Today’s tickers: FLEX, NXY, XRT & HON
FLEX – Flextronics International, Ltd. – A sizeable short straddle initiated on Singapore-based Flextronics International this morning indicates one options player expects to see limited fluctuations in the price of the underlying shares through January 2011 expiration. Shares in Flextronics, which manufactures thousands of electronic devices, are up 0.45% at $6.90 as of 12:05 pm after Singapore reported a surge in exports in the month of October. The straddler sold 10,000 calls at the January 2011 $7.5 strike for a premium of $0.26 each in combination with the sale of 10,000 puts at the same strike for a premium of $0.81 a-pop. Gross premium pocketed on the straddle amounts to $1.07 per contract. The investor keeps the full amount of premium received if FLEX shares settle at $7.50 at expiration. Short positions taken in both call and put options expose the trader to losses in the event that shares shift significantly away from the selected strike price. Losses start to amass if shares rally above the upper breakeven price of $8.57, or if shares slip beneath the lower breakeven point at $6.43 ahead of expiration. Flextronics’ overall reading of options implied volatility is up 8.3% at 41.57% as of 12:10 pm.
NXY – Nexen, Inc. – Contrarian trading in longer-dated call options on the Canadian oil and natural gas company appears to be the work of an optimistic strategist expecting Nexen’s shares to rebound ahead of June 2011 expiration. Nexen’s shares are currently down 5.4% to stand at $21.00 as of 11:35 am in New York. At an investor conference this morning the firm’s CEO said Nexen will likely focus on developing existing holdings rather than pursuing additional acquisitions. Yesterday Nexen revealed plans to spend roughly $2.4 to $2.7 billion next year to promote…
