Today’s tickers: C, WLP, ORCL, PCAR, EK, TLB & RVBD

C – Not sure what’s going on at Citigroup today, at least in the options patch. Base salaries might be up 50% for some employees who chose to weather the storm as its share took a battering along the way to ceding some ownership to the government, but one options strategy today could imply better times for the banker within 18 months. Using the January 2011 put options, we spy a 20,000 lot spread in which we observe the 2.5 puts were bought for 74 cents. Against this, we see identical volume at the 7.5 strike, which by the spread definition must have been sold at 4.84. That combination would leave the investor with a credit spread for a premium coming his way of 4.10. Losses accrue beneath a share price of $3.40, which is the point of using the 2.5 strikes to limit losses. If we’re looking at this trade correctly and both sides were opening bargains, then this investor would appear to be predicting better times ahead for Citi on the assumption that it’s getting its house in order. The question mark becomes whether the investor is closing old positions at either strike, where admittedly there is a ton of open interest. – Citigroup Inc.

WLP– The Indiana-based health benefits company edged onto our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner after one investor appears to have established a ratio call spread in the August contract. Shares of the firm are up slightly by about 1.5% to $49.71. Hoping for continued bullish movement, the trader purchased 5,000 calls at the just out-of-the-money August 50 strike price for a premium of 3.50 each and simultaneously sold 10,000 calls at the higher August 55 strike for 1.54 per contract. The net cost of the transaction amounts to 42 cents and yields maximum potential profits of 4.58 if shares can rally up to $55.00 by expiration. The investor would begin to amass profits if shares increase just 71 cents from the current price to surpass the breakeven point at $50.42 by expiration in a couple of months. – WellPoint, Inc.

ORCL – Shares of the second-largest software maker have surged 8% to $21.41 and bullish option traders have taken the rally in stride by getting long call options on the stock in the August contract. The rise in shares is likely fueled by Oracle’s fourth-quarter earnings which…
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