BIDU - Baidu, Inc. – Shares in Baidu are rising for a fourth-consecutive trading session, rising as much as 4.6% during morning trading to $101.26, the highest level in more than one month. One options strategy initiated on the Chinese language Internet search provider today appears to indicate that one trader is bracing for the price of the underlying to potentially surrender recent gains this week. It looks like the trader purchased a bear put spread, buying 1,823 puts at the Jul 19 ’13 $97.5 strike at a premium of $0.77 each, and selling the same number of puts at the Jul 19 ’13 $87.5 strike for a premium of $0.02 apiece. The net cost of the trade amounts to $0.75 per contract. The position potentially becomes profitable if shares in BIDU decline 3.4% from the current price of $100.15 to settle below the effective breakeven price of $96.75 at expiration. Maximum potential profits of $9.25 per contract are available on the spread should shares plunge 12.6% to $87.50. Shares in Baidu last traded below $87.50 in May. Baidu is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings after the closing bell next Wednesday.
TZOO - Travelzoo, Inc. – Trading in Travelzoo options this morning suggests some traders are positioning for shares in the name to continue pushing to the upside in the near term. Shares in the online publisher of travel and entertainment deals rallied as much as 8.3% today to a new 52-week high of $32.39, with just two full trading sessions remaining before the company’s second-quarter earnings report prior to the opening bell on Thursday. Options traders believing that the stock has substantially more room to run during the next four weeks purchased more than 250 calls at the Aug $35 strike for an average premium of $0.52…
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