ConAgra Call Options Active As Shares Soar To Multi-Year Highs
by Option Review - September 20th, 2012 3:12 pm
Today’s tickers: CAG, NSC & JEF
CAG - ConAgra Foods, Inc. – Options on food products company, ConAgra Foods, Inc., are more active than usual this morning after the provider of Snack Packs, Slim Jims and Hebrew National hot dogs boosted its quarterly dividend and raised its full-year earnings forecast. Shares in CAG rallied more than 8% this morning to a multi-year high of $27.75. Traders positioning for shares in the name to extend gains in the near term snapped up call options in the September and October expiries. Overall volume in ConAgra options today is above 12,400 contracts as of 12:00 p.m. ET; heavy activity for the name, which typically sees average daily options volume of 598 contracts. Upside call buying in contracts with just one full trading day remaining to expiration indicate some strategists anticipate a strong end to the week for ConAgra shares. Traders appear to be buying most of the volume in the Sep. $27 and $28 strikes this morning at average premiums of $0.27 and $0.05 apiece. Thus far in the session, these contracts have traded more than 1,600 times each. Fresh interest in the Oct. $28 strike call, where 1,400 contracts changed this morning versus zero open positions, appears to have been largely initiated by buyers paying an average premium of $0.20 per contract. Traders long the calls profit at expiration next month as long as shares in ConAgra rally another 3% over the current price of $27.35 to top the average breakeven point at $28.20.
NSC - Norfolk Southern Corp.– Rail transportation services provider, Norfolk Southern Corp., said Wednesday third-quarter earnings are likely to trail analyst estimates, sending the price of its shares down nearly 10% this morning to $65.58. At least one options trader is positioned for the shares to come off further. It looks like the strategist purchased a 2,000-lot Oct. $60/$65 bear put spread at an average net premium outlay of $0.65 per contract. The…
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Bullish Smoke Signals Detected In Altria Options
by Option Review - December 19th, 2011 2:42 pm
Today’s tickers: MO, NSC, STJ & JNS
MO - Altria Group, Inc. – Bullish activity in Altria Group call options this morning indicates shares in the cigarette maker, which today rallied 1.7% to a new three-year high of $29.63, may have more room to run in 2012. Investors dabbling in February 2012 contract calls on the Richmond, Virginia-based Company may be prepping for the stock to hit new highs following the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report on January 26. Options volume on Altria Group is heaviest at the Feb. 2012 $31 strike, where more than 3,000 calls changed hands against zero open positions. It looks like most of the call options were purchased for an average premium of $0.16 apiece. Call buyers stand prepared to profit should shares in the tobacco products provider climb 6.1% to top $31.16 at expiration day in February. Philip Morris International, Inc.’s shares too are in rally-mode today, though activity in February 2012 contract calls on the cigarette seller may not be the work of a bullish player. The purchase of 3,000 Feb. 2012 $80 strike calls on Philip Morris would have tended to suggest optimism on the tobacco Company; however, it appears the options were likely tied to the sale of stock in a position that may be profitable if shares in PM decline.
