Unisys Earnings Surprise A Boon For Pre-Report Call Buyers
by Option Review - April 25th, 2012 11:48 am
Today’s tickers: UIS, GPS & MS
UIS - Unisys Corp. – Higher-than-expected first-quarter profits reported by information technology services provider, Unisys Corp., on Tuesday sent shares in the name up sharply to the benefit of some pre-earnings report call buyers. Shares in Unisys, which had declined significantly this year, rose as much as 28.0% in the first half of the session to $20.98. Bullish positions initiated in the front month prior to the earnings release have in some cases more than tripled in value. Of note, the purchase of some 745 May $17 strike call options for a premium of $1.00 on Friday April 20th, are now deep in-the-money and trade at $3.80 apiece. Meanwhile, open interest in the May $18 strike calls suggests close to 300 contracts were picked up for a premium of $0.65 each yesterday afternoon. The spike in shares overnight now sees the $18 calls changing hands at a last-traded price of $2.95 per contract, a roughly 350% increase in premium. Options on Unisys Corp. are far more active than usual overall today with some 5,350 contracts in play this afternoon versus the 90-day average options volume of 506 contracts on the stock. Traders are focusing their efforts in UIS calls, exchanging roughly 3.7 calls for each single put option traded.
GPS - Gap, Inc. – Shares in the apparel and accessories retailer are up 1.6% at $27.63 this morning, just off Friday’s fresh 52-week high of $27.95. The stock has soared in 2012, rising nearly 50.0% year-to-date. But, a large bear put spread initiated in the front month a couple of minutes into the trading day suggests one strategist is prepared should shares slip in the near term. Gap is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings on May 17th after the close. The trader…