ORM Market Commentary
Option Trade Idea On The S&P 500 After Today’s Bounce

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Weekend Market Update
Stocks Retrace From Record Highs After Jobs Report

Notable List Of Equities/ETFs I’m Tracking With Unusual Options Activity

Applied Materials (AMAT)- Massive open interest in the Apr 17 (monthly expiration) $23-$27 calls due to call purchases and bull call spreads in recent months. A buyer of 13,300 Apr 17 $25 calls for $0.75 each on February 3rd sent open interest above the 100,000 mark.
Air Products & Chemicals (APD)- A rollout from 2,460 June $145 calls ($13.70 credit) into 2,460 Sep $155 calls ($9.50 debit) on February 25th. Trader took profits on the June calls, but still sees upside north of $165 by September options expiration.
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners (BWP)- A rollout from 125,000 Mar $17 calls ($0.65 credit) into 45,000 Sep $18 calls ($1.70 debit) on February 19th and a rollout from 15,000 Jan 2015 $16 calls ($0.75 credit) … Read More »

Weekend Market Update
Looking At Near-Term Upside Potential In The S&P 500

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) Options Trade Ideas

Buy the (SPY) Mar 20 $210 call for $3.15 or better

Stop loss- $1.45

1st upside target- $6.00

2nd upside target- $8.00

And/Or

Sell the (SPY) Mar 20 $204/$205 bull put spread for a $0.20 credit or better

(Sell the Mar 20 $205 put and buy the Mar 20 $204 put, all in one trade)

Stop loss reference- A move below $205 in the ETF

Upside target- $0.05 or less

Maximum gain potential- 25%

Notes: I’m long (BGCP) shares for $9.14 each and Aug $7.50 calls for $1.80 each.

Domtar Holdings (UFS) Options Trade Idea

Buy the (UFS) Apr $45/$50 … Read More »

Weekend Market Update
The S&P 500 Rallies On The ECB QE Announcement

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) Options Trade Ideas

Sell the (SPY) Feb 20 $187.50/$188.50 bull put spread for a $0.15 credit or better

(Sell the Feb 20 $188.50 put and buy the Feb 20 $187.50 put, all in one trade)

Stop loss reference- A move below $188.50 in the underlying

Upside target- $0.05 or less

Maximum gain potential- 17.6%

And/Or

Buy the (SPY) Feb 20 $205/$212 bull call spread for a $2.75 debit or better

(Buy the Feb 20 $205 call and sell the Feb 20 $212 call, all in one trade)

Stop loss- $0.95

1st upside target- $5.50

2nd upside target- A move in the underlying to $212-$215

Read More »

 Unusual Options Activity

In today’s Unusual Options Activity Report we highlight put selling in Bank of America (BAC) and call buying in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY).

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What To Watch For Next In The S&P 500 (SPX)

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Smart Money Report

HRB- H&R Block is set to announce Q3 earnings after the bell tonight. Analysts are looking for -$0.11 in EPS and revenue of $519 million. Option traders are pricing in a $2.15 move, or 6.86%, in either direction through Mar. options expiration. The put to call ratio in (HRB) options is currently 6.98, led by large selling in the Mar. 2014 $30 puts. The stock has declined after reporting earnings on the three previous reports.
HP- Over 12k Mar. $95 puts were purchased for $0.55-$0.60 each, against open interest of 435 contracts.
RFMD- Over 3,000 May $8 calls were bought for $0.35 each, against open interest of 966 contracts.
SPY- A rollout from 39,350 Mar. $184 calls (credit) into 39,350 Apr. $190 calls (debit). Volume was below the open interest in both options.
WWE- 12k July $40 calls were bought for $1.75 … Read More »

 Unusual Options Activity

In today’s Unusual Options Activity Report we highlight call buying in RF Micro Devices (RFMD) and a call rollout in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY).

