Mid-day Flow Summary: AMZN, FITB & CYPB
Amazon (AMZN)
Amazon options are trading at twice their daily average pace, and lead the single-stock options market with over 100,000 contracts on the tape at noon. The stock is up nearly 6% to $72.95 and has had a spectacular run since earnings last month when the stock was trading near $45.
Todayís activity shows traders positioning for continued upside, with bullish call-buyers and put-sellers focusing on out of the money strikes. Nearly 20,000 June 70 puts have traded thus far, including a multi-market sweep of 1350 contracts at $2.60. In addition, June 67.5 Calls are being bought, with a total of 16,000 on the day at prices from $4 to $5 as the stock lifted.
Todayís activity shows traders positioning for continued upside, with bullish call-buyers and put-sellers focusing on out of the money strikes. Nearly 20,000 June 70 puts have traded thus far, including a multi-market sweep of 1350 contracts at $2.60. In addition, June 67.5 Calls are being bought, with a total of 16,000 on the day at prices from $4 to $5 as the stock lifted.
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Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB)
FITB options are showing unusual activity today, as the stock is up 3.8% to $43.02 and 11,000 contracts have traded versus average daily levels of just 1000. Todayís activity is concentrated in upside call buying, involving the 45 strike in June, July, and August.
Several thousand of each strike has traded so far, with the June 45s starting at 10 cents and trading up to $.30 without much motion in the stock. This stock has been mentioned in deal chatter over the past months, and the movement in the options prices suggests increased volatility over the short term.
UPDATE: at 1:49pm a large call buyer paid the $.35 ask for 2000 June 45 Calls in an opening transaction on the ISE making total volume of 6000 on the day.
Several thousand of each strike has traded so far, with the June 45s starting at 10 cents and trading up to $.30 without much motion in the stock. This stock has been mentioned in deal chatter over the past months, and the movement in the options prices suggests increased volatility over the short term.
UPDATE: at 1:49pm a large call buyer paid the $.35 ask for 2000 June 45 Calls in an opening transaction on the ISE making total volume of 6000 on the day.
Cypress Bioscience Inc (CYPB)
Company stock has nearly doubled to $16.36 today on positive drug trial news. Its trading triple its normal option volume and 24x its normal stock volume. Today weíve seen 91,000 contracts trade with action in deep calls and spreads as traders adjust their books for the post-event landscape.
Yesterday (when the stock was at $8.44) 15,000 June 7.5 calls traded on the ISE at $2.85, or nearly 300% implied vol. That trade appears to have been seller initiated and much of todayís activity may involve adjusting and/or offsetting of that position.
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Yesterday (when the stock was at $8.44) 15,000 June 7.5 calls traded on the ISE at $2.85, or nearly 300% implied vol. That trade appears to have been seller initiated and much of todayís activity may involve adjusting and/or offsetting of that position.
About Henry Schwartz
Henry Schwartz has traded derivatives on US and European exchanges for nearly 20 years. His experience includes market-making and institutional trading at the Hull Group, Salomon Brothers, Bear Stearns and most recently Banc of America Securities, where he led the electronic market-making project coincident with the launch of the ISE. His current work involves real-time stream analysis of options market activity for a number of leading institutional sell-side firms.
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