Unusual Options Activity

Traders bet on further rally in shares. April 2020 $30 call options on ON Semiconductor Corporation (ON) saw a 28-fold rise in volume, going from 123 open contracts to over 3,400. Expiring in just 94 days, the bet is that shares can rise about another $5 from their current price close to $25, or about 20 percent higher. The option buyer paid about $0.50, or $50 per contract to make the trade, so shares would need to hit $30.50 at expiration to profit ...
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Traders bet on rally in oil giant. $18 call options expiring in March on Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR), also known as Petrobras, saw an 8-fold rise in volume, going from 916 open contracts to having over 7,000 trade hands. The bet, expiring in 67 days, is that shares, just under $16 right now, can head higher by at least $2 at expiration, or about 12.5 percent. Buyers of the option paid just $0.19, or $19 per contract, an inexpensive bet for shares to head ...
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Traders bet on rally in next month. The February $65 call options on The TJX Companies (TJX) saw nearly 8,900 contracts trade hands. With a prior open interest of just 160 contracts, that’s a 56-fold rise in volume. Traders are betting that the company, currently trading around $62.50, to rally another $2.50 in the next 42 days until expiration. The traders paid just $0.65 for the trade, so shares would need to trade a bit closer to $66 at expiration to profit. The TJX ...
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Traders see a big rally in the first half of the year. The June 2020 $52.50 call options on The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW) saw a 10-fold rise in volume, going from 340 open contracts to over 3,475 contracts trade hands. As shares trade closer to $47.50, traders are betting on at least a 10 percent rally in shares before the option expires in the next 162 days. The traders also paid about $1.30 for the contracts on average, meaning shares would need ...
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Traders make in-the-money bearish bet. The March 20th 2020 $14 put options on General Electric (GE) saw a 12-fold rise in volume, going from 855 open contracts to just under 10,000 contracts. The trade, expiring in 72 days, is a bet on shares to decline. But with GE shares around $12, the option is $2 in-the-money, and should increase in value dollar-for-dollar with any decline in GE shares. The option trader paid $2.09, so the option has very little time premium in it. General ...
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Traders bet high oil prices will persist this month. The January 31st $40 call option on BP (BP), saw a 16-fold rise in volume, going from 186 open contracts to nearly 3,000 contracts trade hands. The bet, with shares of BP trading right around $40, will pay off should oil prices continue to trade higher and the energy company goes with it. The call buyer paid about $0.76, or $76 per contract, so BP shares would need to trade to $40.76 to profit ...
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Traders bet on 10 percent jump by late February. The February 21st 2020 $21 call options on Plains GP Holdings (PAGP), saw a whopping 148-fold surge in trading volume. From 124 open contracts, volume saw over 18,400 contracts trading hands. The bet, with shares trading just over $19, implies about a 10 percent move higher for shares in the next 46 days. The call buyer paid just $0.30, or $30 per contract. If shares stay under $21, they will expire worthless. If shares move ...
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Traders bet on rally this month. January 24th call options on Conoco Phillips (COP) with a $66 strike price saw a 34-fold rise in trading volume. Going from 108 open contracts to nearly 3,700, the trade is a bet that shares can move at least $0.50 higher from their current price around $65.50. The call buyer paid just under $1.50 per share for the option, so a move to $67.50 will allow the trade to profit at expiration. Shares of Conoco Phillips have been ...
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