Unusual Options Activity

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)- 2,000 May 15 $16 calls were purchased for $0.40-$0.43. Notice that this comes on the last day of the month (could be a play on Apr comps). Short interest is 14%, or 25M+ shares as of late.
GNC Holdings (GNC)- Nearly 2,000 June $42.50 calls were bought for $2.15-$2.25. Call activity was 4x the average daily volume. They missed Q1 earnings and sales estimates plus issued weak FY15 EPS guidance. However, the stock is finding buyer at $41 today.
LifeLock (LOCK)- 5,000+ June $14 puts were sold for $0.30. The large seller of May $13 puts remains in open interest (likely to expire worthless just as they wanted). They added 421k new members in Q1 as revenues rose 25% year over year.
Masco (MAS)- Sizable buying in the May $26 calls (1,800+ traded) and $27 calls (2,500+ traded). … Read More »

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BURL- Another rollout from 1,700 Mar 2015 $45 calls (credit) into 2,600 Mar 2015 $50 calls (debit). Volume was below the open interest in both options. Prior to today’s action, Mar 2015 $50 call open interest stood at 10,047 contracts. My article on Burlington Stores from December 10th
FXI- 8,000 Jan 17 2015 $41.50 puts were sold for $0.93 each, against open interest of 142 contracts. The China Equity ETF is trying once again to breakout above the $42 resistance level and he/she is betting that last week’s gap doesn’t get filled over the next three weeks (at least doesn’t finish below $41.50, but will have to buy the ETF if it does).
LINE- A rollout from 2,500 Jan 2015 $13 puts (credit) into 3,500 Feb 2015 $10 puts (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Feb 2015 … Read More »

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BBRY- A rollout from 30,000 Dec 20 $10 puts (credit) into 30,000 Feb 2015 $10 puts (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Feb 2015 $10 puts. Earnings are due out tomorrow morning. BlackBerry shares have moved higher after earnings on 4 out of the last 7 reports, which could be why they are rolling out the trade to February.
COP- A rollout from 15,000 Jan 17 2015 $67.50 calls (credit) into 30,000 Jan 17 2015 $70 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Jan 17 2015 $70 calls. Despite the weakness in oil prices today, ConocoPhillips is up over 2% and nearing a retest of the 50-day exponential moving average.
FEYE- The June 2015 $35/$45 call spread was put on 4,000 times for a $2.00 debit. Volume was above the open interest in both … Read More »

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AMJ- The Jan 2015 $41/$45 bull risk reversal was put on 5,000 times for a $0.45 debit. Volume was above the open interest in both options. This is a bullish bet on the MLP companies. There was also a buyer of 5,000 Jan 2015 $40/$45 bull risk reversals for a $0 debit.
C- 5,270 Jan 30 weekly $48.50 puts were sold for $0.78 each, against no previous open interest. Shares of Citigroup are trading back at the 100-day simple moving average. Earnings are due out on 1/15. The stock has moved higher after earnings on 3 straight reports.
GRUB- 3,527 Mar 2015 $35 calls were purchased for $2.50 each, against open interest of 531 contracts. Call activity is 10x the average daily volume in GrubHub. Implied volatility rose 6.8% to 52.17. This morning Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to buy … Read More »

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BUD- 10,000 Mar 2015 $130 calls were purchased for $0.80 each, against open interest of 93 contracts. This was tied to 110,000 shares. On average, only 908 calls trade per day in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA. The stock remains in a steady long-term uptrend and in a sector with big M&A deals rumored.
CVA- 16,534 June 2015 $25 calls were bought for $0.85 each, against open interest of 504 contracts. This was tied to 1.65M shares. Total open interest in Covanta Holdings is just 17,372 contracts.
DOV- A rollout from 1,750 Dec $75 puts (credit) into 2,500 Jan 2015 $70 puts (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Jan 2015 $70 puts. Dover shares are nearing a retest of the October 15th low of $69.66. On December 9th, Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to sell from hold with a … Read More »

