Heavy Call Activity On Goodyear Looks For Stock To Rebound
by Option Review - April 8th, 2013 1:44 pm
Today’s tickers: GT, PIR & LINTA
GT - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. – Shares in the tire manufacturer have declined nearly 15% since the start of 2013, but options activity on the stock this morning suggests some traders are positioning for the price of the underlying to rebound during the next six weeks. Goodyear’s shares are up 0.80% today at $12.26 as of 11:40 a.m. ET, after the stock last week touched down at a fresh six-month low of $11.96. Overall options volume on the tire maker is up sharply versus the stock’s average daily volume today, with trading in calls far outpacing activity in puts on the name. The May $13 strike calls are most active, with upwards of 25,000 lots in play as of midday in New York versus open interest of just 729 contracts. It looks like most of the $13 calls were purchased for an average premium of $0.35 apiece, thus positioning buyers to profit at expiration should shares in Goodyear rally 9.0% over the current price of $12.26 to top the average breakeven point at $13.35 by May expiration. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings at the end of the month.
PIR - Pier 1 Imports, Inc. – A burst of upside call buying on home furnishings retailer, Pier 1 Imports, this morning suggests at least one trader is angling for a near-term rally in the stock. Shares in Pier 1, up 1.8% today at $22.22, have gained 20% since this time last year. Bullish bets on the specialty retailer look for shares in the name to potentially increase to fresh 52-week highs by April expiration. The April $23 strike calls attracted the most volume, with more than 1,100 lots in play versus open interest of 382 contracts. Most of the $23 strike calls appear to have been purchased at a premium of $0.30 apiece, and make money as long as shares in Pier 1 rise another 5.0% to settle above $23.30 at expiration. Pier 1 reports…
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Gilead Calls In Play As Shares Hit Record Highs
by Option Review - February 19th, 2013 1:40 pm
Today’s tickers: GILD, YHOO & LINTA
GILD - Gilead Sciences, Inc. – Positive results from a Phase 3 study of Hepatitis C drug, sofosbuvir, pushed shares in Gilead are up more than 3.0% this morning to a new all-time high of $43.04 after the company said in a press release that it is “on track to meet its goal of filing regulatory applications in the United States and Europe in the second quarter.” The stock is up roughly 20% since the start of 2013, and some options traders are positioning for further gains in the near term. Fresh interest in out-of-the-money weekly call options on Gilead Sciences look for shares in the drug maker to continue to hit fresh highs during the next few trading sessions. More than 480 calls changed hands at the Feb. 22 ’13 $43.5 strike in the early going on Tuesday, with most of the volume purchased at an average premium of $0.11 apiece. Call buyers stand ready to profit at expiration should Gilead shares top the average breakeven price of $43.61. The Feb. 22 ’13 $42, $42.5, and $43 strike call options were also active this morning, with volumes surpassing open interest levels at each striking price. Bullish positions initiated at the end of last week have generated substantial paper profits for some traders, who find the value of their contracts has jumped sharply following the holiday weekend.
YHOO - Yahoo!, Inc. – Upside call options changing hands on Yahoo this morning suggest some traders are positioning for fresh multi-year highs in the price of the underlying during the next few days. The stock is up 1.8% this morning to stand at $21.39 as of 11:40 a.m. ET. Bullish traders are snapping up in- and out-of-the-money calls, buying more than 700 of the Feb. 22 ’13 $21 strike calls and another 450 lots at the $21.5 strike. The Feb. 22 ’13 $22 strike calls are seeing the most volume, with around 1,400 lots trading against open interest of 534 contracts during the first…
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Short Straddle With a Side of Stock on Display at Liberty Media
by Option Review - March 29th, 2011 4:11 pm
Today’s tickers: LINTA, MWW, CVS & AEP
LINTA - Liberty Media Interactive – A large stock and options combination play on the broadcasting and entertainment company appears to be the work of an investor hoping to see LINTA’s shares stagnate ahead of July expiration. Shares in the owner of QVC and Starz Entertainment are currently up 0.10% to stand at $15.80 as of 12:15pm in New York. The options player sold a sizable 15,000-lot July $15 strike straddle, taking in $1.40 per contract on the sale of the in-the-money calls, and pocketing $0.60 each on the sale of the put options. In conjunction with the short straddle, the trader purchased some 417,000 shares of the underlying at $15.80 each. The long stock position may be a way for the investor to guard against continued upward movement in the LINTA’s shares through expiration. Gross premium of $2.00 per contract, or $3 million, represents the maximum gain on the short straddle. The trader keeps the full premium if shares in Liberty drop to $15.00 and both the calls and the puts expire worthless at expiration in July. The investor will lose $0.80 per share on the long stock position, assuming he holds onto all legs of the trade, if the best-case scenario on the options leg of the transaction (shares trading at $15.00 each) is realized at expiration. The erosion of time value on the short options will work in his favor, as will declines in options implied volatility on LINTA.
