Bull Constructs Three-Legged Spread on Beazer Homes USA
by Option Review - January 12th, 2011 4:05 pm
Today’s tickers: BZH, HBC, MON, EBAY, ELX & PMCS
BZH - Beazer Homes USA, Inc. – A three-legged options combination play initiated on the homebuilder that designs, sells and builds single-family and multi-family homes in the U.S. indicates one strategist sees shares improving ahead of August expiration. Shares in Beazer Homes USA rose 1.5% this afternoon to $5.99 in the final hour of the session. The homebuilding company will reveal its performance for the first quarter before the market opens for trading on February 4, 2011. The investor responsible for the bullish spread sold 5,000 puts at the August $4.0 strike for a premium of $0.25 each, purchased 5,000 calls at the August $6.0 strike for a premium of $1.05 a-pop, and sold the same number of calls at the higher August $7.0 strike at a premium of $0.60 apiece. The net cost of putting on the trade amounts to $0.20 per contract. Thus, the trader stands ready to make money should shares in BZH rally 3.5% over the current price of $5.99 to surpass the effective breakeven point to the upside at $6.20 by expiration day. Maximum potential profits of $0.80 per contract are available to the trader if the homebuilder’s shares surge 16.9% to trade above $7.00 by the time the contracts expire in August. Selling the upper-strike calls as well as the out-of-the-money put options greatly reduced the cost of taking a bullish stance on the stock. The sale of the August $4.0 strike put options suggests this trader is more than willing to bear the risk of having 500,000 shares of the underlying stock put to him at $4.00 each should the puts land in-the-money at expiration.
HBC - HSBC Holdings PLC – Some investors trading options on the financial services firm are positioning for the price of the underlying to appreciate in the next couple of months, while others appear to be taking profits off the table today. Shares in London-based HSBC Holdings increased as much as 4.9% during the current…
Rising Risk Aversion Prompts Crude Oil Bears to Target USO Put Options
by Option Review - February 25th, 2010 4:06 pm
Today’s tickers: USO, SU, DTV, AIG, CCE, PMCS & TRLG
USO – United States Oil Fund LP – Despite a stronger dollar so far during 2010 the price of crude oil has rebounded smartly and spent some time this week trading above $80 per barrel. Today’s sudden bout of risk aversion knocking equity prices running for cover has created fears of lower oil prices ahead according to options activity today. Investors targeted downside protection as they snapped up more than 10,000 put options reserving rights to sell shares in the fund that mimics the price of crude before expiration in March. Investors chose the fixed strike price of $36.00 to lock into selling rights compared to the fund’s share price of $37.67 – down 3.4% already today. Investors forced the premium of the put options from 45 cents to as high as 59 cents throughout the morning. It appears that today’s activity is fresh investor activity since it exceeds the number of open positions as of the close of business on Wednesday, while the volume also represents more than 20% of overall options volume today.
SU – Suncor Energy, Inc. – Despite the nearby bearish overture for the fortunes of crude oil prices, a decent-sized bullish options transaction was established on the Canadian energy company. Undeterred by a 3% decline in Suncor Energy’s share price to $28.24, one investor initiated a debit call spread in the June contract to position for a sharp rebound in Suncor’s share price by expiration in four months. The trader purchased 10,500 calls at the June $31 strike for a premium of $1.26 apiece, and sold the same number of calls at the higher June $36 strike for a premium of $0.30 each. The net cost of the spread amounts to $0.96 per contract. Maximum available profits of $4.04 per contract accumulate for the bullish trader if Suncor’s shares rally approximately 27.5% from the current value of the stock to $36.00 by June expiration. We note that shares traded as high as $38.22 on January 6, 2010.
DTV – The DIRECTV Group, Inc. – Covered-call selling is the theme of the day in Directv options trading as it appears investors are picking up shares of the underlying stock while simultaneously shedding out-of-the-money calls in the June contract. Shares of the provider of subscription television services slipped 0.90% during the session to $33.30. Approximately 25,300 calls…