NSC - Norfolk Southern Corp. – A large put credit spread on the rail transportation provider signals the stock is unlikely to crash in the near future. Shares in Norfolk Southern Corp. are bucking the broader market decline today, trading 0.40% higher on the session at $70.09 just before 1:00 PM on the East Coast. The strategist responsible for the sizable spread appears to have sold 13,750 puts at the Jan. 2012 $65 strike at a premium of $0.65 each, and purchased the same number of…
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Bulls Target BJ’s Wholesale Club Options as Shares Touch New 52-Week High
by Option Review - July 1st, 2010 6:38 pm
Today’s tickers: BJ, TRW, NSC & ODP
BJ – BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. – Shares of the warehouse club operator are currently up 10.75% to stand at $40.99 just before 11:30 am (ET), but earlier the price of the underlying stock surged 18.43% to reach an intraday- and new 52-week high of $43.83. BJ’s shares jumped after private equity firm, Green Equity Investors, purchased 5.1 million BJ shares – or 9.5% of the warehouse-club chain – and said the shares are undervalued. Green Equity also revealed plans to discuss taking BJ’s private with the warehouse club’s executives. Options investors scrambled to place bullish trades on the stock, with some traders opting to sell short roughly 1,200 puts at the July $40 strike to pocket an average premium of $0.46 per contract. Put sellers keep the full premium received on the transaction as long as BJ’s share price exceeds $40.00 through expiration day. Investors short the puts are ready and willing to have shares of the underlying stock put to them at an effective price of $39.54 in the event the puts land in-the-money at expiration. Bulls hoping to see BJ’s shares continue higher scooped up approximately 585 calls at the July $45 strike for an average premium of $0.45 apiece. Call buyers stand ready to accrue profits if shares jump 3.7% over today’s highest recorded price of $43.83 to surpass the average breakeven point on the calls at $45.45 by July expiration day. BJ’s overall reading of options implied volatility exploded today, rising 28.4% to 38.08% as of 11:40 am (ET).
TRW – TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. – The purchase of a plain-vanilla debit put spread on the diversified supplier of automotive systems, modules and components to global automotive equipment manufacturers indicates one options strategist is bracing for shares of the underlying stock to decline ahead of August expiration. TRW’s shares are currently down more than 4.3% to stand at $26.38 as of 11:07 am (ET). The bearish investor picked up 5,000 puts at the August $25 strike for a premium of $1.65 apiece, and sold the same number of puts at the lower August $20 strike for a premium of $0.40 each. Net premium paid to establish the spread amounts to $1.25 per contract. Thus, the trader responsible for the transaction is prepared to profit should TRW’s shares fall another 9.97% from the current price of $26.38 to breach…
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Quicksilver Resources, Inc. Options Activity Jumps Late in Session
by Option Review - June 4th, 2010 4:52 pm
Today’s tickers: KWK, MCCC, EWZ, NSC, HNT, EFA, JNJ, GT & LVS
KWK – Quicksilver Resources, Inc. – The independent oil and natural gas company’s shares recovered late in the session, adding 0.50% to stand at $12.18 as of 3:07 pm (ET), after commencing the trading day in the red by 0.30% to touch an intraday low of $11.75. Options investors all but ignored Quicksilver until this afternoon when both puts and calls in the July contract started to change hands. Roughly 10,000 puts were exchanged at the July $11 strike for an average premium of $0.44 apiece. Simultaneously, investors traded about the same number of calls at the higher July $13 strike for an average premium of $0.79 each. It looks like some options strategists populating KWK are selling strangles on the stock because they expect shares to trade within a specified range through expiration. Strangle-sellers pocket an average gross premium of $1.23 per contract, and keep the full amount received as long Quicksilver’s shares trade within the $11.00 to $13.00 range through expiration day. Investors short the strangle face losses should shares rally above the upper breakeven price of $14.23, or if shares slip beneath the lower breakeven point at $9.77 ahead of expiration. Other options strategists may be utilizing the same strike prices in the July contract to enact bullish risk reversals. Investors employing the risk reversal likely sold the July $11 strike puts in order to offset the cost of buying the July $13 strike calls. Average net premium paid for the transaction amounts to $0.35 per contract and positions traders to make money as long as Quicksilver’s shares rally 9.60% to exceed the average breakeven price of $13.35 by October expiration.
MCCC – Mediacom Communications Corp. – Shares of the firm engaged in the development of cable systems serving smaller U.S. cities are flat on the day at $6.28 in late afternoon trading. MCCC popped onto our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner earlier in the session after one options investor exchanged a chunk of 4,000 calls on the stock in the October contract. The calls traded to the middle of the market at the October $7.5 strike for a premium of $0.25 apiece. The investor may be buying the contracts, in which case he is bullish on Mediacom and expects shares to rally sharply ahead of expiration in five months time. A long call…
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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.