Too Many Options: $VIX, $MSFT, $IWM, $JCP, $VIAB

by Enis September 30, 2013 5:16 am • Commentary

VIX calls were active on Friday as VIX spot rallied 10% as the budget negotiations stalled.

  1. VIX – The Oct 18 calls traded over 80k on the day, at an average price of $0.517.  VIX spot has not been above 18 since late June.
  2. MSFT – The stock rallied 1.5% on Friday as investors showed some excitement about Alan Mulally as the potential new CEO.  The Oct18th 34 calls traded over 32k at an average price of $0.48, and the Oct4th 34 calls traded over 19k at avg price of $0.22.
  3. IWM – Trader bought 15k x 30k x 15k of the Oct18th 105/100/90 Put Butterfly for $0.60 (as detailed by Dan in Friday’s Name That Trade post).
  4. JCP – Implied vol was actually lower across most strikes despite the 13% move lower, as the capital raise is likely to depress volatility going forward (credit default swap prices declined).  The oct 10 put and Jan15 5 put traded more than 20k times.
  5. VIAB – The stock is up more than 60% in 2013, riding the media wave higher.  Trader sold 12,500 of the Dec 80 puts at 1.725, and bought 12,500 of the Dec 85/92.5 call spread for 2.55.  The stock is up for 7 straight months.