Implied Volatility Mover
Herbalife (HLF) is a big mover and implied volatility in the options on the stock is higher after activist investor Carl Icahn reportedly took a 13 percent stake in the company. The stock is up $4.43 to $42.70 on heavy turnover of 17.5 million shares. Meanwhile, 92,000 calls and 89,000 puts traded in HLF, which is 4X the daily average. May 22.5 puts and Feb 45 calls are the most actives, and 30-day implied volatility jumped 10 percent to 75.5.
Volume Signals
Herbalife (HLF) options volume is running 3.5X the (22-day) average, with 161,000 contracts traded and put volume accounting for 51 percent of the volume.
TJX options volume is 14X, the average daily, with 57,000 contracts traded and call volume representing almost all of the activity.
Walmart (WMT) options volume is running 2.5X the average daily, with 32,000 contracts traded and put volume accounting for 51 percent of the activity.
Increasing options activity is also being seen in Gap Stores (GPS), Monster Beverage (MNST), and CenturyLink (CTL).
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