Bullish Options Strategist Tunes Into TiVo

TIVO - TiVo, Inc. – A sizable speculative bullish position was initiated in TiVo options today, though shares in the provider of digital video recording services fell as much as 5.85% at the start of the session to hit an intraday low of $8.53. The large four-legged transaction may be the work of an investor positioning for shares in the name to spike higher should the firm prevail in its legal battle regarding DVR technology against EchoStar and Dish Network. Results of the case are expected in the next couple of months. It looks like three of the four legs of the transaction were sold in order to offset the cost of getting long in-the-money calls expiring in August. The optimistic options player sold 10,000 puts at the August $7.0 strike for a premium of $1.01 each, shed 10,000 calls up at the August $15 strike at a premium of $0.52 apiece, and sold 10,000 calls at the May $20 strike for a premium of $0.06 per contract. The short legs of the trade were marked against the purchase of 10,000 in-the-money calls at the August $8.0 strike for a premium of $2.53 a-pop. Net premium paid to initiate the spread amounts to $0.94 per contract, and prepares the trader to profit should shares in TiVo rally 4.8% over today’s low point of $8.53 to surpass the breakeven price of $8.94 by August expiration. The investor could walk away with hefty maximum potential profits of $6.06 per contract in the event that TIVO’s shares jump 75.85% to trade above $15.00 in the time remaining to expiration. One observation worth mentioning is that the August contract call and put options represent fresh positioning given the tiny levels of previously existing open interest at each strike. But, the fourth leg of the trade, the May $20 strike calls, have more than 41,000 open positions. The trader could be rolling the calls out to the August contract, or closing…