Unusual Options Activity

Traders are betting on shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) to move higher into the holiday season. The December 18th, 2020 $15 calls saw over 3,100 contracts trade, about a 27-fold rise in trading compared to the prior open volume. With 78 days to go, and with shares currently just over $15, this option is at-the-money, and should move penny-for-penny higher with shares. The option trader paid about $2.50 per contract, so in order for the buyer to profit at expiration, ...
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Traders are betting on a big move lower in Alibaba (BABA). Over 2,300 contracts traded against an open interest of 133, making for a 19-fold rise in volume. The contracts were for June 2022 $275 puts. With shares trading around $278, these at-the-money puts should move penny-for-penny higher as the stock goes lower. The option has 625 days until expiration. This kind of big, at-the-money, long-dated bet suggests someone expects a drop in the price soon, offering a relatively safe way to ...
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Traders are betting on a big move higher in The Gap (GPS). Over 7,700 contracts traded on the December 2020 $19 calls on shares. That’s a 55-fold rise in volume compared to the prior open interest of 141 contracts. Shares of The Gap trade at $17, so shares need to rise a bit over 10 percent in the next 80 days to move in-the-money. The option traded for $0.67, or $67 per contract, on average. Shares of the retail apparel firm have ...
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Traders are betting on a big move higher in GoPro (GPRO). The July 2021 $5 calls just saw over 2,500 contracts trade, a 24-fold surge in volume over the prior open interest of near 100 contracts. Expiring in 291 days, the bet is that shares will rally over 10 percent from their current price near $4.25. The call buyer paid about $0.84, or $84 per contract, on average. Shares of the "selfie stick" company will need to move over 25 percent higher ...
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The energy sector continues to slide lower, and traders are betting that the trend will continue. A number of bearish trades have been made against Occidental Petroleum (OXY). The most active was the October 30th $10 put. Expiring in just 35 days, shares would need to fall about 3 percent from their current price of $10.30 to move in-the-money. Over 2,153 options traded against an open interest of 111, for a 19-fold rise in volume. The buyer paid about $0.82 per contract, ...
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The November 2020 $27 calls on Snap Inc. (SNAP) saw an 88-fold jump in volume, with over 28,560 contracts trade hands from an open interest of 321. The option, expiring in 57 days, is a bet that shares will rally just under 10 percent from their current price near $25.75. The option buyer paid about $2.29 for the option, so shares would need to trade as high as $29.30 to profit come expiration, a much bigger hurdle. Shares of the social media ...
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The October $132 call options on The Walt Disney Company (DIS) saw a massive surge in trade. Over 8,800 contracts traded hands on Tuesday. Compared to the open interest of 155 contracts, the activity represented a 57-fold rise in volume. With shares around $126, the stock would need to rise just under 5 percent in the next 23 days for the option to close in-the-money. The buyer of the options paid around $1.47, so shares would need to rise closer to $133.50 ...
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The March 2021 $80 call options on Wynn Resorts (WYNN) saw a huge 51-fold surge in volume, with over 10,100 contracts trading hands on Monday against an open interest of just under 200 contracts. The bet, expiring in about six months, would close in-the-money if shares rallied about 10 percent from the current price near $72. The trader buying the contracts paid about $10, or $1,000 per contract. In order to make money at expiration, shares would need to surge up to $90, ...
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