Today’s tickers: HGSI, AET, DTV, EEM, CMG, XLE, GE & NKE
HGSI – Option plays executed late in the trading session drew our attention to biopharmaceutical company, Human Genome Sciences, Inc. Shares of HGSI are currently off slightly by less than 0.25% to $18.80. The first transaction appears to be the work of an investor expecting volatility on Human Genome Sciences to decline. The trader initiated a sold straddle by selling 20,000 calls at the October 19 strike for 80 cents each, in combination with the sale of 20,000 puts at the same strike for 80 pennies apiece. The gross premium pocketed by the investor amounts to 1.60 per contract for a total of $3,200,000. The total amount of premium on the straddle strategy is retained by the trader as long as the stock settles at $19.00 by expiration next month. Perhaps the investor is selling into today’s higher volatility reading of 123% from 106% at the start of the week. We note that the transaction could be interpreted in another manner. It is possible that this investor is bearish on HGSI and thus executing a reversal play. If this is the case, the trader sold 20,000 calls for 80 cents in order to buy 20,000 puts for 80 cents each. If the trade was a bearish risk reversal, the investor offset the cost of getting long the put options by selling the calls and put on the trade for free. Profits to the downside will increase for the trader if shares decline beneath $19.00 by expiration. – Human Genome Sciences, Inc. –
AET – The health care benefits company popped onto our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner after one investor shed a large chunk of call options in the November contract. A number of health care benefits/insurance firms experienced share price declines today perhaps after the Senate Finance Committee rejected two amendments to put a public health-insurance option into the committee’s health-system reform proposal on Tuesday. Shares of AET are trading 1% lower to $27.96. Approximately 20,000 calls were sold short at the November 31 strike for an average premium of 92 cents apiece. The investor responsible for the sale may have executed the trade for a number of reasons. One possibility is that the trader is long the stock and adding income to his portfolio by selling covered calls. Another viable explanation is that the investor is short the stock…
