Vera Bradley Call Options Active
by Option Review - September 9th, 2013 8:48 pm
VRA – Vera Bradley, Inc. – A sizable trade in Vera Bradley call options today appears to be bullish on shares of the handbags and accessories retailer through November expiration. Shares in VRA, down roughly 20% since this time last year, slipped 2.4% to a fresh 52-week low of $18.67 today. The company reports second-quarter earnings after the close on Wednesday.
The most-traded contracts are the Nov $20 calls, with volume topping 3,400 contracts versus open interest of 505 contracts. Most of the volume traded in a block of 1,900 calls at an asking premium of $1.20 per contract. The position starts making money if shares in Vera Bradley rally 13% over today’s low of $18.67 to exceed the breakeven point at $21.20. Overall options volume of around 5,100 contracts traded on the stock today is more than 10 times VRA’s average daily volume of approximately 470 contracts.
LULU – Lululemon Athletica, Inc. – Shares in the maker of yoga and athletic apparel are on the rise today, up as much as 4.6% during the session to $72.71 after the stock was initiated with a ‘Buy’ rating and price target of $90.00 at Citigroup. The retailer reports second-quarter earnings ahead of the opening bell on Thursday.
The stock attracted heavy volume in put options, with the put/call ratio dancing near 2.2 as of the time of this writing. Overall options volume on LULU is above 18,600 contracts just before 3:00 p.m. ET, roughly twice the stock’s average daily options volume of around 9,300 contracts. Some options traders appear to be bracing for the price of the underlying to pull back after earnings. Roughly 2,000 of the Sep 13 ’13 $72.5 strike weekly puts…
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Large Bear Put Spread Initiated On XLF
by Option Review - January 8th, 2013 1:51 pm
Today’s tickers: XLF, PERI & VRA
XLF - Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF – The single-largest trade initiated in XLF options on Tuesday protects against a limited, albeit substantial, adverse move in the price of the underlying fund during the next few months. Shares in the XLF reached their highest level in nearly two years this past Friday, trading up to $17.08 on the heels of a more than 25% rally since this time last year. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF is off slightly today, trading lower in line with the broader market, with the shares now down 0.70% to stand at $16.89 as of 12:45 p.m. in New York trading. One large options market participant is prepared to see continued declines in the price of the underlying with the purchase of a 95,000-lot April $14/$16 put spread today at a net premium outlay of $0.275 apiece. The spread makes money if shares in the XLF dip 7% to breach the effective breakeven price of $15.725, with maximum potential gains of $1.725 per contract available in the event of a more than 17% pullback to $14.00 by April expiration. Though the transaction was not tied to stock, it’s possible the position was implemented to hedge a long position in shares of the XLF.
PERI - Perion Network Ltd. – Shares in Tel Aviv, Israel-based digital media company, Perion Network, jumped more than 30% to a new all-time high of $12.47 today after the company forecast higher-than-expected earnings and sales for 2013. Options traders anticipating further gains in the price of the underlying during the next five weeks appear to be buying upside calls on the name. The Feb. $12.5 strike calls are the most actively traded contracts on Perion this morning, with upwards of 1,100 calls in play versus zero open positions. One or more bullish strategists acting within the first 10 minutes of the opening bell this morning purchased around 200 of the calls at a premium of $0.65 apiece. These contracts make money at expiration next month as long as shares in PERI…
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Bearish Options In Play As Disney Shares Drop After Earnings
by Option Review - November 9th, 2012 3:08 pm
Today’s tickers: DIS, VRA & PLCE
DIS - Walt Disney Co. – Just six weeks ago, shares in the operator of the happiest place on earth were hitting fresh all-time highs, peaking at $53.40 in the final week of September, on the heels of an impressive 40% rally since the start of 2012. More recently, however, the stock has been edging down off the September high, sliding roughly 6% ahead of Disney’s fourth-quarter earnings report released after the close on Thursday. Shares in Walt Disney Co. gave up another 5.75% today to trade at $47.17 just before midday on the East Coast after the company posted earnings in line with expectations and sales that missed analyst estimates. The final weeks of 2012 may see shares in Disney continue to pull back by the looks of activity in far out-of-the-money put options expiring in December. Some traders snapped up bearish contracts on DIS that may be profitable if shares slip to their lowest levels since May, purchasing around 1,000 puts at the Dec. $44 strike for an average premium of $0.58 apiece. Like-minded bears picked up roughly 400 puts at the lower Dec. $43 strike for an average of $0.40 apiece, and shelled out $0.29 per contract, on average, to buy more than 425 puts at the Dec. $42 striking price. Traders long the Dec. $42 strike puts stand ready to profit at expiration next month should Disney shares drop 11.5% from the current level to settle below an average breakeven price of $41.71.
