Today’s tickers: JPM, XLB & SWI
JPM – JPMorgan Chase & Co. – Shares in JPMorgan Chase & Co. are down 1.6% at $34.01 in early-afternoon trade, but the stock is just one among many slipping lower ahead of Wednesday’s meeting of euro-zone officials in Brussels. One strategist’s large stake initiated in Jan. 2012 contract put options on JPM this morning may be a hedge against steep declines in the price of the underlying into next year. It looks like one investor purchased 8,000 puts at the Jan. 2012 $24 strike for a premium of $0.62 each. The investor profits at expiration in the event that JPM’s shares drop 31.25% to breach the effective breakeven point at $23.38. The stock dipped to as low as $27.85 on October 4, and has since rebounded some 22.1% up to the current price of $34.01. The value of the deep out-of-the-money puts may rise sharply if JPMorgan’s shares head back down toward the lows of the month ahead of expiration. The stock hasn’t traded below $23.38 since March 2009.
XLB – Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF – The XLB popped up on our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner this morning after one investor established a large bearish stance in the front month. Shares in the XLB, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the performance of the Materials Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index, fell 0.55% to $33.98 by 12:40 pm in New York. The fund’s three largest holdings, EI du Pont de Nemours, Monsanto and Freeport McMoRan, are all in the red this afternoon. It looks like the strategist responsible for more than half of total volume in XLB options today purchased the majority of the more than 56,000 puts exchanged at the Nov. $32 strike thus far in the session. It appears the investor snapped up some 53,000 puts at that strike for an average premium of $0.79 each. The put buyer may profit at expiration next month if shares in the fund slide 8.15% to trade beneath the effective breakeven price of $31.21. Shares in the XLB had traded down to a 52-week low of $27.77 as recently as October 4. Options implied volatility on the SPDR fund is up 5.6% at 35.8% in early-afternoon trade.
SWI – SolarWinds, Inc. – One call-seller targeting the software company today sees little chance the stock will make new record highs any time soon. Shares in SolarWinds are…
