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U.S. stock market report 1712 ET 04Oct2010 Option bulls eye Regal Entertainment calls
Option traders picked up call options on Regal Entertainment Group, hoping to catch a rally in the No. 1 U.S. movie theater operator. The stock attracted a large bullish option trade with the purchase of 3,500 January 2011 $15 calls at 50 cents per contract, said Patrick Mortimer, director of options trading at Pipeline Trading Systems. A total of 5,190 contracts traded in the strike which pushed overall volume to 32 times greater than its daily average as 6,164 calls traded vs only 4 puts, according to Trade Alert. The trade also surpassed the total current open interest in all of Regal's listed options, he said. Using a reference price of $13.17, Mortimer said call buyers will be looking for Regal's shares to rise 17 percent over the next three months, a price level not seen since May. Last week Regal announced an expanded joint-venture with Imax Corp. to add as many as 25 new Imax 3-D and high-definition screens to its theaters. It is due to report earnings during the last week of October, Mortimer said. Regal shares slipped 9 cents to settle at $13.13.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1648 ET 4Oct2010
National Semiconductor put action suggests downside
Option traders circled bearish put options on National Semiconductor Corp amid weakness in the chip stocks. The Semiconductor Industry Association said global chip sales rose 1.8 percent in August to $25.7 billion, from July. For details, see
SIA also noted 'concerns about economic conditions in U.S. and Europe, coupled with seasonal patterns, bear close monitoring' and that they remain confident in its $290.5 billion forecast for 2010. NSM shares fell 1.56 percent to $12.60 and its options volume was 2.8 times greater than average daily levels led by the trading of 6,411 puts vs only 364 calls, according to Trade Alert. Investors focused on the October $14 puts with 2,992 contracts traded but the May $11, May $13, and Oct $13 puts also drew interest, said WhatsTrading.com option strategists Frederic Ruffy.
The stock's option implied volatility rose 3 percent to 33.5 percent and 'it looks like put buyers are taking positions on concerns about weakness in the share price in the months ahead,' said OptionsXpress senior market analyst Joe Cusick.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1607 ET 4Oct2010
Microsoft options volume pops up on downgrade
Microsoft Corp's options volume was 2.2 times greater than its daily average with 175,000 calls and 114,000 puts traded, according to Trade Alert. Its shares dropped nearly 2 percent to $23.91 after Goldman Sachs downgraded the software maker. For details, see
A number of top trades fueled volume. Early on Monday, an investor paid $1.99 for January 2013 $30 calls, which traded 30,000 times, said WhatsTrading.com options strategist Frederic Ruffy. The strike's open interest was 34.400 and the action likely adds to positions opened in late September. On Sept 24, for example, one investor paid $1.90 for 15,000 contracts and another block of 15,500 traded at the $1.99 ask price on Sept. 28, he said.
Brisk options action continued as one player sold 10,000 January 2013 calls at $3.45 each, which may have been tied to stock. Another trader paid 39 cents for Jan 2011 $20 puts on volume of 13,500 contracts, against 203,000 shares at $23.88. A another notable trade is a January $24-$27.5 call spread bought at $1.03, which traded 15,000 times and appeared to be tied to 500,000 shares at $23.81, he said. Implied volatility rose to 28 percent, vs a 52-week high and low of 39 and 20 percent.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
U.S. stock market report 1712 ET 04Oct2010 Option bulls eye Regal Entertainment calls
Option traders picked up call options on Regal Entertainment Group, hoping to catch a rally in the No. 1 U.S. movie theater operator. The stock attracted a large bullish option trade with the purchase of 3,500 January 2011 $15 calls at 50 cents per contract, said Patrick Mortimer, director of options trading at Pipeline Trading Systems. A total of 5,190 contracts traded in the strike which pushed overall volume to 32 times greater than its daily average as 6,164 calls traded vs only 4 puts, according to Trade Alert. The trade also surpassed the total current open interest in all of Regal's listed options, he said. Using a reference price of $13.17, Mortimer said call buyers will be looking for Regal's shares to rise 17 percent over the next three months, a price level not seen since May. Last week Regal announced an expanded joint-venture with Imax Corp. to add as many as 25 new Imax 3-D and high-definition screens to its theaters. It is due to report earnings during the last week of October, Mortimer said. Regal shares slipped 9 cents to settle at $13.13.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1648 ET 4Oct2010
National Semiconductor put action suggests downside
Option traders circled bearish put options on National Semiconductor Corp amid weakness in the chip stocks. The Semiconductor Industry Association said global chip sales rose 1.8 percent in August to $25.7 billion, from July. For details, see
SIA also noted 'concerns about economic conditions in U.S. and Europe, coupled with seasonal patterns, bear close monitoring' and that they remain confident in its $290.5 billion forecast for 2010. NSM shares fell 1.56 percent to $12.60 and its options volume was 2.8 times greater than average daily levels led by the trading of 6,411 puts vs only 364 calls, according to Trade Alert. Investors focused on the October $14 puts with 2,992 contracts traded but the May $11, May $13, and Oct $13 puts also drew interest, said WhatsTrading.com option strategists Frederic Ruffy.
The stock's option implied volatility rose 3 percent to 33.5 percent and 'it looks like put buyers are taking positions on concerns about weakness in the share price in the months ahead,' said OptionsXpress senior market analyst Joe Cusick.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1607 ET 4Oct2010
Microsoft options volume pops up on downgrade
Microsoft Corp's options volume was 2.2 times greater than its daily average with 175,000 calls and 114,000 puts traded, according to Trade Alert. Its shares dropped nearly 2 percent to $23.91 after Goldman Sachs downgraded the software maker. For details, see
A number of top trades fueled volume. Early on Monday, an investor paid $1.99 for January 2013 $30 calls, which traded 30,000 times, said WhatsTrading.com options strategist Frederic Ruffy. The strike's open interest was 34.400 and the action likely adds to positions opened in late September. On Sept 24, for example, one investor paid $1.90 for 15,000 contracts and another block of 15,500 traded at the $1.99 ask price on Sept. 28, he said.
Brisk options action continued as one player sold 10,000 January 2013 calls at $3.45 each, which may have been tied to stock. Another trader paid 39 cents for Jan 2011 $20 puts on volume of 13,500 contracts, against 203,000 shares at $23.88. A another notable trade is a January $24-$27.5 call spread bought at $1.03, which traded 15,000 times and appeared to be tied to 500,000 shares at $23.81, he said. Implied volatility rose to 28 percent, vs a 52-week high and low of 39 and 20 percent.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.