VRA - Vera Bradley, Inc. – Fresh interest in Vera Bradley call options this morning suggests some traders are positioning for shares in the maker of handbags and accessories to rally as the 2012 calendar year draws to a close. The stock today trades down 2.5% to stand at $26.20 as of 11:30 a.m. ET. The jump in call activity arrives four weeks ahead of Vera Bradley’s third-quarter earnings report after the closing bell on…
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Traders Snap Up Cirrus Logic Puts
by Option Review - April 20th, 2012 2:13 pm
Today’s tickers: CRUS, VRA & CMG
CRUS - Cirrus Logic, Inc. – Traders accumulating put options on Cirrus Logic this week may be bracing for potential bearish movement in the price of the underlying ahead of Apple, Inc.’s second-quarter earnings report on Tuesday, and the Company’s own fourth-quarter release on Wednesday. Shares in audio chip maker Cirrus, which generates roughly 70% of its revenues from business with Apple, is down 3.3% today at $22.20. The stock rallied briefly at the open on a new ‘Buy’ rating and share price target of $40.00 by Sterne Agee this morning, but quickly turned-tail as the final trading day of the week progressed. Put open interest in the May expiry has increased over the past couple of days, with interest continuing to build in the contracts this morning. The May $21 strike put options are the most heavily traded by volume, with some 2,100 contracts in play as of 12:20 p.m. in New York. It looks like one or more traders purchased the majority of the $21 puts for an average premium of $0.82 apiece in the first half of the trading session. Yesterday, around 1,100 of these contracts were purchased for an average premium of $0.60 each. The intraday erosion in the share price has lifted premium on the puts substantially, with the last traded price of $1.15 up 90.0% overnight and roughly 40.0% since the bulk of the options were purchased this morning. Put buyers were also active in the May $22 strike contracts yesterday, snapping up some 1,240 positions, as well as the May $24 strike put options, purchased roughly 2,500 times on Thursday for an average premium of $1.83 each. The value of these bearish put options will continue to climb in the event that CRUS shares extend losses through May expiration.…
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Good Fortune For Some As Shares In P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Boom
by Option Review - February 17th, 2012 1:34 pm
Today’s tickers: PFCB, IMAX & VRA
PFCB - P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. – Options on the owner and operator of two restaurant chains, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and Pei Wei Asian Diner, were more active than usual this week following the Company’s fourth-quarter earnings report ahead of the bell on Thursday. Shares are up sharply today on a number of analyst upgrades, trading higher by as much as 8.1% to touch an intraday peak of $38.50. Traders that purchased calls on P.F. Chang’s yesterday despite the Company’s earnings miss, in some cases saw the value of their positions significantly increase overnight. It looks like investors purchased as many as 750 calls at the Mar. $35 strike yesterday for an average premium of $1.34 each. The calls today cost more than two times that amount, with the last traded price on the contracts up at $3.40. Finally, options traders positioning for shares to extend gains purchased some 250 calls up at the Mar. $40 strike at a premium of $0.60 apiece. Investors long the $40 strike calls stand prepared to profit in the event that shares in P.F. Chang’s increase 7.0% over the current price of $37.95 to exceed the effective breakeven price of $40.60 at March expiration. PFCB’s shares last traded above $40.60 back in July 2011.
IMAX - IMAX Corp. – Shares in the entertainment technology company are up 0.35% at $23.81 this morning, down 4.75% off a six-month high of $25.00 reached earlier in the week. The stock has rallied 90.0% off its October 2011 52-week low of $12.57, but options activity on IMAX Corp. today suggests one strategist expects the price of the underlying to reverse course in the near term. The stock and option combo initiated on IMAX in the first hour of…
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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. She manages the site