T – AT&T Inc. – Heavy trading traffic in AT&T put options today indicates at least one strategist is bracing for the price of the underlying stock to potentially slump to fresh 52-week lows during the next couple of months. Shares in AT&T, down more than 13% since late April, are off 0.80% on the session at $33.61 as of 12:15 p.m. in New York trading. The wireless carrier popped up on our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner this morning after one strategist purchased roughly 20,000 of the Oct $31 puts for a premium of $0.25 apiece. The trade may be an outright bearish bet that shares in AT&T continue to fall in the near term, or could be a hedge to protect a long position in the underlying stock. The puts make money at expiration if shares in the telecommunications company drop 8.5% from the current price of $33.61 to breach the effective breakeven point on the downside at $30.75. The stock last traded below $30.75 in April of 2012.
HCP – HCP, Inc. – Options changing hands on healthcare REIT, HCP, Inc., on Wednesday morning look for shares in the name to rally during the next couple of months. The stock, down more than 20% from an all-time high of $53.06 reached in May, trades 0.80% higher on the session at $40.30 as of 11:40 a.m. ET. Trading traffic in HCP call options indicates some traders are positioning for the price of the underlying to rebound. The most actively traded contracts by volume today are the Oct $45 strike calls, with more than 5,000 call options in play against open interest of 1,902 contracts. It looks like much of the volume was purchased for an average premium of $0.22 apiece, thus positioning buyers to profit…
This article will become free after 48 hours (see below for free content). To read the rest of this article now, along with Phil's live intra-day comments, live trading ideas, Phil's market calls, additional member comments, and other members-only features - Subscribe to Phil's Stock World by clicking here.
