Options volumes remained very light, even in the index ETFs, which are now near the highs of the year. The chip sector was the most active in options, even as most chip stocks have already reported earnings.
1. INTC – Intel was one of the very few large cap stocks that was in the red yesterday. The stock fell on big volume after Intersil cited weak computing demand on its earnings call. Puts traded nearly twice as actively as calls. The weekly 32.50 puts were the most active, trading over 30k at an average price of 0.19, mostly buyer initiated.
2. AMAT – Trader rolled a call position, with 34k of the Jan15 22 calls traded at 1.07, vs. 29k of the April 23 calls trading for 1.25. AMAT’s high in 2014 was $23.46 from early July. The stock is still up 21% year-to-date, and reports earnings on Nov 13th.
3. TXN – Puts traded nearly 4x the average 1 month volume. The Jan15 48 puts traded over 12k at an average price of 1.79, almost all shortly after the open. TXN has tested the $48-$50 resistance area on multiple occasions in the past 6 months, but has failed to in that area each time.
4. WAG – Buyer of 18k of the Dec5th 63 calls for 1.35 in the afternoon. $65 is the major technical level for WAG ever since its large gap lower in early August after the company abandoned its inversion plan with Alliance Boots.
5. GME – Trader bought 16k of the Jan15 37 / 34 put spreads for $0.79, looks like a trader rolling up put protection in the name. GameStop reports earnings after the close on Nov. 20th.