Friday Futures Fakery – Do you REALLY think a downed airline doesn’t matter?
by phil - July 18th, 2014 8:15 am
Can we possibly be this jaded?
Even on Wall Street, where ruining the lives of the middle class is a sporting event, you would think that the tragic death of 298 people being shot down in an airplane would AT LEAST cause the markets to pause for more than a few hours. That's not what the Futures would have you believe – they are moving up this morning (7:30) as if shooting planes out of the sky isn't a reason not to trade stocks at their all-time highs.
While our long trade ideas from yesterday's morning post worked out fantastically, we were very fortunately NOT GREEDY at 10:03, when I said to our Members:
Philly Fed up huge (like NY), 23.9 vs 10 expected though 17.8 last month means they were just being too pessimistic. That should give us a nice pop but I'd take those Futures profits off this run!
As you can see from Dave Fry's SPY chart, our timing was near perfect as things turned sour very quickly. That then worked out well for our oil shorts, which went from the $103 conviction target I laid out in the morning post (subscribe here to get them pre-market every day) back below $102, where I said to our Members at 11:34:
There goes $102 on oil! Congrats to the players! That's the new stop line, of course.
That was a very quick $1,000 PER CONTRACT profit on /CL and, right after that, we got the plane crash news so we increased our hedges in our Short-Term Portfolio and we added BA July $128 puts at $1.25 (because it was a BA plane involved in the incident) and they finished the day at $2.18 (up 74%) as well as DAL Aug $37 puts at $1.50, which were already $1.92 by the day's end (up 28%). I don't like to take advantage of tragedies like that – but it was the fastest way to add good protection to our portfolios.
YUM had a bit of a tragedy yesterday and the net…
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Casino Stocks LVS, WYNN On The Run Ahead of Earnings
by Option Review - April 22nd, 2014 1:57 pm
Shares in Las Vegas Sands Corp. (Ticker: LVS) are up sharply today, gaining as much as 5.7% to touch $80.12 and the highest level since April 4th, mirroring gains in shares of resort casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd. (Ticker: WYNN). The move in Wynn shares appears, at least in part, to follow a big increase in target price from analysts at CLSA who upped their target on the ‘buy’ rated stock to $350 from $250 a share. CLSA also has a ‘buy’ rating on Las Vegas Sands with a $100 price target according to a note from reporter, Janet Freund, on Bloomberg. Both companies are scheduled to report first-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Thursday.
A block of call options traded on LVS during the first hour of the session suggests one options market participant may be positioning for the price of the underlying to extend gains during the next couple of months. It looks like 5,535 of the 20Jun’14 calls were purchased at a premium of $1.70 each. The position makes money at expiration in June if shares in LVS rally 9.0% over the current price of $79.82 to exceed the effective breakeven point at $86.70. Shares in LVS earlier this year traded up to a six-year high of $88.28. Shares in WYNN for its part are currently trading up 5.5% on the session at $215.71.
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Short Term Bearish Options Trade On Las Vegas Sands
by Option Review - April 16th, 2014 2:41 pm
A roughly quarter of a million dollar play in the 17Apr’14 expiry $74 strike put options on Las Vegas Sands Corp (Ticker: LVS) caught our eye this morning, as just one full trading session remains in the life of these contracts in this holiday-shortened week. Shares in LVS are up more than 2.0% on the session at $74.90 just before 11:30 am ET and off an earlier session high of $75.44. Like many of the relative outperformers of 2014, shares in LVS have declined substantially since the beginning of March, down around 15% at its current level from a high of $88.28. Recent sessions have been volatile in this and other high-beta names, and perhaps this environment is just what the morning’s put trader is looking for ahead of expiration.
The prior two trading sessions this week saw shares in LVS trade up initially only to get slammed midday. Perhaps the aim of the very short-term trade in the $74 puts this morning was for this pattern to persist. It looks like around 4,000 of the 17Apr’14 $74 puts were purchased at an average premium of $0.62 each in the early going, versus open interest of just 264 contracts. Thus far in the session, premium on the $74 puts has eroded amid gains in the price of the underlying. But, if the shares suffer a midday slump as they have in recent sessions, premium on these contracts would move inversely. For example, on Tuesday, the stock opened at $74.73, but by 1:00 pm ET had dropped about 5.0% down to its intraday low of $71.09, ultimately ending the session down just 2.0% to close at $73.19.
