Home Site Map About Us My Account Shopping Cart Help Sign In

Option Activity Alert: Hopes Are High for The Blackstone Group L.P.

Traders are placing their bets on an impressive third-quarter earnings report

by Elizabeth Harrow (eharrow@sir-inc.com) 10/30/2009 1:30 PM

Text Size |

Email a friend |

Print |

Keywords:

Bullish bettors took a long-term approach yesterday with The Blackstone Group L.P. (BX: sentiment, chart, options). During the course of the session, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 1,742 calls on BX, compared to just 35 puts. A closer look at the day's activity reveals that call speculators set their sights on the equity's March 2010 series.

BX SOIR Specifically, BX's March 16 call saw 7,225 contracts cross the tape, with 68% of these calls trading at the ask price. Implied volatility rose 0.3% as a result, and open interest at this strike surged overnight by 6,361 contracts. The 16-strike call is now home to a total of 7,767 contracts, establishing it as the site of peak call open interest for the March 2010 series.

The bias toward bullish bets has been steadily increasing in BX's option pits, with the stock's 10-day ISE call/put volume ratio most recently arriving at 8.47. Not only does this ratio reveal that calls bought to open have easily outnumbered puts during the past two weeks, it also ranks higher than about 72% of other such readings taken within the previous year. In other words, traders on this exchange have snapped up calls over puts at a faster pace less than 30% of the time.

In keeping with this upbeat attitude, BX's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) checks in today at 0.51, with calls nearly doubling puts among options set to expire within three months. This ratio ranks in the paltry 14th annual percentile, as short-term speculators have rarely been more optimistically aligned.

BX short interest These high expectations for BX are highlighted by the security's near-term open interest configuration. Peak call open interest for November rests at the out-of-the-money 15 strike, with 6,475 contracts outstanding. Meanwhile, in the December series, peak call open interest of 22,392 contracts is docked at the deeper out-of-the-money 17 strike.

By contrast, put open interest is relatively thin. The November 15 strike carries peak put open interest of just 2,562 contracts, while the December 18 put is home to 6,100 open positions. This bias toward in-the-money puts and out-of-the-money calls underscores the fact that not many speculators are expecting the shares to slide during the coming months.

Elsewhere, short sellers have been backing away from their bearish bets on BX. Short interest on the equity plummeted by almost 16% during the past month, and shorted shares now account for just 1.7% of the stock's available float.

Discuss this article:

Post your own comment

Option Activity Alert: Skepticism Builds Toward Chevron Corporation

(11/20/2009 2:05:53 PM)

Puts are quickly becoming the options of choice on Chevron Corporation (CVX: sentiment, chart, options). On Thursday, speculators on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 3,102 puts on the oil major, compared to just 400 calls. The stock's single-day put/call volume ratio arrived at 7.76, as traders snapped up nearly eight times more puts than calls.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Pessimistic Players Pummel Warner Chilcott Plc

(11/20/2009 11:32:34 AM)

Warner Chilcott Plc (WCRX: sentiment, chart, options) has become a favorite target of put players. During the past 10 days, speculators on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) have bought to open 2.90 puts for every call on WCRX. In other words, bearish bets have nearly tripled their bullish counterparts during the past two weeks. This reading ranks in the 100th annual percentile, revealing that traders are purchasing puts over calls at a more rapid pace than any other time during the past year.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Skepticism Creeps In on Peabody Energy Corporation

(11/18/2009 11:43:05 AM)

Put options have rarely been more popular on Peabody Energy Corporation (BTU: sentiment, chart, options). On Tuesday, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 1,970 puts on BTU, compared to just 162 calls. The stock's single-day put/call volume ratio of 12.16 reveals that speculative investors scooped up more than a dozen bearish bets for every bullish contract.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Call Volume Rises on United States Natural Gas Fund, LP

(11/17/2009 2:45:59 PM)

Call options are steadily gaining popularity on United States Natural Gas Fund, LP (UNG: sentiment, chart, options). On Monday, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 4,252 calls on the exchange-traded fund (ETF), compared to 1,557 puts. In short, nearly three times more calls than puts were purchased.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Bulls Bombard Apple Inc.

(11/17/2009 11:50:07 AM)

Apple Inc. (AAPL: sentiment, chart, options) is becoming a favorite target of call players. On Monday, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 17,088 calls on the iPhone parent, compared to just 4,079 puts. In other words, speculators snapped up 4.19 times more bullish bets than bearish.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Rising Bullish Speculation on Rosetta Resources Inc.

