Busy Day For Bristol-Myers Options As Shares Sprint Higher
by Option Review - May 15th, 2013 8:46 pm
Options brief will resume May 20th, 2013.
Today’s tickers: BMY, TIBX & WM
BMY - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. – Shares in drug maker, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., are ripping higher today, up 6.5% at $44.94, the highest level in more than a decade, ahead of the release of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2013 Annual Meeting abstracts tonight. The ASCO Annual Meeting begins on May 31st in Chicago. Options on BMY are far more active than usual today, with overall volume topping 64,000 contracts by 12:25 p.m. ET, versus average daily volume of around 11,400 contracts. Traders appear to be snapping up call options on the name, establishing near-term bullish positions on the stock to position for further gains in the price of the underlying. Front month calls are seeing most of the action, with intraday call volume well in excess of open interest across several striking prices. More than 7,000 calls have traded at the May $45 strike against open interest of 316 contracts, with roughly 3,600 calls purchased during the first half of the session for an average premium of $0.54 each. Call buyers make money if shares in BMY rally another 1.3% over the current level of $44.94 to settle above the average breakeven price of $45.54 by expiration this week. In and out of the money call options expiring June 21st are also seeing heavy volume in today’s session.
TIBX - TIBCO Software, Inc. – Upside call buying on software maker, TIBCO, suggests some traders are positioning for the price of the underlying to continue to gain ground in the near term. The stock is up 0.40% this morning at $20.91 as of 11:40 a.m. ET. Shares in TIBX, down roughly 30% since this time last year, have managed to rise 15% off a two-year low of $18.18 reached back on April 19th. Bullish options are changing hands at the Jun $20 strike today, with around 5,000 calls in play versus open interest of 2,742 contracts. Time and sales data indicates the bulk of…
Bullish Bets On Nike Payoff As Shares Hit Record Highs After Earnings
by Option Review - March 22nd, 2013 1:51 pm
Today’s tickers: NKE, MDLZ & TIBX
NKE - Nike, Inc. – Weekly call options purchased on Nike yesterday ahead of the footwear and apparel maker’s better-than-expected third-quarter earnings report released after the closing bell on Thursday fetched big overnight profits for some traders, with shares in the name rallying to record highs, up better than 11.5% at $59.79 as of 12:40 p.m. in New York. The change in open interest in the Mar. 28 ’13 $55 strike calls yesterday indicates 3,062 opening positions were initiated. A review of time and sales data suggests most of the volume was purchased at an average premium of $0.84 apiece on Thursday. The sharp rally in NKE shares overnight now finds the premium required to purchase the $55 strike calls has jumped more than five-fold to $4.75 per contract as of the time of this writing. Options traders anticipating more room for the stock to run in the near term purchased more than 3,000 calls at the April $60 strike for an average premium of $0.87 each during the first half of the session. Call buyers may profit at expiration next month as long as shares in Nike top the average breakeven point at $60.87. Overall options volume on the stock is heavier than usual, with upwards of 52,250 contracts in play just before 1:00 p.m. ET, versus the stock’s average daily volume of around 12,000 contracts.
MDLZ - Mondelez International, Inc. – Shares in the world’s largest chocolatier, biscuit baker and candy maker are up sharply on Friday following a report in Britain’s Daily Telegraph said Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management LP has been taking positions in both Mondelez International, Inc. and PepsiCo in recent weeks. The unconfirmed reports cited persons familiar with the matter, and managed to send shares in MDLZ up 4.9% to $29.96, the highest level since the spin-off from Kraft Foods, Inc., last year. Options traders who purchased upside calls on Mondelez yesterday are seeing big overnight gains in the value of their positions today. A review…
Bearish Plays Surround Caterpillar Options
by phil - August 10th, 2009 4:48 pm
Today’s tickers: CAT, JWN, TIBX, XLI, FXI, M, C, FRE & PCLN
TIBX – Option implied volatility on the provider of infrastructure software exploded upwards by an amazing 131% to the current reading of 87.04% amid news that Germany’s SAP AG may be looking to buy the U.S. firm. Investor uncertainty and shares of TIBX surged, with the stock rallying 11.5% to $9.45 during today’s trading session. Option traders looking to join the bullish wave purchased approximately 4,500 calls at the September 10 strike price for an average premium of 74 cents apiece. Profits will begin…