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AAL- A rollout from 5,250 Dec 12 weekly $48.50 calls (credit) into 7,500 Jan 9 weekly $52.50 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Jan 9 weekly $52.50 calls. There have been several of these type of rolls in American Airlines in the last two weeks. On December 2nd, Credit Suisse raised their price target to $58 from $55. My article on (AAL) from November 27th
AMAT- Another rollout from 32,000 Apr 2015 $23 calls (credit) into 50,000 Apr 2015 $25 calls (debit). Volume was below the open interest in both options. Applied Materials shares are up for the 8th consecutive week, but just recently broke out above the $23 resistance level.
IMMU- Sizable buying in the May 2015 $7 and $8 calls today. Volume was above the open interest in both options. Call activity is 15x … Read More »

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APD- A rollout from 1,216 Jan 2015 $135 calls (credit) into 3,000 Jan 2015 $150 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Jan 2015 $150 calls. Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management owns nearly 10% of Air Products & Chemicals shares, making it the 3rd largest holding for the hedge fund.
C- 10,275 Jan 9 weekly $53.50 puts were sold for $0.64-$0.65 each, against no previous open interest. Shares of Citigroup are nearing a test of the $55 resistance level from the beginning of the year.
CAT- 4,397 May 2015 $95 puts were bought for $4.25 each, against open interest of 4,337 contracts. Net put premium in Caterpillar is +$2M vs net call premium of +$102K (put to call ratio near 1.5:1).
HYG- The Jan 17 2015 $85/89 put spread was put on 30,000 times for a $0.60-$0.65 … Read More »

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AAL- A likely rollout from 3,500 Dec 5 weekly $46.50 calls (credit) into 4,880 Dec 5 weekly $48.50 calls (debit). Volume above the open interest in the Dec 5 weekly $48.50 calls. My article on American Airlines from Thursday
LGF- 7,000 Dec $37 calls were bought for $0.40 each, against open interest of 12,306 contracts. There was large buying in these Lions Gate Entertainment calls on November 20th. Implied volatility initially rose 9.4% to 38.66. Shares of (LGF) are now retesting the $35-$36 resistance level.
MRO- A rollout from 2,000 Dec 20 $31 puts (credit) into 3,500 Jan 17 2015 $27 puts (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Jan 17 2015 $27 puts. This trader is taking profits on the December Marathon Oil puts and is extending the trade an additional month with expectations of new lows … Read More »

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APC- The May 2015 $110/$125 call spread was put on another 3,000 times for a $2.00 debit. Volume was below the open interest in both options. On Wednesday, there were about 10,000 Jan 17 2015 $95 calls purchased for $2.55 each. Shares of Anadarko-Petroleum remain in the $87.50-$95 range.
GLW- 10,000 Jan 2017 $25 calls were bought for $1.85 each, against open interest of 28 contracts. The call to put ratio in Corning is nearly 10:1. This call buyer is making a long-term bet on the stock hitting levels not seen since prior to the recession.
GME- A rollout from 16,200 Jan 17 2015 $37 puts (credit) into 16,200 Jan 17 $33 puts (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Jan 17 $33 puts. Last night, GameStop missed Q3 EPS and revenue estimates (comps -2.3%). They also issued … Read More »

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CBS- A rollout from 20,000 Nov 22 $53 calls (credit) into 20,000 Dec 20 $55 calls (debit). Volume was below the open interest in both options. On the weekly chart CBS shares have been struggling to maintain a move above the 10-week exponential moving average.
CTIC- Sizable buying in the Jan 2016 $2.50 and $3 calls today. Volume was above the open interest in both options.  Call activity is 38x the average daily volume. CTI BioPharma has Phase 3 data due out in Q1 2015.
HES- A rollout from 11,000 Nov 22 $80 puts (credit) into 11,000 Dec 20 $80 puts (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Dec  20 $80 puts. Put activity is over 6x the average daily volume. For the last month, Hess shares have been range bound between $80 and $85 (watch for a … Read More »