MWW - Monster Worldwide, Inc. – Options traders employed bullish strategies on Monster Worldwide this morning with shares in the name rising as much as 1.7% to $15.55 as of 10:40am in New York. Call options on the global online resource that connects job seekers with hirers are in high demand thus…
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Ford Motor Co. Calls Fly Off the Shelves
by Option Review - April 14th, 2010 5:09 pm
Today’s tickers: F, PGR, IBM, YHOO, SMH, LINTA, VALE, POT, LEN & RRGB
F – Ford Motor Co. – Call options on automobile maker, Ford Motor Co., are flying off the assembly line this afternoon with shares of the underlying stock soaring 4.5% higher to $13.36. Investors exchanged more than 381,000 option contracts on Ford by 3:25 pm (ET), and paid extra attention to call contracts, trading more than 3.7 calls to each single put option in action. The most heavily trafficked area of the Ford options arena today are call contracts at the September $14 strike where bullish players bought up approximately 86,000 lots for an average premium of $1.12 apiece. More than 99,100 calls changed hands at this strike, which puts the previously existing open interest of 22,831 contracts to shame. Call-buyers holding the September $14 strike call options are positioned to make money if the auto maker’s shares surge 13.2% over the current price to surpass the average breakeven price of $15.12 by September expiration. Ford’s overall reading of options implied volatility is up 14.5% to 39.48% with 30 minutes remaining in the trading session.
PGR – The Progressive Corp. – Bullish options investors dabbled in call options on the insurance holding company in late afternoon trading with shares of the underlying stock rallying up 5.55% to a new 52-week high of $20.55. One investor was prepared for the rally and banked profits on a previously established long call position today. It looks like the options optimist originally purchased 2,000 calls at the May $20 strike for an average premium of $0.35 apiece back on March 25, 2010, when shares of Progressive Corp. were trading at around $18.86 each. The subsequent surge in the value of Progressive’s shares prompted the trader to sell the calls today for a premium of $0.95 apiece, thus banking net profits of $0.60 per contract. Finally, the investor initiated a fresh bullish stance on the stock by purchasing 2,000 calls at the higher August $22.5 strike for a premium of $0.40 each. The trader makes money on the new call acquisition if the insurer’s shares increase another 11.45% to exceed the effective breakeven share price of $22.90 by expiration day in August.
IBM – International Business Machines Corp. – The computer services giant received a vote of confidence by one big bullish options player this afternoon amid a 1.7% increase in the…
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Staples Firm – Proctor & Gamble Options Suggest Further Upside
by Option Review - November 6th, 2009 4:53 pm
Today’s tickers: PG, CTXS, LINTA, HIG, CVS, UUP, VIX, AONE, SWKS, CLX, BCSI & NVDA
PG – The Proctor & Gamble Co. – Bullish action on Proctor & Gamble today suggests one investor expects shares to continue to rally ahead of expiration in November. Shares are currently trading 1% higher to $61.13. The trader purchased 10,000 calls at the now in-the-money November 60 strike for 1.39 each, and simultaneously sold 10,000 calls at the higher November 62.5 strike for 26 cents apiece. The net cost of buying the call spread amounts to 1.13 per contract and yields maximum potential profits of 1.37 each if shares rally up to $62.50 by expiration. Shares need only rally another 2.2% from the current price to reach the $62.50-level.
CTXS – Citrix Systems, Inc. – Software developer, Citrix Systems, attracted bullish option traders to the November contract today amid a 1% increase in shares to $38.80. Investors displayed optimistic sentiment on the stock by selling approximately 10,600 puts at the November 35 strike for 10 cents premium apiece. Put-sellers retain the full dime-per-contract as long as shares remain above $35.00 through expiration this month. Shares of CTXS have traded above $36.00 since September 4, 2009.
LINTA – Liberty Media Corp. – Shares of the broadcasting and entertainment company rallied 1% during the trading session to $12.14. Plain-vanilla call buying action on the stock today suggests some investors expect shares to rise significantly by expiration in January 2010. Traders purchased about 11,800 calls at the January 15 strike for an average premium of 25 cents apiece. Call-buyers will accumulate profits if shares surge at least 26% from the current price to surpass the breakeven point at $15.25 by expiration.
HIG – Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. – Medium-term investors placed bearish bets on the insurance and financial services firm today. Shares are currently trading less than 0.25% higher to $24.16 after suffering significant erosion throughout the week. One pessimistic trader initiated a bearish risk reversal in the January 2010 contract. The investor sold 4,500 calls at the January 27 strike for an average premium of 78 cents apiece to partially finance the purchase of the same number of put options at the lower January 21 strike for 1.68 each. The net cost of the transaction is reduced to a more palatable 90 cents per contract, but does leave the investor exposed in the event of…
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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.