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Smart Money Report

CSIQ- Canadian Solar is set to announce Q4 earnings before the bell tomorrow morning. Analysts are looking for $0.52 in EPS and revenue of $536 million. Option trader are pricing in a $5.90 move, or 13.64%, in either direction through Mar. options expiration. The call to put ratio in (CSIQ) options is currently 1.27, led by activity in Mar. $38 puts and Apr. $43 calls.
CAVM- A rollout from 6k Mar. $40 calls (credit) into 6k Apr. $46 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Apr. $46 calls.
IBN- 2,250 June $36 puts were bought for $2.93 each, against open interest of 97 contracts.
S- A rollout from 25k Mar. $9 calls (credit) into 25k Apr. $9 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Apr. $9 calls.
SPY- The S&P 500 ETF is set to close … Read More »

Smart Money Report

ROC- Rockwood Holdings is set to announce Q4 earnings on Monday, March 3rd. Analysts are looking for $0.34 in EPS and revenue of $342 million. Option traders are pricing in a $6.75 move, or 8.48%, in either direction through March options expiration. Call activity was over 18x the average daily volume, led by a rollout from 17k May $70 calls (credit) into 25k Aug. $90 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Aug. $90 calls.
HPQ- 4k May $34 calls were bought for $0.24-$0.27 each, against open interest of 1,486 contracts.
SPY- 20,800 Apr. $190 calls were bought for $1.28 each, against open interest of 150,501 contracts.
TEX- 2,500 July $44 puts were sold for $3.70 each, against open interest of 56 contracts.
TSLA- Tesla Motors shares are moving off of the all-time highs hit on Wednesday, dropping 2.21% … Read More »

Smart Money Report

HLF- Herbalife will report Q4 earnings after the bell tonight. Analysts are looking for $1.24 in EPS and revenue of $1.2 billion. The options market is implying a $4.28 move, or 6.29%, in either direction through Friday’s close. Call to put ratio in (HLF) options is currently 1.67. The stock has gapped higher the following morning on the three previous reports.
PNRA- Panera Bread is also set to announce Q4 earnings after the bell. Analysts are looking for $1.94 in EPS and revenue of $662 million. Option traders are pricing in a $12.60 move, or 7.09%, in either direction through Friday’s close. The put to call ratio in (PNRA) options is 1.25, led by activity in the Feb. $165 puts.
GDXJ- 5,000 Jan. 2015 $40 puts were sold for $5.22 each, against open interest of 504 contracts.
SGY- The Mar. $37/$42 … Read More »

Smart Money Report

LGF- Lions Gate Entertainment will report Q3 earnings after the bell tonight. Analysts are looking for $0.44 in EPS and revenue of $834 million. The options market is implying a $2.50 move, or 7.91%, in either direction through February options expiration. Call to put ratio in (LGF) options is currently 5.11.
LNKD- LinkedIn is also set to announce Q4 earnings after the bell tonight. Analysts are looking for $0.39 in EPS and revenue of $438 million. Option traders are pricing in a $22.75 move, or 10.28%, in either direction through Friday’s close. The call to put ratio in (LNKD) is 1.32.
EXPE- A rollout from 3k Feb. $65 puts (credit) into 3k Apr. $65 puts (debit). Volume was above the open interest in the Apr. $65 puts. Earnings are due out tonight.
FLR- More than 3,600 Mar. $82.50 calls were sold … Read More »

Smart Money Report

KORS- Michael Kors will report Q3 earnings before the bell tomorrow morning. Analysts are looking for $0.86 in EPS and revenue of $861 million. The options market is implying a $7.85 move, or 10.16%, in either direction through Friday’s close. Call to put ratio in (KORS) options is currently 1.22.
YUM- Yum Brands is set to announce Q4 earnings after the bell tonight. Analysts are looking for $0.80 in EPS and revenue of $4.3 billion. Option traders are pricing in a $4.40 move, or 6.64%, in either direction through Friday’s close. The call to put ratio in (YUM) options is 1.15.
LB- The Jan. 2015 $42/$52/$62 bull call spread risk reversal was put on 4k times for a $0.85 debit. Volume was above the open interest in all three options. Earnings are due out on 2/26.
OUTR- The Mar. $50/$60 put … Read More »

