Unusual Options Activity Report: TSO, AMD, DAL, & More

It’s time to review several stocks that had unusual options activity over the last week. Although traders can never be sure why these trades take place (and who’s making them), I believe it’s important to be aware of notable options activity as an indicator for directional bias.

Here’s a weekly recap of 10 stocks that had unusual options activity and what, if any, significance these trades may have.

Unusual Options Activity: 10 Stocks With Notable Trades

Monday

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) – 5,000 Mar 17 2017 $10 calls were bought for $2.00. The $472M biotech company is expected to have Phase 2 data results on BCX7353 – APeX-1 (used to reduce or eliminate attacks in HAE patients) due out in the first quarter of 2017. On December 16th, JMP Securities upgraded the stock to outperform with a $10 price target.

Grupo Televisa (NYSE:TV) – Roughly … Read More »

Unusual Options Activity

1.TTM Technologies (TTMI)- 5,000 June 2017 $17.50 calls were bought for $0.65 vs total call open interest of just 1,663 contracts (implied volatility +11.3% to 46.99). On average, 65 calls trade per day in the $1.4B semiconductor company.

2.Ocean RIG UDW (ORIG)- 5,000 Dec $2 puts were bought for $0.15 with put activity 30 times the average daily volume. Earnings are due out on December 14th (shares dropped on the last 2 reports).

3. ILG, Inc. (ILG)- There was a rollout from 10,000 Mar 2017 $17 puts ($0.33-$0.36 debit) into 10,000 Jan 2019 $17 puts ($1.58-$1.61 credit). This trader is making a long-term bet that the leisure and travel company will remain above $17 by January 2019 options expiration.

4. Hain Celestial (HAIN)- There was a rollout from 3,000 Dec $40 calls ($0.45-$0.46 credit) into 3,000 Jan 2017 $42.50 calls ($0.80 … Read More »

Options Report

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Unusual Options Activity

Conn’s (CONN)- The July $40/$45 bull call spread was put on 2,500 times for a $1.25 debit. On March 27th, Piper Jaffray upgraded the stock to overweight from neutral and on April 3rd, B. Riley kept their buy rating and a $52 price target.
DICK’S Sporting Goods (DKS)- The Jan 2016 $52.50/$60 bull risk reversal was put on 4,600 times for a $0.73 debit. Yesterday, the company forecast that sales would hit $9B annually by 2017. The stock is coming in for a retest of the 50-day EMA.
Freeport McMoRan (FCX)- 7,500 Aug $16 puts were purchased for $0.65, against open interest of 4,176 contracts. The May 15 $15 and Jan 2016 $20 puts have saw big buying recently (unlocked Options Report from March 16th). Earnings are due out on April 23rd.
Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)- 10,000 May 1 … Read More »

 Unusual Options Activity

In today’s Unusual Options Activity Report we highlight put buying in Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) and call buying in Yahoo! (YHOO).

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Smart Money Report

BMY- 5,000 Jan 2015 $52.50 calls were bought for $1.61-$1.72 each, against open interest of 32,098 contracts. On 8/25, 4,500 Jan 2015 $52.50 calls were bought for $1.66 each.
DKS- A rollout from 3,000 Sep $43/$46 call spreads (credit) into 3,000 Oct $46/$49 call spreads (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Oct $46 and $49 calls.
IRM- Over 7,700 Oct $37.50 calls have traded with the majority being purchased for $0.35-$0.40 each, against open interest of 5,540. The call to put ratio is 15:1. Call activity is 7x the average daily volume. Implied volatility rose 13.5% to 25.39. Elliott Management took a position in Iron Mountain shares in Q2.
RHT- The Sep $62.50/$67.50 call spread was put on 5,268 times for a $1.45 debit. Volume was above the open interest in both options. Red Hat earnings are due … Read More »

Unusual Options Activity

In today’s Unusual Options Activity Report we highlight call buying in Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and a call spread rollout in DICK’S Sporting Goods (DKS).

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Smart Money Report

BURL- The Sep $35 straddle was put on 3,000 times for a $3.35 credit. Volume was above the open interest in both options. Earnings  are due out on 9/9. The trader is betting on the stock staying around the $35 level through Sep options expiration. Breakevens are at $38.35 and $32.65. The stock has moved $2-$4 the day after reporting on the 3 reports as a public company.
DKS- 3,000 Sep $46 calls were sold for $0.65 each, against open interest of 1,917 contracts. The stock has resistance in the $46-$47.50 range. They reported Q2 EPS of $0.67 vs the $0.66 estimate and revenue of $1.69B vs the $1.65B estimate this morning. They repurchased $100M in stock in the quarter. Sporting Goods comps were+4.1% while Golf Galaxy comps came in at -9.3%.
EXAS- 2,000 Oct $17 puts were sold for … Read More »

Unusual Options Activity

In today’s Unusual Options Activity Report we highlight a straddle in Burlington Stores (BURL) and call selling in the Dicks Sporting Goods (DKS).

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