Put Selling Ensues On Harry Winston Diamond Corp.
by Option Review - September 26th, 2011 2:44 pm
Today’s tickers: HWD, HAS & VSH
HWD - Harry Winston Diamond Corp. – Fresh prints in Harry Winston Diamond Corp. puts drove options volume in the front month above the prevailing level of overall open interest on the stock in the first half of the trading session. Shares in the specialist diamond company fell as much as 2.9% today to $10.36, bringing total declines in the stock up to roughly 43% since the end of May. The company was scheduled to present at the Telsey Advistory Group 2nd Annual Fall Consumer Conference just after 9:00 am EDT this morning.
One or more put players exchanged some 4,150 puts at the October $10 strike against zero open positions. It looks like most of the put options were sold for an average premium of $0.35 a-pop. Investors selling the contracts keep the full amount of premium as long as shares in Harry Winston exceed $10.00 through expiration next month. Heavy put selling pushed implied volatility on the Oct. $10 puts down more than 25% in early-afternoon trade. Shares in HWD have traded above $10.00 for more than one year, but did slip to as low as $9.61 in August 2010. Sellers of the puts likely expect shares in the miner of rough diamonds to resist above $10.00 through October expiration, and are happy to pocket available premium on the options in exchange for bearing the risk that the stock hits fresh lows in the next few weeks. Traders short the puts may have shares of the underlying stock put to them at an effective price of $9.65 each should the options land in-the-money at expiration day. Options implied volatility on the stock dropped 17.5% to 54.47% by 12:20 pm in New York.…
Options Strategies Suggest Financial Stocks Headed Lower
by Option Review - August 23rd, 2011 3:05 pm
Today’s tickers: JPM, GS, LVS & VSH
JPM - JPMorgan Chase & Co. – Shares in JPMorgan are on the rise today, trading up 0.90% to stand at $33.71 as of 11:15 am ET, but options trades on the banking institution suggest the rally is likely to be brief. Yesterday we noted the purchase of a sizable bearish put butterfly spread on JPM that may result in maximum potential profits should the stock cede 31% of its value come December expiration. Like-minded pessimists took to JPMorgan options today to position for the price of the underlying to pull back sharply in the months ahead. Near-term bears anticipating share price erosion before the week is out scooped up some 1,800 puts at the August $32 strike for a premium of $0.66 apiece, and purchased another 1,000 puts at the lower August $31 strike at a premium of $0.37 each. Buyers of the weeklies may be positioning for shares in JPM to drop should Bernanke’s words out of Jackson Hole on Friday fail to bolster financials. Traders long the puts profit at expiration if shares in the financial services provider slip beneath effective breakeven prices and fresh multi-year lows of $31.34 and $30.63, respectively.
Meanwhile, activity in longer-dated contracts suggests some investors are favoring the debit put spread strategy. One bearish player purchased the 2,500-lot November $18/$28 strike put spread at an average net premium of $1.26 per contract. The trader profits if shares in JPM tumble 20.7% in the next few months to breach the breakeven price at $26.74 by November expiration day. Maximum potential profits of $8.74 per contract are available to the strategist should the stock plunge 46.6% to $18.00 at expiration. Shares in JPM traded at lows of around $15.00 at the height, or rather depths, of…