VIX spot closed above 12.50 for only the second time over the past 6 weeks. Options volumes were focused on ETFs.
1. XLF – Two large opening trades: looks like 56,000 Oct 20 puts bought for .14 to open and 30,000 Oct 21 puts bought for .24 to open. XLF has not traded below $21 since early February, and has not traded below $20 since early October. The 200 day moving average for the ETF is now around $21.63. XLF has held above its 200 day ma since June 2012.
2. LNG – LNG hit a new all-time high above $73 in July, and the stock is up 64% year-to-date. The Jan15 70/80 call spread traded 30k times at $3.70, which is more than a double from where the trade was initiated back in early April, when LNG was trading around $55.
3. AA – AA made fresh 52 week highs yesterday morning before reversing. There was an opening put seller of 20k of the Jan15 14 puts at 0.55 when stock was 15.73, reflecting a bullish view. Prior to their Q2 print on Tuesday, there was an opening seller of 10k of the Jan15 13 puts at 0.55 when the stock was 14.59. AA is now up 47% year-to-date.
4. GT – There was an opening buyer of the July 25th weekly 28 calls – 10,000 were bought for 0.45 when the stock was 27.51. The company doesn’t report earnings until July 30th, so the choice of expiration is a bit odd. GT has not traded above $30 since 2007. Stock is up 16% year-to-date.
5. HLF – Ever so slightly bullish roll in HLF. A trader bought to close 5600 of the Aug 40 puts for .325 and sold to open 5600 of the Jan15 40 puts at 3.15. The Jan15 40 puts, although almost $25 out of the money, have some fairly hefty premium on them despite the options market saying there is only about a 14% chance that they are in the money.