Volumes were light on Friday, in what was the seventh straight day higher for U.S. markets.
1. SPY – Feb22nd expiry options were active as traders set up for this week. The Feb22nd 184 calls traded over 100k (there is almost 350k open interest on that line). Implied volatility in SPY fell to its lowest level since mid-January.
2. ZNGA – Calls traded almost 3x the 1 month average volume, led by the March 5 calls, which traded over 25k. ZNGA touched the $5 level on Friday for the first time since July 2012.
3. SLV – Calls traded almost 3x daily volume in SLV as well. The April 21 calls, the March 21 calls, and the Feb22nd 21 calls were the most active lines. SLV traded above its 200 day moving average for the first time in more than a year.
4. GLD – Also very active call volume, trading around 2.75x 1 month average daily volume. The Dec14 30 calls traded 20k for 6.75 in the morning. The $130 level is the important resistance level for GLD since it broke its 200 day ma around 126.50 on Friday.
5. HTZ – The Feb22nd 26 calls traded almost 20k for an average price of $0.544. On Friday after the close, it as disclosed that Third Point, Dan Loeb’s activist fund, held 1.34% of the company’s shares.
6. IYR – The March 69 calls traded over 20k at an average price of 0.24, and the IYR March 64 pus traded over 14k at an average price of 0.255. IYR is approaching important resistance around $68.
7. CLF – Options were quite active (both calls and puts traded more than 2x 1 month average daily volume), though puts were much more active. The Apr 17, Apr 18, Jul 20, and Jul 15 put lines all traded over 10k. CLF hit its highest level in a month after CLF’s earnings on Friday.