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Options Traders Brace For Shares In Yahoo To Extend Declines
by Option Review - June 24th, 2013 9:04 pm
Today’s tickers: YHOO, LVS & MED
YHOO - Yahoo! Inc. – Bearish options changing hands on Yahoo this morning indicate some traders are positioning for shares in the name to continue to selloff in the near term. Shares in YHOO are down 4.75% at $24.00 as of 11:55 a.m. ET amid a retreat in U.S. stocks. Traders snapped up at- and out-of-the-money weekly put options in the early going this morning, picking up around 400 of the Jun 28 ’13 $23.5 strike puts for an average premium of $0.18 apiece and roughly 540 puts at the Jun 28 ’13 $24 strike at an average premium of $0.30 each. Buyers of the $23.5 strike puts stand ready to profit at expiration this week should shares in Yahoo decline another 2.8% to breach the average breakeven point on the downside at $23.32. July expiry put options are also active today, with upwards of 6,000 of the $23 strike contracts in play as of the time of this writing. It looks like one trader purchased the bulk of the Jul $23 strike puts for an average premium of $0.53 apiece. The bearish position starts making money if the price of the underlying slips 6.4% from the current price of $24.00 to settle below the breakeven point at $22.47 by expiration next month. Finally, options traders also looked to the Aug $24 strike puts, picking up more than 3,500 contracts for an average premium of $1.12 apiece. Despite the weakness in YHOO shares today, the stock is still up more than 50% since this time last year.
LVS - Las Vegas Sands Corp. – Weekly put options purchased on Las Vegas Sands ahead of the weekend appear to be paying off for one strategist today, with shares in the name down more than 6.5% at $48.84 today on concerns over the credit crunch in China. Time and sales data suggests one trader picked up roughly 1,000 puts at the Jun 28 ’13 $50 strike on Friday morning for an average premium of $0.40…
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Bullish Bets On The Rise In Las Vegas Sands Options
by Option Review - February 22nd, 2013 1:40 pm
Today’s tickers: LVS, ARUN & PLCE
LVS - Las Vegas Sands, Inc. – U.S. stocks rebounded this morning on better-than-expected earnings from Hewlett-Packard and AIG released Thursday, and following market-soothing comments from St. Louis Fed Chief, James Bullard, to CNBC’s Squawk Box on Friday morning. Shares in casino resort operator, Las Vegas Sands, joined in on the end-of-week rally, rising as much as 2.5% in the early going to touch $50.32. Heavy trading traffic in May expiry call options this morning suggests some traders are positioning for shares in the name to extend gains during the next few months. The May $52.5 strike calls are seeing the most volume, with more than 21,000 contracts in play versus open interest of 282 contracts as of 11:45 a.m. ET. It looks like most of the calls were purchased for an average premium of $2.04 each. Fresh interest is also building in the May $50 strike calls where roughly 4,700 contracts appear to have been purchased for an average premium of $3.10 apiece. Traders long the May $50 and $52.5 strike calls may profit at expiration should shares in LVS rally approximately 6.0% and 9.0% to exceed average breakeven points at $53.10 and $54.54, respectively. Finally, one or more bullish traders appear to be buying the May $50/$60 call spread for an average net premium of $2.65 per contract. The bull call spread pays off if shares in Las Vegas Sands top the breakeven price of $52.65 by May expiration, with maximum potential profits of $7.35 per contract available if the stock jumps to a record high of $60.00.
ARUN - Aruba Networks, Inc. – Shares in Aruba Networks jumped nearly 30% on Friday morning to a new 52-week high of $26.78 after the provider of enterprise mobility solutions reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and sales, and forecast third-quarter revenue above analyst estimates. A sizable bullish bet initiated on Aruba ahead of the company’s earnings release is paying off for one trader today, as shares sit at their highest level since July…
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Bull Call Spread On LVS Looks For Q3 Earnings To Impress
by Option Review - October 25th, 2012 2:16 pm
Today’s tickers: LVS, CROX & F
LVS - Las Vegas Sands Corp. – Casino stocks are popping today in sympathy with Wynn Resorts Ltd. after that company posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, announced plans to double its regular quarterly dividend and declared a $7.50 a-share special cash dividend. Las Vegas Sands Corp., which is scheduled to release third-quarter results tomorrow, rallied as much as 4.5% on Thursday morning to hit $46.30 in the early going. One options player appears to be positioning for further near-term upside with the purchase of a bull call spread in the newly issued weekly options that expire one week from tomorrow. It looks like the trader purchased a 400-lot Nov. 02 ’12 $47.5/$50 call spread for a net premium of $0.54 per contract. The strategy makes money if shares in LVS increase 5% from the current level of $45.70 to top the effective breakeven point at $48.04, with maximum potential profits of $1.96 per contract available on the position should shares surge 9.4% to hit $50.00 by expiration next week.
