Today’s tickers: NKE, MDLZ & TIBX
NKE - Nike, Inc. – Weekly call options purchased on Nike yesterday ahead of the footwear and apparel maker’s better-than-expected third-quarter earnings report released after the closing bell on Thursday fetched big overnight profits for some traders, with shares in the name rallying to record highs, up better than 11.5% at $59.79 as of 12:40 p.m. in New York. The change in open interest in the Mar. 28 ’13 $55 strike calls yesterday indicates 3,062 opening positions were initiated. A review of time and sales data suggests most of the volume was purchased at an average premium of $0.84 apiece on Thursday. The sharp rally in NKE shares overnight now finds the premium required to purchase the $55 strike calls has jumped more than five-fold to $4.75 per contract as of the time of this writing. Options traders anticipating more room for the stock to run in the near term purchased more than 3,000 calls at the April $60 strike for an average premium of $0.87 each during the first half of the session. Call buyers may profit at expiration next month as long as shares in Nike top the average breakeven point at $60.87. Overall options volume on the stock is heavier than usual, with upwards of 52,250 contracts in play just before 1:00 p.m. ET, versus the stock’s average daily volume of around 12,000 contracts.
MDLZ - Mondelez International, Inc. – Shares in the world’s largest chocolatier, biscuit baker and candy maker are up sharply on Friday following a report in Britain’s Daily Telegraph said Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management LP has been taking positions in both Mondelez International, Inc. and PepsiCo in recent weeks. The unconfirmed reports cited persons familiar with the matter, and managed to send shares in MDLZ up 4.9% to $29.96, the highest level since the spin-off from Kraft Foods, Inc., last year. Options traders who purchased upside calls on Mondelez yesterday are seeing big overnight gains in the value of their positions today. A review…
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.
