Here is some generally directional, untied options activity that caught my eye during Wednesday’s trading: 1. SMH – the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) absolutely got smoked yesterday, closing down 4.6%, blasting through the breakout level …
Continue reading
In late Feb we took a bearish stance on the Nasdaq with a put spread in the QQQ when it was $109. Here’s the original trade and rationale: TRADE: QQQ ($109) Buy to Open May …
Continue reading
In a post last week I went over some potential portfolio hedges using VIX and SPY options. We have a preferred VIX (long vol) strategy that we put from time to time and we’ll probably …
Continue reading
MW – Men’s Wearhouse is trying to break out to its 2014 highs after a dismal end to that year. The stock is up nearly 20% in 2015 and an recent days has seen some …
Continue reading
A few weeks ago in this space (MorningWord 3/11/15: Cheesy Breakouts) we highlighted what appeared to be some unusual call buying in a fairly sleepy consumer staple stock, Kraft (KRFT): when the stock was $61.45 …
Continue reading
Event: Restoration Hardware (RH) reports Thursday night after the close. The options market is implying about a 8% one day move in either direction (based on Apr implied volatility at 46 and May implied volatility at …
Continue reading
CYBR is one of the lesser known IT security stocks in a very hot sector. It did pick up notoriety on its huge run in February, doubling in value in just a few weeks. The …
Continue reading
While the VIX is back near its 2015 low, closing at 13.40 yesterday, volatility in global financial markets as a whole has been much higher over the past few months. Currencies and commodities have been …
Continue reading
SPLS – There was a large print in the September 20 calls. The trade was reported as a buy-write meaning they were sold vs. shares bought in the stock. The curious thing is that the …
Continue reading
IPG Photonics (IPGP) is one of those rare companies that is at the forefront of groundbreaking technology. IPGP is focused on fiber lasers, as laid out in its annual report: Although low-power fiber lasers were …
Continue reading