Options volumes yesterday were dominated by AAPL. Nearly 3 million options contracts traded on AAPL yesterday (vs. the 1 month average of around 1 million).
1. AAPL – Calls traded twice as actively as puts, and the top 8 most traded lines were all Sept12th or Sept20th upside calls, most of which lost the majority of their value by the close. Outside of Sept, the Oct18th 100 and the Jan15 100 calls both traded around 50k. 30 day implied volatility fell 2-3 points across strikes. AAPL did close above its 50 day moving average, now near $97, with $90 the more important longer-term support level to watch on the downside.
2. QQQ – Largely related to the AAPL volatility, QQQ options were also more active than usual, though protection buyers dominated there. The ETF made a minor new intraday high yesterday, before falling with AAPL late in the afternoon. Outside of Sept, the Oct18th 91 puts were the most active line, trading around 25k for an average price of $0.25 on the session.
3. TTWO – A trader rolled a bullish bet out from Sept to March. Trader sold 24k of the Sept 22 calls at 1.40, and bought 12k of the Sept 13 puts for 0.02, closing a bullish risk reversal in Sept. The same trader then opened a new bullish risk reversal, selling 25k of the Mar 20 puts at $0.95 to buy 25k of the Mar 24 calls for $2.05, paying $1.10 for the structure. TTWO last traded above $24 in Sept 2008.
4. LNG – Another roll of calls, in what has been a theme in LNG throughout 2014. Seller of 20k of the Oct 80 calls at 5.80 to buy 20k of the Oct 85 calls for around 2.80. LNG is up 93% year-to-date, and has continued to hit new all-time highs for the past 6 months.
5. SC – Santander Consumer Holdings is a rarely traded name, but there was a large call roll yesterday. Someone sold 15k of the Oct 20 calls at 0.35 to close, to buy 20k of the Jan15 20 calls for 1.10 to open.