Litany Of Woes Sparks Renewed Bearish Options Trades On Inverse ETF
by Option Review - July 18th, 2011 4:15 pm
Today’s tickers: SH, CLX, NABI & HWD
SH - ProShares Short S&P 500 – Bearish investors are scooping up calls on the ProShares Short S&P 500 ETF this morning with 95% of stocks in the U.S. benchmark Index trading in the red today. Shares in the SH, an exchange-traded fund designed to correspond to the inverse of the daily performance of the S&P 500 Index, are up 1.45% to arrive at $41.55 as of 12:00 pm on the East Coast. Investors exchanged more than 8,000 calls at the August $44 strike against previously existing open interest of 2,231 contracts. It looks like most of the calls were purchased for an average premium of $0.25 a-pop. Perhaps call buyers are hedging long exposure to the index, or snapping up the calls to take an outright bearish stance on the near-term performance of the Index. The ongoing debt crisis in Europe, mind-numbing squabbling amongst U.S. lawmakers tasked with raising the debt ceiling, and concerns the economic recovery continues to soften are weighing down equities today. Signs that any of these factors are worsening could send the S&P 500 Index lower to the delight of call buyers. Investors holding the August $44 strike calls profit if shares in the SH rise 6.5% to exceed the effective breakeven price of $44.25 by expiration next month. The SH last traded above $44.25 back in December 2010, when the S&P 500 Index was hovering around 1243. Meanwhile, traders casting doubt on the likelihood of a sharp correction in the Index through August expiration sold around 1,500 calls at the August $45 strike to pocket an average premium of $0.15 each. Call sellers keep the full amount of premium as long as the contracts expire worthless at expiration next month.
CLX - Clorox Co. – A sizable ratio put spread on the maker of cleaning supplies and Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing indicates one strategist is positioning for limited bearish movement in the price of the underlying shares through August…
Investors Take to Research In Motion Options Ahead of Earnings
by Option Review - June 16th, 2011 4:42 pm
Today’s tickers: RIMM, ULBI, NABI & CX
Strong corporate earnings helped fuel the S&P 500 Index’s more than 30% rally since the end of last summer up to its highest point at 1370 at the start of May. A number of companies are scheduled to report earnings today, including beleaguered Blackberry maker Research In Motion Ltd. Will another spate of potentially strong corporate results inject renewed confidence into the market? Or, will earnings disappoint this quarter as companies struggle with higher energy and commodity prices? Even positive earnings surprises may not be enough to spur the return of risk appetite as less than palatable reports regarding the ongoing European debt crisis push global equities lower and leave investors with a sour taste in their mouths. Domestically, a gain in housing starts and building permits in May as well as a decline in jobless claims last week, give the market some good news to pocket today following Wednesday’s pullback.
RIMM - Research In Motion Ltd. – Options activity on the maker of Blackberry smartphones and PlayBook tablets suggests investors are harboring mixed opinions regarding the direction RIMM’s shares are likely to take following the company’s first-quarter earnings report after U.S. markets have closed for the day. Shares are off their highs of the day, but remain positive in early-afternoon trade. The stock currently trades 0.50% higher on the session at $35.35 just before 12:45pm on the East Coast. Options volume is pushing 110,000 contracts, with investors paying roughly equal attention to call and put options. Trading traffic is heaviest in options with only one trading day remaining to expiration. It looks like some investors are positioning for disappointment, with the majority of the June $32.5 strike puts trading purchased for an average premium of $0.54 apiece. June $30 strike puts…
Flip, Flop and Friday – Options Expiration Spectacular!
by phil - November 19th, 2010 8:25 am
I don't care if I die
Don't ever leave me
don't ever say goodbye
Things were going according to plan (even though the plan was horrifying) and everyone was happy but then Uncle Ben had to screw it up this morning when "The Bernank," speaking in Germany, indicated that the Fed would pull the plug on QE2 if they thought inflation would rise higher than "2 percent or a bit less."
WHA-WHA-WHAT? Keep in mind that WE are the only country on the planet Earth that is still pretending inflation is under 2% and he's making this speech in China, where inflation is 4.4% so what do you think happened?
Of course, if you can answer that, you are smarter than the Wall Street Journal (but then again, who isn't when it's being run by people like Roger Ailes, who just said of National Public Radio: "They are, of course, Nazis. They have a kind of Nazi attitude. They are the left wing of Nazism.") who went with the headline: "Dollar Sinks Despite Chines Rate Rise" because they clearly do not understand the workings of International Monetary Policy, which I would find disturbing if the Wall Street Journal were a trusted source of financial information and not just a right-wing mouthpiece. As our friend Jon Stewart so aptly pointed out last night, there's a pretty large disconnect between Conservatives and reality these days and it should be no surprise to any of us that this carries over to their trading positions.
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