For once, old economy stocks were at the top of the single stock most active list.
- XOM – Now again the largest market cap in the world. Buyer of 50k of the Jul 85 puts to open, paying 1.33. XOM has not traded below 85 for any time since Jul 2012. Earnings Thurs am.
- F – A lot of call buying ahead of earnings tomorrow morning. The weekly 14 calls traded over 35k, and the May10th expiry 14 calls traded over 20k, both basically lottery tickets.
- OXY – Buyer of around 15k of the May 80 calls early in the morning to open, paying 3.15 for the biggest chunk. Stock reports before the open on Thursday.
- BAC – Stock was upgraded and was up 3%. The weekly 12 calls traded almost 50k, mostly buyers initiating. May 12 calls also active, trading around 30k.
- EMC – Stock reports tomorrow before the open. The May 24 and May 23 calls were most active today, trading around 28k and 15k respectively. Implied move is around 5.5%.
- MSFT – Big longer-dated buyer of the Jan15 35 calls paying 1.62 to open. MSFT has not traded above the 36.62 break-even price for that trade since December 2007.
- YUM – More than 55K options have traded versus an average under 17K. The most heavily traded line is the May 62.5 puts, which traded around 11k times. Stock is trading up about 6% in the after-hours after earnings.
- BRCM – May 34 and 35 calls were the most active, both trading over 5k. Stock up 4% in the after hours, close to the implied move for the name.
- CREE – The June 57.5/55 put spread traded for 1.40, 5400 times. Stock trading down 8% after hours on earnings. Implied move was around 10%.
- JNPR – Heavy call buying ahead of earnings, with the May 20 calls trading around 8500x. But stock down about 6.5% after hours.