Unusual Options Activity

American Capital Agency (AGNC)- 5,000 July 17 $19.50 puts were sold for $0.23. He/she is betting on limited downside near-term in the beaten down REIT (yields 12.15% currently).
Heron Therapeutics (HRTX)- A rollout from 2,500 Sep $27.50 calls ($4.55 credit) into 3,500 Oct $35 calls ($7.00 debit). Shares of the biotech have more than doubled in just one month, but option traders continue to roll there bullish positions, giving them additional time.
Medtronic (MDT)- 4,630 July 24 weekly $75.50 puts were sold for $0.74. Large put selling like this has been about a once to twice among occurrence in the medical device maker. Most of these trades have expired worthless, which is exactly what they want to happen.
Pfizer (PFE)- 10,000 Oct $35 calls were bought for $0.76. There was big buying in the July 17 $35 calls yesterday. They agreed … Read More »

Unusual Options Activity

Diebold (DBD)- 1,000 Aug $40 calls were purchased for $0.95, against open interest of 1,260 contracts. Later in the morning, the July $35/$40 bull risk reversal was put on 2,400 times for a $0 debit. Options activity was 24x the average daily volume. Yesterday, Reuters reported they are in talks to buy Wincor Nixdorf (German competitor).
Heron Therapeutics (HRTX)- A rollout from 4,000 June $15 calls ($12.10-$12.20 credit) into 4,000 Sep $22.50 calls ($7.40 debit). 9,500+ is in open interest in the Sep $25 calls. The company priced their 4.8M secondary offering at $24.75 per share this morning.
Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (KYTH)- Over 1,500 July $65 calls were bought for $0.65-$1.70. Call activity was 11x the average daily volume (IV +28.6% to 62.80). Yesterday, Guggenheim initiated the stock with a buy rating and a $64 price target.
LendingClub (LC)- 3,200 Jan 2016 … Read More »

Unusual Options Activity

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals (ACRX)- 2,000 July $2.50 calls were purchased for $1.40-$1.50. Call activity was 9x the average daily volume. They have Phase 3 data due out in Q4.
FedEx (FDX)- More than 4,000 June 5 weekly $180 calls have traded with the majority being bought for $0.75-$1.25.

iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI)- The Nov $41.50/$52.50/$57 bull call spread risk reversal was put on 10,000 times for a $0.35 debit. He/she is betting that the pullback in Chinese stocks has run its course and will make new highs by November (possibly up to $57). If the ETF falls below $41.50 he/she faces significantly more losses than the $0.35 debit the trade was put on for (requires margin).
Heron Therapeutics (HRTX)- A rollout from 1,250 Sep $17.50 calls ($9.60 credit) into 2,500 Sep $27.50/$35 bull call spreads ($2.60 debit). Bulls continue … Read More »

Unusual Options Activity

Big Lots (BIG)- Roughly 1,200 July $47.50 calls were bought for $1.00-$1.20, against open interest of 1,690 contracts. Call activity was 6x the average daily volume. On May 4th, 1,600+ of these calls were bought on $2.05. Barclays upgraded them overweight from equal weight today with a $53 price target. Comps were +1.6% for Q1 last week.
Citigroup (C)- 12,000+ June 19 $55 calls were bought for $0.72-$0.77, against open interest of 40,017 contracts. They got an upgrade from Goldman Sachs yesterday to buy with a $61 price target.
Heron Therapeutics (HRTX)- A rollout from 2,500 Sep $17.50 calls ($6.80 credit) into 5,000 Sep $25 calls ($3.40 debit). Later in the day, there was another rollout from 1,250 Sep $17.50 calls ($6.35 credit) into 2,500 Sep $25 calls ($3.05 debit). Traders have been rolling call positions and buying calls prior to … Read More »

Unusual Options Activity

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)- 19,000 Oct $2 puts were purchased for $0.15. They reported a Q1 net loss of $180M yesterday as sales fell 23% to $1.03B (both missed estimates). Gross margins came in at 31.7% vs the 34% guidance they issued. Today, Bernstein maintained an underperform rating and a $1.50 price target.
Hilton Worldwide (HLT)- Another 2,400 Jan 2016 $35 calls were bought for $1.35, against open interest of 14,354 contracts. Open interest was just 177 contracts on April 10th. There has been big buying on 5 of the last 6 trading days.
Heron Therapeutics (HRTX)- A rollout from 4,000 Apr $12.50 calls ($0.90 credit) into 8,000 June $15/$22.50 call spreads ($2.25 debit). They have Phase 3 data and an NDA filing due out by the end of May and June, respectively.
Occidental Petroleum (OXY)- 5,000 Aug $90 calls were … Read More »