Thursday, May 2, 2024
The regional banking failures continue, with First Republic getting gobbled up by JP Morgan Chase (JPM) and now PacWest (PACW) searching for strategic options. That means the company is looking for ways out of the current situation and will likely result in a merger or acquisition with a bigger bank. At least one trader may […]
While options block trades can potentially provide insight into what the smart money is doing, it’s impossible to know for sure what the goal of a big trade is. For instance, a 22,000-lot call spread expiring in October appears to have been purchased in iShares 20+ Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) options. This would seem to […]
Globalstar (GSAT) is a satellite communications company. The stock price is under $1, but the company has a market value of almost $2 billion. Last week, an options trader seemingly purchased a block of 10,000 calls in GSAT that expire in July. This could be a bet on earnings next month or simply a bullish […]
ETFs can often make for effective covered call trades because the price tends to be more stable than single stocks. In the case of SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME), the stock has been range bound for much of the last six months. From a block trade we saw last week, a trader is […]
An options block trade in General Motors (GM) could be a sign of stability in the stock over the next several months. A trader appears to have sold a put spread in GM options that expires in September. The spread was sold 10,000 times, with the position collecting $1.40 in premium per spread. The best […]
Is the price of silver about to skyrocket? A massive options trade in iShares Silver Trust (SLV) could be suggesting that a large rally may occur in the precious metal before autumn sinks in. SLV is the most popular ETF for trading silver and tracks the price of physical silver. A trader placed an October […]
As the regional banking crisis enters its second week, options traders have been eyeing First Republic Bank (FRC). The ultra-high volatility in FRC means there has been plenty of options action in the stock, with thousands more options trading than what normally occurs. One trader appears to be selling over 3,5000 puts that expire in […]
Normally sleepy regional banks have been wildly active in options trading after the SIVB crisis from last week. First Republic Bank (FRC) is a regional bank that investors have been very concerned about, with the stock down over 70% in a week. Despite bankruptcy concerns, some options traders
The Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ) is a wildly popular ETF that tracks the Nasdaq-100. It’s a tech-heavy index that has been in a sideways pattern for much of the last year. When a stock is moving sideways, a covered call can be a good way to optimize returns while holding the shares. In this case, […]
A popular method of trading the energy sector is by using the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE), which tracks the energy stocks of the S&P 500. A strategist placed a call ratio spread last week that likely signals bullish expectations in energy stocks through April. A ratio spread is a way to reduce the […]
