Grain Trade: Soybeans Breakout Points To Higher Prices
(This post was originally published on SeeItMarket)

Unlike an Apple’s quarterly revenue miss or a hedge fund activist tussle with a struggling multi-national corporation, business coverage on one of the world’s most important crops, soybeans, tends to be neglected in favor of a tech IPO or predictions of the next Fed Funds rate hike. Developments in the agricultural markets in recent weeks are putting the spotlight on commodities like soybeans. Moreover, a soybeans breakout appears to be in action.

Flooding and heavy rains in Argentina this spring will mean lower outputs from South America this year. Another fundamental factor that could take place this month is possibility that the USDA increases their export projections due to strong foreign demand across the globe.

Finally, from a currency standpoint, a weakening U.S. dollar (down nearly 5% year to date) is a tailwind not just for … Read More »

ORM Market Commentary
Here’s Your Trade On Apple

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Unusual Options Activity

Apple (AAPL)- Nearly 10,000 May 15 $130 calls traded early in the session with the majority being bought for $3.15-$3.50, against open interest of 71,684 contracts. Shares have been range bound in recent weeks, but the stock has managed to find buyers at the 50-day EMA. Earnings are due out during the week of April 20th-24th (shares have moved higher on 4 straight reports).
Cheesecake Factory (CAKE)- A likely rollout from 1,700 Apr $46 puts ($0.15 debit) into 2,400 May $47 puts ($0.85-$0.90 credit). Earnings are due out on April 22nd.
Lumber Liquidators (LL)- The Apr 10 weekly $31/$36 bull call spread was put on 3,000 times for a $2.15 debit. This trade will create the largest open interest(s) in the weekly expiration.
Mylan NV (MYL)- Nearly 4,000 Apr $57.50 puts were purchased for $1.70-$2.40. This morning Abbott Labs announced they … Read More »

Smart Money Report

AAPL- The Sep 26 weekly $102/$105 1×2 ratio call spread was put on 10,406 times for a $0.45 debit. Volume was above the open interest in both options. Yesterday’s bullish option trade in Apple.
ACT- A rollout from 2,000 Sep 20 $240 calls (credit) into 2,000 Oct 18 $240 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Oct 18 $240 calls. There were rumors earlier today of M&A speculation between Pfizer (PFE) and Actavis.
AMAT- A rollout from 20,000 Jan 2015 $22 calls (credit) into 20,000 Apr 2015 $23 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Apr 2015 $23 calls. On 8/21, S&P Equity Research maintained a strong buy rating on Applied Materials.
KRE- The Dec $37/$40 bull risk reversal was put on 7,000 times for a $0.74 debit. Volume was above the open interest in … Read More »

Smart Money Report

AAPL- A likely rollout from 76,000 Sep 20 $105 calls (credit) into 20,000 Sep 26 weekly $103 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Sep 26 weekly $103 calls. The call to put ratio in Apple is nearly 3:1.
AGCO- A rollout from 1,800 Feb 2015 $55 puts (credit) into 3,000 Feb 2015 $50 puts (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Feb 2015 $50 puts. AGCO shares have been trending lower since October (making new lows this week).
JPM- 9,772 Jan 2015 $60 calls were bought for $2.15 each, against open interest of 89,466 contracts. Open interest has gone from 49,611 on 8/21 to 89,466 before today’s action. Roughly 40,000 were bought from 8/21-8/26.
RICE- The Jan 2015 $30/$35 call spread was put on 2,970 times for a $1.50 debit. Volume was below the open … Read More »

Smart Money Report

AAPL- The Apr 2015 $117.14/$127.14 1×2 ratio call spread was put on 8,500 times for a $0.20 debit. Volume was above the open interest in both options. They bought 8,500 $117.14 calls and sold 17,000 $127.14 calls. This is likely done against a long stock position to add leverage without adding any additional shares.
DE- 4,000 Oct 18 $82.50 puts were bought for $1.75-$1.78 each, against open interest of 4,779 contracts. The stock is trading just above the February lows of $82.38. Over the last 3 months, 2015 Deere EPS estimates have fallen to $6.83 from $7.69.
DHI- 6,750 Feb 2015 $20 puts were sold for $1.00 each, against open interest of 4,139 contracts. Put activity is nearly 3x the average daily volume.
LVS- 5,000 Dec $72.50 calls were bought for $0.51-$0.56 each, against open interest of 3,968 contracts. The call … Read More »

Unusual Options Activity

In today’s Unusual Options Activity Report we highlight a call spread in Apple (AAPL) and call buying in Las Vegas Sands (LVS).

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Stock Watchlist Update
What’s The Trade(s) On Apple?