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BBRY- 10,000 Jan 2015 $11 calls were bought for $1.11 each, against open interest of 20,427 contracts. This was tied to a sale of 550,000 BlackBerry shares for $11.14. The call to put ratio is 5:1. Shares of (BBRY) are trying to breakout above the $11.00-$11.50 resistance level.
FTNT- The Nov $27/$29 call spread was closed out 15,000 times for a $0.50 credit. This trade in Fortinet was put on for a $0.48-$0.50 debit on October 21st. (FTNT) shares are at a new 52-week high today.
JD- The Jan 2015 $25/$29 bull risk reversal was put on 4,000 times for a $0.40 debit. Volume was above the open interest in both options. JD.com Q3 earnings are due out on November 17th.
SFM- A rollout from 5,000 Nov $30 calls (credit) into 5,000 Dec $30 calls (debit). Volume was above the open … Read More »

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BABA- 6,826 Nov 22 $115 calls were sold for $1.35 each, against open interest of 3,732 contracts. Yesterday, Alibaba reported Q2 EPS of $0.45 vs the $0.45 estimate revenue of $2.74B vs the $2.61B estimate (54% year over year increase).
C- 10,000 Jan 2015 $52.50 puts were sold for $1.36-$1.39 each, against open interest of 15,250 contracts. Citigroup book value in the latest quarter filing was $67.11 per share.
CAT- Roughly 10,000 Jan 2015 $105 calls were purchased for $1.15-$1.39 each, against open interest of 7,652 contracts. Shares of Caterpillar were unable to sustain a move above the 40-week SMA and are so far seeing sellers step in this week. The moving average is currently at $101.43.
FSLR- A rollout from 3,000 Nov 7 weekly $52.50 puts (credit) into 3,000 Nov 22 $54 puts (debit). Volume was above the open interest … Read More »

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AA- 15,000 Dec 20 $15 puts were purchased for $0.43 each, against open interest of 46,317 contracts. Alcoa shares have struggled with the $16.25-$16.50 resistance level since mid September.
GNRC- Large selling in the Nov $52.50 and $55 calls today. Volume was below the open interest in both options. Earnings are due out on 11/6. Shares of Generac Holdings have dropped after earnings on the last two reports. The large buyer of these calls in August doesn’t see much hope for the stock to return into the $50’s by November options expiration now.
HCA- The Nov 22 $65/$72 bull risk reversal was put on 5,000 times for a $0.55 debit. Volume was above the open interest in both options. Yesterday, Barclays raised their price target to $81 from $75 on HCA Holdings (kept the overweight rating), following the Q3 results.
KO- … Read More »

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AKAM- Another 1,600 Nov 22 $60 calls were purchased for $1.20-$1.26 each, against open interest of 10,444 contracts. 7,572 Akamai Technologies Nov 22 $60 calls were purchased for $1.36 each on October 15th. There was also a seller of Nov 22 $50 puts (2,639 times) for $1.10 each. Q3 earnings are due out tomorrow afternoon.
AMD- 52,000 Jan 2015 $3 puts were sold for $0.42-$0.43 each, against open interest of 87,056 contracts. Regardless of whether this is a new position or someone closing out a long put position (check open interest tomorrow for confirmation), he/she likely sees the correction coming to an end at least through the next three months in Advanced Micro Devices.
PAYX- 35,000 Dec $46 calls were sold for $0.75-$0.80 each, against open interest of 663 contracts. Paychex shares are new highs and is up for the … Read More »

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BABA- 10,000 Nov 22 $91 puts were sold for $2.80 each, against open interest of 59 contracts. Alibaba earnings are due out on 11/4 (this being their first report as a publicly traded company). The options market is currently pricing in about a $7.50 move through that week.
CBSO- The Nov 22 $30 straddle was put on 6,000 times for a $1.61 credit. Volume was above the open interest in both options. Earnings are due out on 11/4. The trader is betting on a move above $31.61 or below $28.39 in CBS Outdoor Americas on November monthly options expiration.
CSCO- 17,000 Nov 22 $23 puts were purchased for $0.44-$0.47 each, against open interest of 11,372 contracts. Cisco Systems earnings are due out on 11/12. The stock has dropped after earnings on 5 out of the last 7 reports.
RSX- A rollout … Read More »

