by Option Review - November 9th, 2011 2:06 pm
Today’s tickers: CAT, PANL, LIFE & SLXP
CAT - Caterpillar, Inc. – The machinery maker’s shares may surrender much of the gains posted during the October rally, according to one bearish strategy initiated in the December contract this morning. Shares in Caterpillar are in the red this afternoon, along with all of the other Dow 30 names, to trade 3.5% lower at $92.50 as of 12:45 pm ET. It looks like one investor initiated a roughly 3,000-lot bearish put spread, buying the Dec. $90 puts, and selling the same number of Dec. $75 options, for an average net premium outlay of $3.07 per contract. The trader may profit at expiration next month if CAT’s shares fall 6.0% to breach the average breakeven price of $86.93. The investor may pocket maximum potential profits of $11.93 per contract should shares Caterpillar plunge 18.9% to trade below $75.00 at December expiration day. CAT’s shares last traded below $75.00 back on October 7. The stock presently trades 37.0% higher than its October 4 52-week low of $67.54.
PANL - Universal Display Corp. – Shares in Universal Display Corp. rallied as much as 11.75% to an intraday high of $55.25 after the company posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. The provider of components and technologies used in the production of flat-panel displays earned $0.12 a share, excluding some items, which beat the average expectation that the firm would break even for the quarter. Shares in PANL are off their highs off the morning to stand 8.2% better on the day at $53.49 as of 11:25 am ET. One options player appears to be positioning for shares in Universal Display Corp. to continue to climb through November expiration. It looks like the investor purchased a 1,000-lot Nov. $55/$60 call spread at a net premium of $2.10 per contract. Profits are available on the spread should PANL’s shares rally another 6.7% to surpass the effective breakeven price of $57.10. The bullish trade yields maximum potential profits of $2.90 per contract to the investor in the event that shares in Universal Display surge 12.2% over the current price of $53.49 to trade above $60.00 at expiration. Options implied volatility on the stock is down 20.1% to arrive at 81.9% in the first half of the session.
LIFE - Life Technologies Corp. – Put options on biotechnology company Life Technologies Corp. are more active than usual this morning. Shares in the name are down better than 3.0%…

Tags: CAT, life, PANL, SLXP
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by Option Review - November 3rd, 2009 4:08 pm
Today’s tickers: LIFE, FL, VTR, WFC, RRI, WFR, CAR, FRX, SWK, BNI & WFR
LIFE – Life Technologies Corp. – Biotechnology company, Life Technologies, popped up on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner this morning after one investor initiated a risk reversal in the December contract. Shares are relatively flat on the day at $47.58. The reversal is most likely the work of a bullish individual positioning for a rally in shares of LIFE by expiration next month. It appears the trader sold 5,200 puts short at the December 45 strike for an average premium of 1.30 apiece to finance the purchase of the same number of call options at the higher December 50 strike for 1.20 each. The investor receives a credit of 10 cents per contract on the transaction. The 10 cent credit is money in the bank as long as shares remain above $45.00 through expiration. Additional profits on the trade require the stock to surge to a new 52-week high of $50.00. Shares must rally 5% from the current price before the investor begins to accumulate profits. The 10,400 contracts exchanged in the spread represent about 23% of the total existing open interest on LIFE of 45,963 lots.
FL – Foot Locker, Inc. – A long-term bullish play in the January 2011 contract pushed the global retailer of athletic footwear and apparel onto our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner this afternoon. Shares are currently up nearly 1% to $10.25. It looks like the trader initiated a bullish risk reversal by selling 3,500 puts at the December 7.5 strike for 1.10 each, and by buying the same number of calls at the higher December 12.5 strike for 1.10 apiece. The investor put on the trade for free and hopes to see shares rise above $12.50 by expiration in 14 months. Profits begin to accumulate if the stock rallies 22% over the current price to surpass the breakeven point at $12.50. We note that shares of FL have traded beneath $12.50 since November 11, 2008.
VTR – Ventas, Inc. – Shares of the real estate investment trust edged slightly higher by less than 0.25% to $40.56 during the trading day. An investor expecting shares to appreciate by expiration in December put on a bullish risk reversal strategy. The trader sold 3,000 puts at the December 35 strike for 60 cents premium and simultaneously purchased the same…

Tags: BNI, CAR, FL, FRX, life, RRI, SWK, VTR, WFC, WFR
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by ilene - October 24th, 2009 2:14 pm
Interesting weekend topics: art imitating life, the place for greed in financial markets, free market fundamentalism, laissez-faire capitalism and more. - Ilene
Given my recent two posts on greed (“More on greed, regulation, Lehman and the financial industry” and “Greed is not good”), Berger’s remarks bear posting. What I find most interesting about this commentary is the tie between the belief in market forces and greed – which on an individual level is defined as selfish and excessive. The question is whether greed, which has historically been viewed as a negative on a personal level and condemned by most major religions in the past, can actually be beneficial on a society-wide level. Berger says no and I agree. Markets are not self-correcting. As a result, regulatory oversight is necessary to prevent harm from excessive risk taking.
Michael:
I read the May 10 column in the Inquirer and, while I disagree with the ultimate conclusion which you imply, you, nonetheless, deserve credit for raising a provocative subject: whether people on Wall Street were influenced by Oliver Stone’s film "Wall Street" in engaging in beyond risky, reckless behavior which has brought down almost the entire edifice of modern American finance and has threatened an economic calamity akin to that of the 1930s.
In my view, your column actually raises two interesting issues: First, do the arts and popular culture (including film) influence society, or is it the other way around; and, second, what do attitudes expressed in Stone’s film say about professionals working in financial markets, the America financial elites and the financial system as a whole? In quoting the memorable words in the film of Stone’s character Gordon Gekko that, "greed is good," you really are raising a larger question of
…

Tags: art, art imitates life, culture, film, Gordon Gekko, greed, greed is good, Keynesian economics, laissez-faire capitalism, life, Michael Milken, Oliver Stone, Rudy Giuliani, Wall Street
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