CROX - Crocs, Inc. – Shares in plastic-clog maker, Crocs, Inc., are getting slammed today after the company’s fourth-quarter top and bottom line estimates came in lower than analysts expected. The stock is down more than 20% at $12.89 as of 12:05 p.m. in New York. Crocs reported better-than-expected third-quarter profits after the final bell on Wednesday, but missed expectations for revenue in the quarter. Front month put activity on CROX this morning suggests one or more traders are holding out hope for a mild recovery in the shares in the near term. The sale of around 1,800 puts at the Nov. $13 strike provides an average premium of $0.32 per contract to sellers, who keep the full amount of premium as long as shares in the shoe maker exceed $13.00 at expiration next month. The puts were sold within the first couple of minutes of the opening bell this morning…
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Bulls Binge On XLF Calls Following FOMC Announcement
by Option Review - September 14th, 2012 2:16 pm
Today’s tickers: XLF, LVS & BZH
XLF - Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF – Traders positioning for financial stocks to extend gains on the heels of Thursday’s FOMC announcement are loading up on XLF call options this morning. Shares in the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF earlier rallied as much as 1.8% to hit a new 52-week high of $16.44. Overall options volume on the fund is well above 500,000 contracts as of 11:35 a.m. ET, with the call-to-put ratio hovering just below 10-to-1. The Oct. $17 strike call has changed hands more than 320,000 times so far today against open interest of 215,271 positions. Much of the previously opened positions were established yesterday as traders stepped up to purchase the contracts for an average premium of $0.07 apiece. This morning, it looks like buyers are once again in the driver’s seat, paying an average of $0.12 per contract for the $17 strike call options. Traders getting long the contracts at around $0.12 apiece stand ready to profit at expiration next month if the price of the underlying rallies another 4% over today’s high of $16.44 to top the average breakeven price of $17.12. Shares in the XLF are off their highs of the day, up 0.90% at $16.30 as of 11:50 a.m. in New York.
LVS - Las Vegas Sands Corp.– Shares in the resort casino operator are up sharply today, trading 4.0% higher on the day at $47.21 just before 12:30 p.m. in New York. The Fed’s decision to extend its bond buying program and a number of analyst upgrades on Las Vegas Sands helped lift demand for bullish options on the stock this morning. A number of options market participants appear to be betting that shares in LVS have more room to run in the near term. Plain-vanilla call buying is prevalent across several out-of-the-money strikes in the September and October expiries. Traders positioning to benefit from strong performance in the shares…
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Smucker’s Calls In Focus As Shares Soar To Record High
by Option Review - August 17th, 2012 1:57 pm
Today’s tickers: SJM, LVS & KKD
SJM - J.M. Smucker Co. – Bullish bets initiated on branded food maker, J.M. Smucker Co., earlier this week are paying off for some strategists following the release of the company’s first-quarter earnings report ahead of the opening bell. Better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and revenue along with the firm’s full-year earnings guidance now at the top end of its previously forecasted range sent the price of the underlying stock soaring 6.5% to a new all-time high of $84.10 this morning. Traders positioning for a post-earnings report pop in the share price picked up around 250 of the Aug. $80 strike puts earlier this week for an average premium of $0.70 per contract. These calls, which are in their final day of trading before expiration, are now deep in-the-money, displaying a last-traded price of $3.70 as of 12:10 p.m. in New York. Traders who paid $0.70 apiece for the contracts have seen the value of the call options quadruple this week. Meanwhile, fresh bullish action in Smucker’s call options spread to the Sept. $85 strike where approximately 330 calls were purchased for an average premium of $0.65 apiece. The trader or traders purchasing the contracts profit if shares in SJM continue high to top a fresh record-high of $85.65 by September expiration.
