Today’s tickers: PCX, RSH, SA & EK
PCX – Patriot Coal Corp. – Options traders are placing bullish and bearish bets on the coal company today with roughly one week remaining before the firm reports fourth-quarter earnings ahead of the opening bell next Tuesday. Shares in Patriot Coal are up 3.8% at $24.05 as of 12:10pm in New York. One bullish player hoping to see PCX shares gravitate toward the January 14, 2011, 52-week high of $27.35, initiated a near-term call spread. The investor picked up approximately 4,700 now in-the-money calls at the February $24 strike for an average premium of $1.58 each, and sold about the same number of calls at the higher February $27 strike at an average premium of $0.67 apiece. Net premium paid to establish the bullish spread amounts to $0.91 per contract. Thus, the trader starts to make money if Patriot’s shares rally another 3.6% over the current price of $24.05 to surpass the average breakeven price of $24.91 by February expiration. Maximum potential profits of $2.09 per contract are available to the investor should shares in PCX jump 12.3% to trade above $27.00 by expiration day next month. Out-of-the-money put options in the front month were also popular with Patriot players in the first half of the session. One options strategist with a more pessimistic view enacted a ratio put spread on the stock ahead of the earnings report. The trader purchased around 1,100 puts at the February $22 strike at an average premium of $1.21 each, and sold 2,200 puts at the lower February $20 strike for an average premium of $0.56 a-pop. The net cost of the ratio spread amounts to just $0.09 per contract. The investor responsible for the spread profits if PCX shares decline 8.9% to slip beneath the average breakeven price of $21.91, and may make up to $1.91 per contract should shares plunge 16.8% to settle at $20.00 at expiration day. The sale of twice as many lower-strike puts exposes the put player to losses in the event that Patriot Coal’s shares drop 24.8% to trade below the lower breakeven price of $18.09 before the contracts expire in February.
