Options Change Hands On Quiksilver As Stock Rallies
by Option Review - December 13th, 2013 4:15 pm
ZQK – Quiksilver Inc. – The apparel retailer’s shares are ripping higher today, up as much as 12% earlier in the session to touch $8.68 despite reporting a fourth-quarter loss and sales that missed analyst estimates. The stock moved lower in after-hours trading on Thursday, but reversed course on Friday in part on an upgrade to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ with a target share price of $10.00 up from $6.50 at B. Riley.
Trading in February expiry put options this morning suggests one or more traders may be positioning for shares in Quiksilver to remain above the $8.00 level during the next few months. The Feb $8.0 strike put options are the most traded contracts on ZQK as measured by volume, with around 1,800 puts traded against open interest of 486 contracts. It looks like most of the puts were sold at a premium of $0.50 each. Put sellers keep the full amount of premium on the trade as long as shares in ZQK exceed $8.00 at February expiration, but start losing money if shares in the name dip below the effective breakeven point at $7.50. Shares in Quiksilver have traded above $7.50 since the end of October.
RH – Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. – The retailer of furniture and home goods reported better than expected third-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, but shares fell as much as 8.0% to $60.15 on Friday after the company said its co-CEO Carlos Alberini will depart next month. The stock was also cut to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Overweight’ with a 12-month target share price of $65.00 at Piper Jaffray.
Shares in RH are well off the lowest level of the session at present, down 3.5% on the day at $62.92 as of 11:50 a.m. EST. Options volume on the stock is well above average, with roughly…
Bullish Bets On WebMD Pay Off For Some Traders As Shares Rip Higher
by Option Review - July 12th, 2013 7:41 pm
Today’s tickers: WBMD, ZQK & IP
WBMD - WebMD Health Corp. – Shares in health information services provider, WebMD Health Corp., are on a tear today, up as much as 31% at a new 52-week high of $35.28 during morning trading after the company raised its full year profit and revenue forecast. The stock has increased more than 160% since November of 2012 when the shares touched down at an all-time low of $13.13. Options traders who picked up far out of the money call options on WBMD during recent weeks are enjoying big gains in the value of their positions today amid double-digit percentage gains in the price of the underlying. Of note, was the purchase of around 350 of the Jul $35 strike calls at a premium of $0.20 apiece back on June 6th when shares in the name were hovering around $29.50. The $35 strike calls are currently changing hands at four times that amount, with the last-traded price at $0.80 per contract as of 11:45 a.m. in New York. Traders initiating bullish positions on the stock last week appear to have purchased around 220 calls at the Aug $35 strike for a premium of $0.40 per contract on Monday morning. The rally in shares today has lifted premium on the Aug $35 call options to $2.25 as of the time of this writing. Finally, traders positioning for the price of the underlying to continue higher next week appear to have purchased around 850 of the Jul $35 strike calls this morning for an average premium of $0.95 apiece. These contracts make money at expiration next week as long as shares in WebMD rally another 5.0% over the current price of $34.25 to exceed the average breakeven point at $35.95. WebMD Health Corp. is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings after the closing bell on July 31st.
ZQK - Quiksilver, Inc. – Apparel and accessory company, Quiksilver, popped…
Vertex Call Spread Eyes Big Gains In Drug Maker’s Shares
by Option Review - December 7th, 2012 1:37 pm
Today’s tickers: VRTX, ZQK & JPM
VRTX - Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – A sizable bullish position initiated in Vertex options this morning looks for shares in the drug maker to regain some of the steep losses realized during the past two months. Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals are trading flat on the session at $39.10 as of 11:20 a.m. ET, but have dropped 35% since the second week in October. One options trader who appears to have purchased a 3,500-lot April $42/$55 call spread for a net premium of $2.66 per contract stands ready to profit from a strong rebound in Vertex shares through expiration. The spread starts making money if shares increase 14% over the current price of $39.10 to surpass the effective breakeven point at $44.66, with maximum potential profits of $10.34 per contract available in the event shares jump 41% to hit $55.00 by expiration in April.
ZQK - Quiksilver, Inc. – Options on apparel and accessories retailer, Quiksilver, Inc., are more active than usual on Friday ahead of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report next week. Shares in the maker of casual wear under its Quiksilver, Roxy and DC brands are trading up 2% today at $4.09 as of midday on the East Coast. Traders exchanged more than 7,500 option contracts on ZQK during the first half of the session, sizable volume versus the stock’s average daily options volume of around 1,300 contracts. The Dec. $5.0 strike calls are seeing the heaviest trading traffic, with more than 4,200 lots in play against zero open positions. It looks like most of these calls were purchased for an average premium of $0.05 apiece, perhaps by one or more strategists expecting the price of the underlying to pop after earnings. The stock posted double-digit percentage gains following the release of third-quarter earnings in September and after the second-quarter earnings report in April of this year. Buyers of the $5.0 strike front month call options on ZQK this morning may profit at expiration should shares in the name rally nearly 25% to top the breakeven price of $5.05.…
Put Sellers See Bright Future for Ford Shares in 2011
by Option Review - December 9th, 2010 4:54 pm
Today’s tickers: F, MSFT, ZQK, LULU, EK, CNO & SFD
F - Ford Motor Co. – The automaker’s shares are up 0.55% at $16.78 heading into the close this afternoon after earlier rising as much as 0.95% to an intraday high of $16.85. Bullish options traders expecting Ford’s shares to continue to rally higher over the next six months sold in-the-money put options in the June 2011 contract today. Bank of America/Merrill Lynch reiterated their ‘buy’ rating on the stock, upped their target share price on Ford Motor Co. to $24.00 from $20.00, and revised higher earnings estimates for 2011 and 2012 for the automaker. Optimistic options investors looked to the June 2011 $17 strike to sell some 16,000 in-the-money puts to receive premium of $1.92 per contract. Put sellers keep the hefty chunk of change received on the transaction as long as Ford’s shares exceed $17.00 ahead of expiration day next year. The sale of the contracts suggests traders are more than happy to have shares of the underlying stock put to them at an effective price of $15.08 each should shares fail to rally sufficiently, and the put options trade in-the-money at expiration.
MSFT - Microsoft Corp. – Bullish risk reversals initiated using Microsoft call and put options expiring in July 2011 are signs of investor optimism on the software company. Microsoft’s shares started out the session in the black but have slipped lower in the final hour of trading, losing 0.70% to stand at $27.04 as of 3:10 pm. One options strategist is positioning for shares in MSFT to rebound sharply ahead of July expiration by selling a total of 15,000 puts at the July 2011 $23 strike for a premium of $0.83 each, in order to buy the same number of calls at the higher July 2011 $30 strike at a premium of $0.97 apiece. The net cost of the risk reversal amounts to $0.14 per contract, providing relatively cheap upside exposure should Microsoft’s shares take off in 2011. Shares of the…