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Smart Money Report

AAPL- The 1×2 Aug 22 weekly $97/$100 ratio call spread was put on 10,000 times for a $0.25 debit. Volume was above the open interest in both options. This trade was likely done against a long stock position to leverage the trade without adding any additional shares of stock.
AMC- The 1×2 Dec $22.5/$25 ratio call spread was put on 1,000 times for a $0.15 debit. Volume was above the open interest in the Dec $25 calls. Earnings are due out on 7/30. They’ve only reported two earnings reports, but the stock has moved higher after both. The $25 level has been the ceiling in the stock since March. This is also a good way to leverage an existing long position in the stock (only risking an additional $0.15 to make $2.35).
ATML- 6,000 Nov $9 calls were sold for … Read More »

AAPL- Apple will release Q3 earnings after the bell tonight. Analysts are looking for $1.23 in EPS, revenue 0f $37.98B, and iPhone sales of 35.9M. The options market is implying a $4.38 move, or 4.64%, in either direction through Friday’s close. The call to put ratio is currently 2.02. The whisper number for tonight is for a $0.10 beat on EPS according to earningswhispers.com. The stock has dropped after earnings on five out of the last seven reports. View recent Apple options activity in Smart Money Reports from the last two months.
FCX- Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold will release Q2 earnings before the bell tomorrow morning. Analysts are looking for $0.53 in EPS and revenue of $5.2B. The options market is implying a $0.96 move, or 2.46%, in either direction through Friday’s close. The call to put ratio is currently … Read More »

Smart Money Report

AAPL- 7,840 July 25 weekly $93 puts were purchased for $1.45 each, against open interest of 2,044 contracts. The net put premium is +$1.8M vs. the call premium of +$542K.  Apple earnings are due out on 7/22. Since the last report, options activity has been predominately bullish. See recent examples from 6/12, 6/13, 6/24, and 6/30.
BEAV- A rollout from 14,199 July $95 calls (credit) into 14,199 Aug. $100 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Aug. $100 calls. Earnings are due out on 7/23. The call to put ratio is 27:1. Call activity is 8x the average daily volume. Net call premium is +$1.4M vs. net put premium of -$50K. Implied volatility rose 4.5% to 28.56. The stock could trade down to $90 in the near-term before seeing any material upside (former resistance at $90 … Read More »

Smart Money Report

AAPL- Over 24,000 Sep. $105 calls have traded today with the majority being purchased for $0.80-$0.85 each, against open interest of 1,063 contracts. The call to put ratio is nearly 3:1. Implied volatility rose 8.8% to 21.93. Apple will report earnings on 7/23.
BBRY- 10,000 Jan. 2015 $9 puts were sold for $0.91 each, against open interest of 1,446 contracts. BlackBerry has support at the $9 level on the daily chart with no major resistance until $10.85-$10.90.
CNP- Sizable buying in the July $25 and $26 calls this morning. Call activity was over 3x the average daily volume. Implied volatility rose 18.9% to 28.44. The stock is breaking out above the $25.29 resistance level from 5/1. (CNP) trades at a P/E ratio of 20.60x (2015 estimates) with 6.9% EPS growth, 2.2% revenue growth, P/S ratio of 1.23x, 3.71% dividend yield, … Read More »

Smart Money Report

AAPL- A rollout from 1,397 Aug. 16 $89.29 calls (credit) into 1,397 Jan. 2015 $90/$100 call spreads (debit). Volume was below the open interest in all three options. The call to put ratio is over 2:1.
AMAT- A rollout from 8,500 Jan. 2015 $20 calls (credit) into 14k Jan. 2015 $24 calls (debit). Volume was below the open interest in both options. There was a similar rollout yesterday.

IGT- A rollout from 5,000 July $16 calls (credit) into 3,550 Aug. $16 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Aug. $16 calls. Earnings are due out on 7/22. They are looking to sell the company too (announced recently).
MEOH- The Jan. 2015 $57.50/$67.50 bull risk reversal was put on 2,500 times for a $0.95 debit. Volume was above the open interest in both options. Option activity is nearly 7x the … Read More »

 Unusual Options Activity

In today’s Unusual Options Activity Report we highlight a call spread in Apple (AAPL) and a call rollout in Applied Materials (AMAT).