Smart Money Report

MSFT- Microsoft will report Q2 earnings after the bell tonight. Analysts are looking for $0.68 in EPS and revenue of $23.7 billion. The options market is implying a $1.56 move, or 4.38%, in either direction through Friday’s close. Call to put ratio in (MSFT) options is currently 1.14, led by a seller of 5,000 July $32 puts for $1.06 each.
SBUX- Starbucks is also set to announce Q1 earnings after the bell tonight. Analysts are looking for $0.69 in EPS and revenue of $4.3 billion. Option traders are pricing in a $3.62 move, or 4.96%, in either direction through Friday’s close. The call to put ratio in (SBUX) options is 2.02, led by a buyer of 400 Feb. 2014 $72.50 calls for $2.38 each.
ARMH- 8,300 Feb. $48 puts were sold for $1.75 each, against open interest of 817 contracts. … Read More »

 Smart Money Report

C- Citigroup will report Q4 earnings before the bell tomorrow morning. Analysts are looking for $0.97 in EPS and revenue of $18.3 billion. The options market is implying a $1.23 move, or 2.24%, in either direction through Friday’s close. Call to put ratio in (C) options is currently 1.35.
CSX- CSX is set to announce Q4 earnings after the bell tonight. Analysts are looking for $0.43 in EPS and revenue of $3 billion. Options traders are pricing in a $1.45 move, or 5.01%, in either direction through Friday’s close. The call to put ratio in (CSX) options is 1.56, led by a buyer of 1,500 May 2014 $27.50/$30 strangle for a $1.59 debit.
BRFS- 4,600 June $20 calls were purchased for $1.35 each, against open interest of 125 contracts.
INTC- The Feb. $26/$27 straddle was put on 10k times for a … Read More »

1st Trading Day Of January Stats

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Smart Money Report

DOW- 6,170 Jan. 2014 $44 calls were purchased for $1.46 each, against open interest of 66,564 contracts.
GRA- A rollout from 6,291 Mar. 2014 $90 puts (credit) into 5,034 June 2014 $90 puts (debit). Volume was above the open interest in June 2014 $90 puts.
SPY- A rollout from 6,023 Dec. 31 $184 calls (credit) into 6,023 Jan. 3 weekly $184.50 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in Jan. 3 weekly $184.50 calls.
XOM- 9,746 Jan. 2014 $100 puts were purchased for $0.87 each, against open interest of 8,884 contracts.
AAPL- Apple shares are down for the third consecutive trading session, losing 0.62% today. The call to put ratio in (AAPL) options is 1.68, led by sizable selling on call side.

Free Trial: If you would like to know more about premium content or you would like a free trial of … Read More »

 Unusual Options Activity

In today’s Unusual Options Activity Report we highlight a call rollout in the S&P 500 ETF SPDRs ETF (SPY) and a put rollout in W.R. Grace (GRA).

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Smart Money Report

FB- 6,750 Mar. 2014 $55 calls were bought for $4.35 each, against open interest of 74,513 contracts.
HYG- The Mar. 2014 $90/$94/$95 bull call spread risk reversal was put on 12,534 times for a $0.55 credit. Volume was above the open interest in all three options.
KBR- 2k Mar. 2014 $27 puts were sold for $0.70 each, against open interest of 361 contracts.
WPX- 8,100 Jan. 2014 $22.50 calls were bought for $0.40 each, against open interest of 19,155 contracts.
SPY- The S&P 500 SPDRs ETF broke out above the November high of $180.91 ahead of quadruple witching day, rising 0.72%. The put to call ratio in (SPY) options is 1.11, led by a rollout from 33k Dec 31 $181 calls (credit) into 33k Jan. 2014 $183 calls (debit).

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Smart Money Report

ARO- 2,500 Jan. 2014 $10 calls were bought for $0.15-$0.20 each, against open interest of 8,126 contracts.
IAG- 20k Jan. 2015 $3.50 puts were purchased for $0.80 each, against open interest of 4,664 contracts.
OLN- A rollout from 3,350 Jan. 2014 $30 calls (credit) into 3,350 Feb. 2014 $30 calls (debit). Volume was above the open interest in Feb. 2014 $30 calls.
WAG- The Jan. 2014 $52.50/$57.50 strangle was put on 2,500 times for a $2.17 debit. Volume was above the open interest in both options. Earnings are due out on 12/20.
SPY- Shares of the S&P 500 SPDRs ETF are off of the session highs, but remain higher by 0.61%. The put to call ratio in (SPY) options is 1.39, led by activity in the Jan. 2014 $172 puts.

Free Trial: If you would like to know more about premium content or … Read More »