Today’s tickers: ORCL, KFT, CLF, JPM, JCP, MCD, ROK, HK, TIE & LXK
ORCL – Oracle Corp. – Options players are initiating bullish stances on software development firm, Oracle Corp., today ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings report scheduled for Thursday after the closing bell. Oracle’s shares rallied 0.95% during the current session to trade at a new 52-week high of $25.80. Medium-term optimists scooped up 10,600 call options at the June $28 strike for an average premium of $0.37 per contract. Perhaps plain-vanilla call buyers foresee continued bullish movement in the price of Oracle’s shares through expiration in June. Investors long the calls accrue profits if shares of the underlying stock surge 10% from the current price to breach the breakeven point at $28.37 by expiration day.
KFT – Kraft Foods, Inc. – Voracious investor appetite for call options on Kraft Foods this afternoon pushed the KFT ticker symbol onto our ‘most active by options volume market scanner’ as shares of the U.S. food maker jumped 2.25% to a new 52-week high of $30.40. It looks like one particularly bullish individual satisfied his hunger for Kraft-calls by purchasing a large chunk of 16,000 contracts at the September $32 strike for a premium of $0.69 apiece. The investor holding the call options is prepared to reel in profits on the position if Kraft’s shares rally another 7.50% from the current value to surpass the breakeven price of $32.69 by expiration day in September.
CLF – Cliffs Natural Resources, Inc. – Shares of iron ore pellet producer, Cliffs Natural Resources, jumped more than 6.00% during the trading day to arrive at a fresh 52-week high of $69.34. Investors celebrated Cliffs’ new high by enacting a plethora of bullish options strategies on the stock. One such individual established a ratio risk reversal in order to cover the cost of taking a long position in Cliffs-calls. The optimistic trader sold 1,500 deep in-the-money put options at the July $75 strike for a premium of $11.50 per contract, and purchased 3,000 calls at the same strike for an average premium of $4.51 each. The reversal player pockets a net credit of $2.48 per contract on the transaction, which he keeps if shares of the underlying stock rally up to or above $75.00 by expiration. Additional profits also accumulate for the trader should shares breach the effective breakeven price of $75.00. Other bullish investors initiated plain-vanilla call buying across several contracts…
