Pandora Call Options Pop As Shares Improve
by Option Review - April 19th, 2012 2:17 pm
Today’s tickers: P, CBS & XCO
P - Pandora Media, Inc. – Traders that appear to be speculating on a rebound in shares of the provider of Internet radio services turned-up the volume in Pandora Media call options today. Shares in Pandora, which have been beaten down in recent months, increased as much as 10.5% to $8.91 in the first half of the session before losing some steam to stand up 4.9% on the day at $8.45 as of 1:15 p.m. ET. The stock is down 15.0% year-to-date and more than 65.0% since touching a peak value of $26.00 at the June 2011 IPO. June expiry call options saw the most action today, with the $9.0 strike call changing hands more than 6,700 times versus open interest of just 354 contracts. Most of the $9.0 calls appear to have been purchased for an average premium of $0.76 apiece. Call buyers profit at expiration as long as shares in Pandora jump 15.0% to surpass the average breakeven point at $9.76 by June expiration. Traders positioning for shares to extend gains also snapped up around 1,000 in-the-money calls at the June $8.0 strike for a premium of $1.10 a-pop. Pandora Media, Inc. is slated to release first-quarter earnings after the market closes on May 24th.
CBS - CBS Corp. – A burst of call buying on CBS Corp. caught our eye today, with shares in the name trading up 1.2% at $33.31 in early-afternoon trade. The bulk of the options volume in the mass media company appears to be betting on continued near-term appreciation in the price of the underlying shares, perhaps ahead of the Company's first quarter earnings release after the final bell on May 1st. The most active contracts in play on CBS Corp. today are the May…
Contrarian Player Positions for Rebound in Cytokinetics Shares in 2011
by Option Review - December 13th, 2010 4:03 pm
Today’s tickers: CYTK, SNDK, XCO, GIII & CFN
CYTK - Cytokinetics, Inc. – One bullish options investor appears to be taking advantage of the massive pullback in the price of the biopharmaceutical company’s shares today by initiating a sizeable buy-write strategy using call options expiring in June of 2011. Cytokinetics’ shares fell as much as 23.2% during the session to touch an intraday low of $2.25 despite seemingly positive results from its Phase 2a trial of its experimental drug therapy aimed at improving quality of life for patients suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Reports indicated the firm plans to launch another mid-stage trial to test multiple doses of the drug over a three-month period in the first half of 2011. The covered-call seller populating CYTK today is well positioned to benefit from a rebound in the price of the underlying shares in the first half of 2011. It looks like the investor purchased 395,000 shares of CYTK at a price of $2.32 each, and sold 3,950 calls at the June 2011 $2.5 strike for a premium of $0.45 a-pop. The sale of the call options effectively reduces the price paid to get long the stock from $2.32 a share to $1.87 each. Thus, the buy-write strategist is positioned to accrue maximum gains of 33.7% on the long stock position in the event that Cytokinetics’ shares surge 11.1% over today’s low of $2.25 to exceed $2.50 a share ahead of expiration day in June. The investor may have the underlying stock position called from him at $2.50 each if the calls land in-the-money at expiration, thus allowing him to exit the position with the 33.7% rise in shares from $1.87 to $2.50. More than 4,050 calls changed hands at the June 2011 $2.5 strike today, versus previously existing open interest of just 451 contracts at that strike.
SNDK - SanDisk Corp. – Bulls are picking up in- and out-of-the-money call options on the maker of flash-based storage products once again today with shares in SanDisk Corp. trading…
Bearish Player Initiates Ratio Put Spread at Staples
by Option Review - October 18th, 2010 5:05 pm
Today’s tickers: SPLS, XCO, THC, FTO, YHOO, ERTS, LNC & GE
SPLS - Staples, Inc. – The supplier of office products popped up on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner late in the trading session after one investor initiated a bearish spread in the December contract. Staples’ shares are currently down 0.80% at $20.64 as of 3:15 p.m. in New York. The pessimistic player established a ratio put spread, buying 2,500 in-the-money puts at the December $21 strike for an average premium of $1.185 each, and selling 5,000 puts at the lower December $19 strike at an average premium of $0.39 apiece. The average net cost of the transaction amounts to $0.405 per contract. Thus, the investor is prepared to make money if the price of the underlying stock slips beneath the effective breakeven point on the spread at $20.595 by expiration day in December. Maximum potential profits of $1.595 per contract are available to the ratio-spreader if the office products company’s shares fall 7.945% from the current price of $20.64 to settle at $19.00 at expiration. The investor is vulnerable to losses in the event that Staples’ shares plummet far lower than he expects they will in the next several months. Losses start to accumulate for the trader if shares drop 15.7% lower and trade below the lower breakeven point at $17.405 by expiration day. Staples, Inc. is slated to report third-quarter earnings ahead of the opening bell on November 18, 2010.
XCO - EXCO Resources, Inc. – The oil and natural gas company was visited by one long-term bullish options investor in the second half of the trading session. It looks like the trader is expecting EXCO’s shares to rally significantly by expiration day in March of 2011. Shares of the Dallas, TX-based firm are up 2.05% at…
Strangle Strategist Targets VeriSign Options
by Option Review - May 20th, 2010 5:47 pm
Today’s tickers: VRSN, CAT, EWZ & XCO
VRSN – VeriSign, Inc. – Symantec Corp. agreed to shell out $1.28 billion in cash to purchase VeriSign Inc.’s authentication services unit in a deal reportedly set to close by the end of September. Despite securing a buyer for its unit, which certifies that websites are legitimate and safe for online transactions, VeriSign’s shares are lower by 1.75% to stand at $27.50 as of 11:20 am (ET). VeriSign received an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank today where analysts tout a 12-month target share price of $35.00 on the stock. One options strategist expecting shares of the underlying stock to remain range-bound through September expiration sold a strangle to reap the benefits of inflated options implied volatility. The investor sold 10,300 calls at the September $31 strike for a premium of $1.00 each and sold the same number of puts at the lower September $28 strike for $2.85 apiece. Gross premium pocketed on the transaction amounts to $3.85 per contract. The trader keeps the full premium received on the sale as long as shares trade within the range of the strike prices described through expiration. The short sale of both call and put options expose the investor to potential losses should shares rally above the upper breakeven price of $34.85, or if shares slip beneath the lower breakeven point at $24.15, ahead of expiration. Another investor opted to take profits off the table by selling a previously established long call position in the September contract. Perhaps the trader is taking in whatever profits are available now in case shares continue lower ahead of expiration. It looks like the investor originally purchased at least 15,000 calls at the September $28 strike for an average premium of $1.45 apiece back on April 15, 2010, when shares were trading at a volume-weighted average premium of $26.84. Today the options trader sold 15,000 calls at that strike for a premium of $2.15 each, receiving net profits of $0.70 per contract. In hindsight the investor could have raked in more substantial gains had he sold the calls yesterday when VeriSign’s shares surged to a 52-week high of $29.23 on the news Symantec Corp. agreed to buy out the authentication services unit at VRSN.
CAT – Caterpillar, Inc. – Options activity on the machinery manufacturer casts a glimmer of optimism on the stock despite the 4.45% decline…