LVS - Las Vegas Sands Corp. – Shares in the casino resort operator slumped to a 52-week low of $34.72 at the end of July on concerns over slowing growth in China and as gaming growth in Macao slipped to its lowest level in three years. But, the stock has managed to pare some of its losses during the first few weeks in August, rising 1.25% to $41.69 this morning, marking a 20% rebound in the price of the underlying off the July low. A debit call spread initiated in the weekly options expiring next Friday suggests one options player is positioned to benefit from further gains in the…
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Upside Calls In Play On Las Vegas Sands, Lululemon
by Option Review - July 30th, 2012 1:52 pm
Today’s tickers: LVS, LULU & VCLK
LVS - Las Vegas Sands Corp. – Weekly options on Las Vegas Sands Corp. are active this morning ahead of the release of July Macau gaming revenue data on Wednesday. Shares in the casino resort operator are off their highs of the session, but remain in positive territory, up 1% at $37.15 as of 12:15 p.m. in New York. Traders dabbling in LVS weeklies appear to be positioning for shares to extend gains in the near term. The most active contracts, the Aug. 03 ’12 $39 strike calls, traded upwards of 3,100 times in the first half of the session versus open interest of 636 positions. It looks like strategists purchased most of the options for an average premium of $0.36 apiece, thus positioning for a 6%-plus upside move in the share price by expiration. The Aug. 03 ’12 $40 strike call also saw traders step in to purchase around 700 contracts at an average premium of $0.16 each. Shares in LVS are down roughly 40% off the April 12th four-year high of $62.09, having fallen hard and fast in the most recent three month period to touch down at its lowest in nearly two years last week.
LULU - Lululemon Athletica, Inc. – The single-largest transaction in Lululemon options today may be a pre-earnings bet that shares in the athletic apparel retailer could rebound somewhat following the company’s second-quarter report on September 10th. Shares in the name are down more than 3% this morning to stand at $59.56 and have declined more than 25% off the May 3rd all-time high of $81.09. It looks like one strategist initiated a one-by-two ratio call spread to position for limited gains in the price of the underlying through September expiration. The trader likely purchased 3,000 calls at the Sept. $70 strike for a premium of $1.82 each and sold 6,000 calls up at the Sept. $77.5 strike at a premium of…
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Free-Falling Thursday – Facebook Faces Fatal Friday Follow-Through
by phil - May 17th, 2012 8:04 am
What a week to do an IPO!
Will Facebook save the markets tomorrow with a successful roll-out of the largest IPO of all time or will it be the straw that breaks the camel's back, with a disappointing open that sends the Nasdaq off a cliff along with their entire over-priced sector? Either way – this is going to be fun.
We can argue the merits of Facebook's value (or lack thereof) all day long but, scam or not, it's very likely FB will set off a buying frenzy in the space and we finish the week off with a bang. If that doesn't happen – I will be very, very bearish but from what I'm hearing and the way they are extending the offer and raising the price – it's way oversubscribed. Also, we have to consider that people are cashing out 1-5% of their holdings to raise cash for FB on Friday – sure it's moronic, but that's what people do so you have to put yourself in a position of someone who wants to put 5% of your portfolio in to Facebook (the way you wish you had put 5% into Google at $80 when they IPO'd) tomorrow – what would you be doing with the rest of your portfolio today?
Meanwhile, the rest of the World is falling apart with Europe turning sharply lower as Spain sells bonds at record high yields (5.106% for 4-year notes) this morning after announcing that their Q1 GDP was -0.4% at the same time as Moody's indicates they will be cutting the credit ratings of 21 Spanish Banks this evening AND, to top it all off – there is a run on Bankia, which Spain nationalized last week – with $1.3Bn pulled from accounts this past week! This sent Spain's markets down 1.6% and Italy (who is next) fell 2%, sending the Euro down 1% to $1.2668 and the Pound followed it down to $1.5832 (while EUR/CHF holds steady at 1.2009 in the most blatant currency manipulation ever witnessed).
Wow – that's a lot of bad stuff! Maybe too many bad things – as in a bit suspicious that all this bad stuff happens at once – as if maybe someone WANTS to force a panic bottom? If so, I applaud them – we certainly needed to shake things up a little…
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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.