Unusual Options Activity

Over 5,300 contracts traded on a January 2023 $4 call option on General Electric (GE). That’s a 19-fold rise in volume against the prior open interest of just 285 contracts. The option, expiring in 823 days, is over $3 in-the-money, given the current share price at $4. For the option buyer to profit at expiration, shares need to trade at $8 or higher. The trade comes as GE continues to struggle, as profits from its aviation division have dried up, leading to ...
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Over 2,000 contracts traded on January 2023 $30 puts on Wells Fargo (WFC). That’s a 16-fold increase in interest given the prior 122 open contracts in the trade. The puts, which are about $7 in-the-money, expire in 826 days. The long-dated trade, known as a LEAP, is a bet that the bank’s shares will head lower. The trader paid just over $10.00, so shares will need to trade under $20 at expiration for the trade to profit. Shares of the megabank are ...
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Over 3,200 contracts traded on the February 2021 $30 calls on Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp (IPOB). That’s a 28-fold increase in volume from the prior number of open contracts near 117. With shares trading around $26, shares need to rally about 15 percent for the option contract to move in-the-money. The call buyer paid about $3.10 on average for the options, which expire in 127 days. IPOB is a SPAC, a specialty purpose acquisition company. Also known as a “blank check ...
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Over 1,950 contracts traded on the November 27th $25 calls on Carnival Cruise (CCL). The prior open interest on the trade was 137 contracts, showing a 14-fold rise in volume. The trade, expiring in 44 days, has a strike price 75 percent higher than where shares currently trade around $14.25. With that big of a price difference, it’s no surprise that the buyer of the contract only paid about $0.13, or just $13 per contract, on average. As it’s unlikely for shares ...
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Nearly 9,100 contracts traded on the June 2021 $640 calls on Tesla Motors (TSLA) recently. That’s a 12-fold rise over the prior open interest of 766 contracts. The trade, expiring in 248 days, would require shares to rally about 45 percent from their current price. The option buyer paid about $51.90, or $5,190 per contract to make the far out-of-the-money trade. Shares of the company have been one of the top performers in the past year. While a 45 percent move in ...
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Nearly 2,100 contracts traded on the November 20th $110 puts on Xilinx (XLNX) recently. The trades amounted to an 18-fold rise in volume on the trade based on the prior open interest of 114 contracts. Expiring in 39 days, the trade is a bet that shares will shed about $9 from their current price near $119. Shares of the tech company soared on Friday on the announcement that Advanced Micro Devices was in advanced talks to buy the firm. The buyer of ...
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Over 4,100 contracts traded on May 2021 $16 calls on American Airlines (AAL). That’s a 40-fold rise in volume from the prior open interest near 100 contracts. The bet, expiring in 224 days, would require shares to rally to $16 from their current price near $13.50. That’s about an 18.5 percent return. The trader paid about $2.70 for the contracts on average. This bet comes as the airline industry struggles to reach passenger traffic one-third the level of this time a year ...
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With a 33-fold rise in volume on the October 30th $50 calls, one trader is betting on a big move higher in Las Vegas Sands (LVS) this month. With 22 days until expiration, the call would require shares to rally about 10 percent for the trade to move in-the-money. The option buyer paid about $1.26 on average for the option, so shares would need to rally quickly and strongly to offset the declining time premium on the contract. Gaming companies have seen ...
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