Demand for Blue Coat Systems Call Options Pops
by phil - April 15th, 2011 4:13 pm
Today’s tickers: BCSI, BHP, KFT & MOBI
BCSI - Blue Coat Systems, Inc. – Speculation and unconfirmed rumors that Cisco may be interested in acquiring rival Blue Coat Systems sent shares in Sunnyvale, CA-based Blue Coat up as much as 8.0% this afternoon to an intraday high of $28.85. Investors flocked to the May contract to buy out-of-the-money call options on the stock in case the there’s any element of truth driving the takeover chatter, or simply to benefit from rising call premiums that result from the higher implied volatility and share price that’s likely to accompany continued speculation. Options traders exchanged more than 4,500 calls at the May $29 strike on open previously existing open interest of just 150 contracts. It looks like bulls purchased the majority of the calls for an average premium of $0.71 apiece. Call buyers stand prepared to profit in the event that Blue Coat’s shares rally another 3.0% to surpass the average breakeven price on the upside at $29.71 by May expiration. Investors purchased another 1,000 call options up at the May $30 strike, paying an average premium of $0.57 a-pop. Higher-strike call buyers make money if shares in Blue Coat Systems increase 6.0% over today’s high of $28.85 to exceed the average breakeven share price of $30.57 in the time remaining to expiration. Options implied volatility on the stock jumped 21.8% to 50.04% on Friday afternoon, and continues to climb in the final hours of the trading week.
BHP - BHP Billiton Limited – Put players initiated diverse bearish options strategies on the natural resources company today, with shares in BHP Billiton slipping 0.65% to $99.79 on speculation China may do more to combat the faster-than-expected rise in inflation. The bulk of volume generated in BHP’s options appears to be the work of one…