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ABG- The Apr 2015 $60/$65 bull risk reversal was put on 1,600 times for a $0.90 debit. Volume was above the open interest in both options. On average, only 22 options trade per day. Asbury Automotive Group has earnings due out on October 21st. The stock has only dropped once after earnings in the last six reports.
AMJ- A rollout from 11,000 Nov $48 puts (credit) into 20,000 Nov $44 puts (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Nov $44 puts. Top ten holdings in the Alerian MLP Index: EPD KMP ETP PAA MMP MWE BPL RGP OKS WPZ
CHK- A rollout from 6,952 Nov 22 $19 puts (credit) into 6,952 Nov 22 $17 puts (debit). Volume was above the open the open interest in Nov 22 $17 puts. The Nov 22 $19 puts were initially bought on … Read More »

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AAL- 3,000 Oct 31 weekly $32.50 puts were purchased for $2.25 each, against open interest of 127 contracts. Earnings are due out on 10/23. The stock is on pace to close below the $32 support level from April. Given how the puts are in-the-money already it is unlikely to be a hedge on American Airlines.
CSCO- 7,500 Jan 2015 $25 calls were purchased for $0.48 each, against open interest of 85,742 contracts.
CSCO- 10,000 Dec $25 calls were purchased for $0.44-$0.47 each, against open interest of 6,291 contracts. Following the lower guidance from Microchip Technology (MCHP) this morning, maybe tech stocks including Cisco Systems had a sizable pullback.
CZR- 5,000 Dec $10 puts were bought for $1.65-$1.75 each, against open interest of 5,044 contracts. The casino stock bear market (Caesars Entertainment included) has been in place since late Q1.
RICE- A rollout … Read More »

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AA- 8,000 Dec $15 puts were purchased for $0.56 each, against open interest of 22,748 contracts. Alcoa earnings are due out tonight. The stock has moved higher after earnings on 3 out of the last 4 reports (currently trading right at the 100-day SMA). The options market is implying a $0.84 move through the end of the week.
AUY- 7,500 Jan 2015 $5 puts were sold for $0.19 each, against open interest of 4,916 contracts. The Gold ETF (GLD) is so far holding on the test of $115 (held on the correction in June and December of 2013).
DOW- 10,000 Nov 22 $50 calls were purchased for $1.25 each, against open interest of 6,292 contracts. This was tied to 350,000 shares. Dow Chemical earnings are due out on 10/22.
INFI- 5,000 Oct $12 puts were bought for $0.30 each, against open … Read More »

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AGCO- 5,000 Feb 2015 $45 puts were sold for $3.05 each, against open interest of 5,197 contracts. 5,000 Feb 2015 $45 puts were bought for $2.40-$2.50 on 9/25 (part of a rollout from the $50 puts). AGCO lowered Q3, FY14 EPS guidance this morning. Earnings are due out on 10/28.
GG- The Nov 1×2 $25/$28 ratio call spread was put on 4,000 times for a $0.19 debit. Volume was above the open interest in both options. This trade is likely done against an existing long stock position in Goldcorp to add leverage without adding any additional shares (upside would be capped at $28 through November options expiration).
INXN- A rollout from 5,000 Oct $30 calls (credit) into 5,000 Jan 2015 $30 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Jan 2015 $30 calls. Total call open interest is … Read More »

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ACAS- Large buying in the Jan 2015 $14 and $15 calls today (also buying in the Oct and Nov $14 calls). Volume was above the open interest in the Jan 2015 $14 calls. Call activity is 6x the average daily volume. The stock is down 8% from the September close at $15.42. Yesterday, American Capital Agency announced the sale of Avalon Laboratories to Nordson (NDSN) for $180M.
CVS- 3,955 Oct 31 weekly $79 puts were sold for $0.75 each, against open interest of 264 contracts. Shares of CVS Health are now starting to bounce off of the test of the 50-day EMA (which is near $79).
EMC- A likely rollout from 40,000 Jan 2015 $31 calls (credit) into 40,000 Apr 2015 $31 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Apr 2015 $31 calls. Earnings are due out … Read More »