Today’s tickers: VRX, DISH, GE & S
VRX – Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – Shares in Canada’s largest drug maker have lost roughly one-third of their value in just over one week’s time, and it looks like one options player is prepared to see the stock recover somewhat in the next couple of weeks. Valeant’s shares currently trade 6.15% lower on the session at $38.34. The stock fell sharply on Thursday after the company reported lower-than-expected profits for the second quarter. Massive prints in August contract call options point to one player’s optimism for a speedy, albeit limited, rebound in the price of the underlying by expiration this month. It looks like the investor initiated a bull call spread, buying 25,000 now in-the-money calls at the August $38 strike for a premium of $1.75 each, and selling the same number of calls up at the August $43 strike at a premium of $0.45 apiece. The net cost of the trade amounts to $1.30 per contract, thus preparing the options strategist to profit should shares in Valeant increase 2.5% over the current price of $38.34 to surpass the effective breakeven point on the spread at $39.30 by expiration day. Maximum potential profits of $3.70 per contract pad the investor’s wallet if shares in the drug maker gain 12.2% to trade above $43.00 by expiration in two weeks. Options implied volatility on the pharmaceuticals company stands 25.6% higher this afternoon at 67.51% as of 1:40 pm on the East Coast.
DISH – DISH Network Corp. – The sharp pullback in shares of DISH Network today appears to have paid off handsomely for one strategist holding put options on the stock. It looks like the investor more than doubled his money in the past 48 hours by selling puts originally purchased on Wednesday. Shares in…
