Today’s tickers: AXP, EFA, XL, LXK, AVP, WERN, ISRG & CHK

AXP – An investor hoping for a medium-term rally in AXP put on a bullish reversal in the October contract. Shares of the global payments and travel company are currently trading a wee-bit higher, up 0.25% to $28.94. The reversal involved the sale of 7,500 puts at the October 26 strike price for a premium of 1.45 each spread against the purchase of 7,500 calls at the higher October 31 strike for 1.85 apiece. The investor paid a net 40 cents for the transaction. He will realize profits on the trade if shares can rally 9% higher to breach the breakeven point at $31.40 by expiration. Interestingly, we essentially observed the antithesis of the trade we just described, last Friday July 17, 2009. Rather than getting long call options, an investor last week sold calls at the October 30 strike to buy put options at the October 25 strike. The direction in which the price of the underlying moves over the next few months will determine whether today’s bullish reversal or last week’s risk reversal result in profits to those individuals responsible for the trades. – American Express Co.

EFA – Shares of the exchange-traded fund have dipped 0.25% to stand at $47.63 this afternoon. The EFA caught our attention after a couple of bullish reversals were established in the December and January 2010 contracts. One investor sold 5,000 puts at the December 49 strike price for a premium of 3.90 apiece in order to purchase 5,000 calls at the same strike for 2.72 each. The trader received a net credit of 1.18 per contract for the transaction. Additional profits are available if shares rally above $49.00 by expiration at the conclusion of 2009. Another bullish-reversal was enacted at the January 49 strike price, although the trade involved the sale of 1,100 puts against the purchase of 1,100 calls for a net credit of 1.53 to the investor. – iShares MSCI EAFE Index ETF

XL – The provider of insurance and reinsurance coverage edged onto our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner after a large-volume transaction was initiated in the January 2010 contract. Shares of XL are currently off by 2% to $12.53. At first glance, the 20,000 put options purchased at the January 5.0 strike price for 35 cents apiece, smells of bearish. However, it appears that the trade was tied to stock and is…
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