Corp. – Shares in independent energy company, Halcon Resources Corp., began the trading session in negative territory, but a sudden burst of call buying on the stock just after 9:50 a.m. ET may have sparked the sharp reversal observed in the price of the underlying this morning. Halcon’s shares are currently up 3.0% on the session at $7.75 as of 11:00 a.m. in New York. The most actively traded options on Halcon Resources today are the Jan. 2015 $10 strike calls, with upwards of 9,600 lots in play versus open interest of 292 contracts. It looks like most of the calls were purchased at a premium of $1.45 apiece. The long-term bullish bets on Halcon pay off at expiration in 2015 as long as shares in the name rally nearly 50% to top the average breakeven point at $11.45. The Jan. 2015 expiry options saw heavy trading traffic last week as well, after more than 22,000 calls changed hands at the $12 striking price. The buyer or buyers of these contracts benefit from continued gains in the price of the underlying stock during the next year and a half. Halcon was rated new ‘Outperform’ with a target price range of $9.00 to $11.00 at Wells Fargo this week.
TSLA - Tesla Motors, Inc. – Bearish options are changing hands on Model S producer, Tesla, on Wednesday as shares in the electric car maker reverse some of the strong gains realized earlier in the week. Shares are currently down 7.4% on the session at $41.06 as of 11:45 a.m. ET after yesterday rallying to fresh all-time highs. The stock continues to trade up 8% since this time last week despite the pullback today. Tesla CEO and billionaire entrepreneur, Elon Musk, yesterday announced a new financing plan for the Model S and earlier this week said demand for the vehicle is stronger than anticipated. Shares in TSLA moved up as much as 23% on Monday in anticipation of Musk’s Tuesday…
Call Volume Pops At Halcon Resources
by Option Review - March 26th, 2013 2:24 pm
Today’s tickers: HK, ZMH & RFMD
HK - Halcon Resources Corp. – Shares in energy company, Halcon Resources, rallied more than 6.0% to an intraday high of $7.74 on Tuesday morning, sparking heavy trading traffic in upside call options on the stock. Bursts of heavy call buying on the stock earlier in the session suggests one or more options traders are positioning for shares in Halcon to increase sharply in the near and long term. Traders looking for shares in HK to potentially rally to the highest level since September of 2012 by May expiration snapped up around 2,300 calls at the May $8.0 strike for an average premium of $0.36 each. The company is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings during the first full week in May. Bulls looked to October expiry calls, as well. It looks like traders picked up around 700 calls at the Oct. $9.0 strike for an average premium of $0.65 each, and purchased 1,100 call options at the Oct. $10 strike at an average premium of $0.47 apiece. Buyers of the October expiry $10 strike calls may profit at expiration in the event that Halcon’s shares surge 35% to top the average breakeven price $10.47. The most heavily traded contracts on HK on Tuesday morning were the Jan. 2015 $12 strike calls, which traded upwards of 22,000 times against open interest of 2,607 contracts. Trading in the $12 strike calls appears to be mixed, with the bulk of the contracts changing hands at $1.10 each. Strategists purchasing $12 strike calls on Halcon may profit at expiration in January of 2015 should shares in the energy company gain roughly 70% to trade above $13.10.
ZMH - Zimmer Holdings, Inc. – Options changing hands on the maker of knee and hip replacement products are looking for shares in Zimmer Holdings, Inc. to potentially decline during the next few weeks. Shares in ZMH are up 1.0% on Tuesday morning to stand at $73.45 as of 11:10 a.m. ET. The most actively traded contracts as measured by…
Oracle Bulls Envision 10% Rally in Shares by June Expiration
by Option Review - March 23rd, 2010 4:06 pm
Today’s tickers: ORCL, KFT, CLF, JPM, JCP, MCD, ROK, HK, TIE & LXK
ORCL – Oracle Corp. – Options players are initiating bullish stances on software development firm, Oracle Corp., today ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings report scheduled for Thursday after the closing bell. Oracle’s shares rallied 0.95% during the current session to trade at a new 52-week high of $25.80. Medium-term optimists scooped up 10,600 call options at the June $28 strike for an average premium of $0.37 per contract. Perhaps plain-vanilla call buyers foresee continued bullish movement in the price of Oracle’s shares through expiration in June. Investors long the calls accrue profits if shares of the underlying stock surge 10% from the current price to breach the breakeven point at $28.37 by expiration day.
KFT – Kraft Foods, Inc. – Voracious investor appetite for call options on Kraft Foods this afternoon pushed the KFT ticker symbol onto our ‘most active by options volume market scanner’ as shares of the U.S. food maker jumped 2.25% to a new 52-week high of $30.40. It looks like one particularly bullish individual satisfied his hunger for Kraft-calls by purchasing a large chunk of 16,000 contracts at the September $32 strike for a premium of $0.69 apiece. The investor holding the call options is prepared to reel in profits on the position if Kraft’s shares rally another 7.50% from the current value to surpass the breakeven price of $32.69 by expiration day in September.
CLF – Cliffs Natural Resources, Inc. – Shares of iron ore pellet producer, Cliffs Natural Resources, jumped more than 6.00% during the trading day to arrive at a fresh 52-week high of $69.34. Investors celebrated Cliffs’ new high by enacting a plethora of bullish options strategies on the stock. One such individual established a ratio risk reversal in order to cover the cost of taking a long position in Cliffs-calls. The optimistic trader sold 1,500 deep in-the-money put options at the July $75 strike for a premium of $11.50 per contract, and purchased 3,000 calls at the same strike for an average premium of $4.51 each. The reversal player pockets a net credit of $2.48 per contract on the transaction, which he keeps if shares of the underlying stock rally up to or above $75.00 by expiration. Additional profits also accumulate for the trader should shares breach the effective breakeven price of $75.00. Other bullish investors initiated…