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Smart Money Report

AAPL- A rollout from 8,389 Jan. 2015 $77.86 calls (credit) into 22,500 Jan. 2015 $95/$110 call spreads (debit). Volume was above open interest in the Jan. 2015 $95 calls. There was a big call spread trade yesterday in Apple.
BAC- 14,000 July 19 $16 calls were bought for $0.22 each, against open interest of 73,169 contracts. Implied volatility rose 4.9% to 22.39. Bank of America shares have short-term support at $15.25. It trades at a P/E ratio of 10.16x (2015 estimates) with 65.2% EPS growth, 3.7% revenue growth (-0.6% this year), P/B ratio of 0.74x, 0.26% dividend yield, and has an average analyst price target of $17.25.
CLF- A rollout from 10,000 Aug 16 $16 puts (credit) into 10,000 Aug 16 $14 puts (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Aug 16 $14 puts. Cliff Natural Resources remains … Read More »

Smart Money Report

AAPL- The Apr. 2015 $110/$130 call spread was put on 10,000 times for a $1.91 debit. This was tied to 161,600 shares of stock for $92.63. Volume was above the open interest in both options. Apple trades at a P/E ratio of 13.41x (2015 estimates) with 8.9% EPS growth, 6.8% revenue growth, 2.04% dividend yield, and has an average analyst price target of $95.
BRCM- 26,589 Aug. $41 calls were sold for $0.57 each, against open interest of 189 contracts. Broadcom recently announced that they are interested in selling their cellular broadband business.
MU- The Oct. $35/$40 call spread was put on 6,000 times for a $0.91 debit. Volume was below the open interest in both options. Earnings are due out on 6/23. The stock has moved lower after earnings on five out of the last seven reports.
RIG- 15,000 Jan. … Read More »

Smart Money Report

AMAT- 5,000 Jan. 2015 $21 calls were bought for $1.10-$1.12 each, against open interest of 5,245 contracts. Earnings are due out tomorrow. There has been large Jan. 2015 call buying in the last 2-3 months.
NBR- 3,000 Sep. $26 calls were bought for $1.95 each, against open interest of 902 contracts. This was tied to a sale of 162k shares for $26.08 each. There was large buying in the June $25 calls too.
NUS- 1,800 June $75 puts were purchased for $3.70 each, against open interest of 3,249 contracts. Implied volatility rose 9.7% to 44.10. Net call premium was -$25K vs. net put premium of +$584K. On a close below $75 in Nu Skin Enterprises, we’ll likely see a retest of the $68-$70 support level.
RMTI- A rollout from 3,095 May $11 puts (credit) into 3k June $9 puts (debit). Volume … Read More »

Smart Money Report

AAPL- Apple is set to announce Q2 earnings after the bell tonight. Analysts are looking for $10.17 in EPS and revenue of $43.6 billion. The options market is implying a $20.10 move, or 3.80%, in either direction through Friday’s close. Call to put ratio in (AAPL) options is currently 1.28, led by a buyer of 600 July $565 calls for $7.20 each. The stock has moved lower on six out of the last seven reports.
FB- Another big report due out tonight will come from Facebook. Analysts are looking for $0.24 in EPS and revenue of $2.4 billion. Option traders are pricing in a $6.03 move, or 9.82%, in either direction through Friday’s close. The call to put ratio in (FB) options is currently 1.79, led by a buyer of 6k May 17 $65/$70 call spreads for a $1.51 … Read More »

Smart Money Report

GME- GameStop is set to announce Q4 earnings before the bell tomorrow morning. Analysts are looking for $1.93 in EPS and revenue of $3.8 billion. The options market is implying a $3.25 move, or 8.44%, in either direction through Friday’s close. Put to call ratio in (GME) options is currently 1.13, led by a buyer of 1k Mar. 28 weekly $34.50/$37.50 put spreads for a $0.81 debit.
LULU- Another retailer to report earnings in the morning is Lululemon Athletica. Analysts are looking for $0.73 in EPS and revenue of $0.73 in EPS and revenue of $518 million. Option traders are pricing in a $4.96 move, or 10.15%, in either direction through Friday’s close. The put to call ratio in (LULU) options is 1.48, led by a buyer of 1k Apr. 2014 $47.50 calls for $4.05 each (tied to 60k … Read More »

Smart Money Report

CCL- Carnival is set to announce Q1 earnings before the bell tomorrow morning. Analysts are looking for -$0.08 in EPS and revenue of $3.5 billion. The options market is implying a $2.60 move, or 6.49%, in either direction through Apr. options expiration. Call to put ratio in the (CCL) options is currently 3.60, led by buying in the Apr. $41 calls. The stock has moved higher after earnings on two out of the last three reports.
WAG- Another major earnings report due out tomorrow morning will come from Walgreen. Analysts are looking for $0.93 in EPS and revenue of $19.6 billion. Option traders are pricing in a $2.93 move, or 4.59%, in either direction through Friday’s close. The put to call ratio in (WAG) options is 1.43, led by a seller of 5k Jan. 2015 $70 calls for $3.35-$3.50. … Read More »