Call buyer bullish into 2022. The January 21st, 2022 $57.50 call options onIntel (INTC), saw over 1,400 contracts trade, a nine-fold surge in volume from the prior open interest. Although the option has 799 days until expiration, the chipmaker’s shares are right at the $57.50 price, which means this option should move dollar-for-dollar higher with shares in the next 26 months, less any decline in time premium. At a price of around $9.20 per contract, the trade allows the call buyer to benefit from a rally in 100 shares while paying less than 20 percent of the price compared to ownersh...

Call buying suggests pop higher this week.The November 15th $98.50 call options onTwilio (TWLO) saw over 8,400 contracts trade, a 44-fold explosion in volume from the prior open interest under 200 contracts. The option, expiring in two days, is about 5 percent out-of-the-money and thus on track to expire at zero. The call buyer expects some kind of move higher, and the call seller expects shares to stay under the strike price. Shares of the cloud communications company fell nearly 3 percent on Tuesday, following a report that one of their biggest clients, WhatsApp, was shifting to other ...

Bet on double-digit drop by year-end. The December 20th $30 put options onKontoor Brands (KTB) saw nearly 15,000 contracts trade recently, a 90-fold explosion in volume from the prior open interest of 166 contracts and a huge sign of confidence for a drop. The bet implies about a 20 percent downside for shares from their current price of $36.00 before year-end. With a price of just $0.53, or $53 per contract, the option has the potential for a huge move if shares drop. Kontoor Brands, which designs and manufactures apparel products under the Wrangler and Lee brands, was recently spun ...

Bet on further rally in shares.The June 2020 $205 call options onAlibaba Group (BABA) saw over 5,200 contracts trade, a 7-fold surge in volume. The trader is betting that shares, currently around $187, will rally about 9.6 percent higher in the next 224 days—a solid bet if some of the trade war truce headlines prove true this time. Based on the price paid by the trader of $12 per contract, they’ll make a profit if shares are at least $217 come expiration. With shares trading only as high as $196 in the past year, it’s a bet not just on a further rally, but on shares making it to new high...

Surge in calls expiring Friday.The November 8th $52 call options onMicron (MU) saw over 2,700 contracts trade against a prior open interest of 256, an 11-fold surge in volume. Given that the option expires on Friday, and with Micron shares around $49.50, shares of the company would need to rally another $2.50 for the option to close in-the-money. As market sentiment has improved on trade issues, tech companies like Micron could move that much higher this week.Action to take: Micron shares certainly look attractive, even near 52-week highs. On a valuation basis, shares trade at just nine tim...

In-the-money puts suggests bearish move ahead.The April 2020 $17 put options onHanesbrands (HBI) saw over 13,700 contracts trade, a 68-fold surge in volume. Oddly, with shares of the company already at $15.50, the option is already about $1.50 in-the-money, and should move dollar-for-dollar with shares lower from here. At a price of $2.70, the put buyer really paid just $1.20 in premium, and shares would need to only slip to $14 for the put buyer to make money by April. Hanesbrands sells simple apparel such as T-shirts, socks, activewear, and so on. Although shares have underperformed th...