Wednesday, September 18, 2019
A couple large covered call trades in Financial Sector Select SPDR ETF (XLF) imply smart money is taking a moderately bullish position on financial stocks. There is likely a cap to how high financial stocks can go due to lower interest rate expectations. However, covered calls are mostly considered bullish trades because they generally make […]
Unusual options activity can provide an inside view of what the smart money is doing. A recent string of large bullish trades suggests the iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF (KSA) may be due for a rebound by the end of October. A large trader bought several blocks of October KSA calls, which make money if […]
Semiconductor stocks dropped sharply last week over escalating concerns regarding the trade war with China. With China being a major exporter of components and assembled goods, chip companies do not want to see the battle of tariffs continue. One way to protect a portfolio with heavy exposure to semiconductors is to buy put spreads in […]
A recent accusation of accounting fraud from a hedge fund sent GE shares tumbling. However, institution are definitely siding with GE this time around. Several large covered calls trades were made last week after GE began to recover, including a trade involving 10,000 calls sold versus buying 1 million shares. Covered calls are moderately bullish […]
Looking at options block trades in iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) is a good way to see what may be in store for market volatility. A block of puts sold in VXX expiring in two weeks suggests that volatility may remain elevated for the short-term. It’s harvest time for option traders.That’s why […]
An institution or fund purchased a massive number of put spreads in SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The put spreads were almost certainly purchased as a hedge against a major market selloff. The trader bought 15,000 put spreads which will pay off if the market drops over 5% in the next two weeks. It’s harvest time for […]
Someone is taking a very short-term bullish bet that Zynga (ZNGA) is going to go up after upcoming earnings. ZNGA is a video game company focusing on mobile games and the stock is up over 60% year-to-date. At least one large trader believes the good vibes are going to continue after earnings. The trader purchased several thousand in-the-money […]
A large covered call traders purchased over 8,000 covered calls in Zynga (ZNGA). The video game company is up 60% year-to-date and has earnings coming up. The covered call uses options that don’t expire until January 2021, but still allows the stock to appreciate over 50% before the gains are capped. More importantly, the short […]
Gold prices could be set to move at least 15% in either direction by the start of next year. A trader purchased over 1,000 GDX straddles which is an options strategy used to bet on movement in an underlying asset without trying to guess direction. This particular straddle suggests a big move could be coming […]
A trader is betting the New York Times Company (NYT) is going to jump after earnings. NYT options traded 53 times the normal amount as someone purchased a big block of calls. The timing and type of trade suggests this is a bet that the stock will go higher after its next earnings call at […]
