Perfect World Co. Options Active As Shares Drop
by Option Review - January 9th, 2012 2:01 pm
Today’s tickers: PWRD, HAR & AVL
PWRD - Perfect World Co., Ltd. – Options on Perfect World Co., Ltd. are more active than usual today with shares in China’s largest online game developer and operator down 27.0% at $8.77 this afternoon. The stock plunged after a report posted on Chinese blog Tianya alleged the Company is being investigated by Chinese and U.S. regulators. Short notes out on Bloomberg this morning suggest the report has been removed from the blog and that Perfect World has since denied the allegations. Options players snapped up both call and put options in the front month to prepare for either a rebound in the price of the underlying or further declines in the next two weeks. Investors bracing for further bearish movement in the shares purchased in- and out-of-the-money puts. Volume is heaviest at the Jan. $11 strike where some 2,415 deep in-the-money puts changed hands against open interest of 441 contracts. It looks like trader purchased the majority of these puts for an average premium of $0.58 a-pop. The Jan. $9.0 and $10 strike puts also drew buyers, and appear to have been purchased more than 1,000 times each at average premiums of $0.43 and $0.54, respectively. Finally, the Jan. $8.0 strike puts changed hands more than 500 times against open interest of just 52 contracts today. Investors purchased most of the volume, paying an average premium of $0.26 each. Put buyers targeting the $8.0 strike contracts may profit at expiration if shares in PWRD drop 11.7% from the current price of $8.77 to breach the average breakeven point on the downside at $7.74. Meanwhile, traders prepared to see the stock rebound picked up more than 1,350 calls at the Jan. $10 strike for an average premium of $0.51 per contract. Profits may be available to call buyers at expiration day if shares in the game developer rally 20.0% to top $10.51. Overall options volume on the name is greater than 12,400…
Bearish Player Binges On Perfect World Co. Put Options
by Option Review - November 21st, 2011 2:00 pm
Today’s tickers: PWRD, NIHD & COCO
PWRD - Perfect World Co., Ltd. – The online game developer popped up on our scanners this morning following a burst of bearish activity in March 2012 contract call and put options. It looks like much of the trading was initiated by one investor positioning for the price of the underlying to pull back further in the next four months to expiration. Shares in Perfect World Co. fell 6.8% to $11.59 by 12:25 PM in New York trade. The company is slated to report third-quarter earnings after the final bell this evening. It appears the options player purchased around 300 puts at the Mar. 2012 $11 strike, the nearest to-the-money strike put available, for an average premium of $1.92 apiece. Similar bearish activity was seen at the Mar. 2012 $10, $9.0, $8.0 and $7.0 strike prices. The investor purchased at least 290 and as many as 430 puts at each of the lower strikes for premiums ranging from $1.35 down at $0.52 a-pop. The investor starts making money on the Mar. 2012 $11 strike put position in the event that shares in Perfect World decline another 21.7% to breach the effective breakeven point on the downside at $9.08 by expiration day next year. Meanwhile, light call selling at the Mar. 2012 $12, $13, $14 and $15 strikes suggests the investor doubts shares in the name will rally above the current price level by expiration next year.
NIHD - NII Holdings, Inc. – Wireless communications company, NII Holdings, attracted heavier-than-usual activity in its options this morning. It appears one investor is taking a bearish stance on the stock, prepping for near double-digit declines in the price of the underlying by December expiration. Shares in NII Holdings, Inc. are down 4.05% to stand at $22.46 in early-afternoon trade. More than 3,000 put options changed hands at the Dec. $21 strike earlier in the session, against previously existing open interest of just 175 contracts. It looks like the investor purchased the majority of the puts for an average premium of $0.65 each. The trader may profit on the position at expiration next month in the event that NIHD’s shares drop 9.4% from the current price of $22.46 to breach the effective breakeven point on the downside at $20.35. Shares in NII Holdings last traded below $20.35 back in July 2009.
COCO - Corinthian Colleges, Inc. – Shares in the for-profit provider of post-secondary…