It’s time to review several stocks that had unusual options activity over the last week. Although traders can never be sure why these trades take place (and who’s making them), I believe it’s important to be aware of notable options activity as an indicator for directional bias.
Here’s a weekly recap of 10 stocks that had unusual options activity and what, if any, significance these trades may have.
Unusual Options Activity: 10 Stocks With Notable Trades
Monday
Urban Outfitters (URBN) – 6,000 Aug $32 puts were purchased for $1.07-$1.30. Put activity on Urban Outfitters (URBN) was 7x the average daily volume. Urban Outfitters are due to report earnings on August 17th (shares fell 15% on the last report).
SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) – There was a rollout from 18,180 Sep 18 $39 puts ($3.20 credit) into 28,800 Sep 18 $36 puts ($1.78 debit). On July 22nd, the Sep 18 $39 puts were bought for $2.12. Holly Frontier, PBF Energy, Tesoro, and Valero Energy are the top holdings in the ETF.
Tuesday
Gap (GPS) – 13,000 Sep 18 $35 puts were bought for $0.88-$1.01. Gap (GPS) earnings are due out on August 20th. On August 4th, Buckingham Research lowered their price target on Gap to $33 from $37. Shorts are currently just under 9% of the float. The owner of Old Navy, Banana Republic, and of course Gap has saw their U.S. apparel market share fall from 5.1% to 4.7% in the last five years.
Post Holdings (POST) – There was a rollout from 7,300+ Sep $45 calls ($8.60 credit) into 14,000+ Dec $60 calls ($2.51 debit). On August 6th, the owner of Golden Crisp, Honey-Comb, and Pebbles reported Q3 EPS of $0.27 vs the $0.20 estimate on revenue of $1.21B vs the $1.23B estimate (+91.4% year over year increase). Post Holdings (POST) increased FY15 EBITDA guidance to $635M-$650M from $585B-$610M.
Wednesday
Baxter International (BAX) – There was a rollout from 5,696 Aug 21 $40 calls ($2.45 credit) into 8,142 Jan 2016 $42.50 calls ($2.45 debit). Dan Loeb’s Third Point disclosed a 9.6% stake in Baxter International (BAX) – its largest shareholder.
Fastenal (FAST) – 5,000 Sep $40 puts were purchased for $0.65. Shares of Fastenal (FAST) are setting up for a retest of the $39. If support doesn’t hold it could mean a deeper correction for Fastenal, perhaps down to $35-$37.
Thursday
Arista Networks (ANET) – The Aug $85/$90 bull call spread was put on 2,500 times for a $1.60 debit. On August 7th, SunTrust upped their price target on Arista Networks (ANET) to $105 from $100. Later that evening the company reported better than expected Q2 results and issued strong Q3 guidance.
SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) – More than 10,000 Aug 21 $97.50 puts were bought for $1.19-$1.26. XRT (top holdings for the retail ETF include Amazon, Netflix, NutriSystem, and Walgreens Boots Alliance) closed below the 200-day simple moving average last week for the first time since October.
Friday
Sherwin-Williams (SHW) – The Jan 2016/Mar 2016 $300 call calendar was put on 5,000 times for a $2.20 debit. He/she is lowering the cost basis to $302.20, but doesn’t upside above $300 until after January 2016 options expiration.
Target (TGT) – There was a rollout from 5,000 Aug 14 weekly $80 puts ($1.62 credit) into 7,500 Aug 14 weekly $78.50 puts ($0.77 debit). He/she remains bearish on Target (TGT), but is taking some profits off of the table as expiration nears (paid $0.79-$1.05 on August 4th for the $80’s). Major support for Target stock price resides down at the $75.95 level.
Thanks for reading and have a great week!
Twitter: Â @MitchellKWarren
No position in any of the securities mentioned at the time of publication. Â Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author, and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.