(11/16/2009 1:00:45 PM)

Buy-to-open call volume has been steadily building on Rosetta Resources Inc. (ROSE: sentiment, chart, options). During the past 10 days, speculators on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) have bought to open 163.46 calls for every put on the equity, revealing a hefty skew toward bullish bets over their bearish counterparts. This ratio ranks higher than all other such readings taken during the past year, indicating that traders have attained an annual optimistic peak.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Traders Have Their Doubts About VMware, Inc.

(11/16/2009 12:30:29 PM)

Bearish sentiment appears to be rising toward VMware, Inc. (VMW: sentiment, chart, options). On Friday, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 1,551 puts on VMW, compared to just 165 calls. The stock's single-day put/call volume ratio of 9.40 reveals that bearish option buys easily outpaced their bullish counterparts.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Put Volume Picks Up on Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.

(11/13/2009 2:00:09 PM)

Put volume has been accelerating lately on Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX: sentiment, chart, options). During the past 10 days, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) have bought to open 0.94 put for every call on FCX. While calls purchased have narrowly outnumbered puts during the past two weeks, this ratio actually ranks higher than 81.1% of other such readings taken during the previous year. In other words, option traders have snapped up puts over calls at a faster pace only about 19% of the time.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Garners Bullish Attention

(11/13/2009 12:08:18 PM)

Calls have been the options of choice lately on Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS: sentiment, chart, options). On Thursday, Nov. 12, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 4,113 calls on GS, compared to 3,829 puts. The equity's single-day call/put volume ratio of 1.07 indicates that bullishly oriented options were in slightly greater demand than their bearish counterparts.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Call Buying Spikes on Assured Guaranty Ltd.

(11/12/2009 1:15:19 PM)

Call volume has been unusually heavy lately on Assured Guaranty Ltd. (AGO: sentiment, chart, options). In fact, on Wednesday alone, call activity surged to 37 times the usual levels, with 27,000 contracts crossing the tape. Yesterday's activity was no anomaly, though -- the International Securities Exchange (ISE) reports that traders have bought to open 19,953 calls on AGO during the past five days, compared to just four puts.

read more...

SchaeffersResearch.com can alert you to new articles containing your favorite authors, ticker symbols or keywords. Enter your favorite authors, ticker symbol or keyword and click go.

Today's Most Popular Stories

Read

Emailed

Editor's Pick

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: Thoughts on Hedging, Volatility 11/19/2009 4:15 PM

Options Edge: Goldman Sachs, Nokia, DryShips, and NIKE 11/20/2009 9:29 AM

The Option Coach: Strategies in Review 11/20/2009 1:25 PM

Trading Tools to Build Your Portfolio: A Bearish Bet on Best Buy Co., Inc. 11/20/2009 3:00 PM

Featured Companies

The Blackstone Group Lp (BX)

Add to Watchlist

Add Alert

Receive FREE access to Schaeffer�s

premier online options magazine!

Podcasting

Videocasting

	Schaeffer's Daily Q&A: What Is Put Selling Nov 20 2009 4:12 PM
Options Stew: A Taste of the Week's Spiciest Pl... View More...

Partner Center

<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/ff2.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=166;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=166;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/ff2.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=167;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=167;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/ff2.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=168;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=168;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/ff2.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=169;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=169;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>
<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/ff2.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=174;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=174;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/fo.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=171;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=171;s=0;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/ff2.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=172;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=172;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/fo.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=173;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=173;s=0;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>

Monday Morning Outlook:
Prepare for the investing week ahead. Every week, Bernie and his staff provide you with their insight about what has happened and, more importantly, what will happen in the market. We dig deep and show you what's happening behind the scenes, and tell you which indicators are predicting major market moves.

Market Recap:
At the end of every market day, we review the trading day in detail, covering major events and key market developments. Don't miss this critical, timely and insightful report.

Opening View:
Every morning, our research staff analyzes the prior day and the overnight markets, and monitors the morning wires to give you an accurate preview of the day to come. delivered to your inbox before the opening bell.

First Name Add your first name Last Name Add your last name Email Add a valid address Password Min. size 4 chars

I would like to be contacted periodically by Schaeffer's Investment Research concerning its own products and services, and those of carefully selected advertisers. I understand that I can opt-out of further messages at any time.

� 2009 Schaeffer's Investment Research, Inc. 5151 Pfeiffer Road, Suite 250, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
Phone: (800) 448-2080 FAX: (513) 589-3810 Int'l Callers: (513) 589-3800 Email: service@sir-inc.com

Option Activity Alert: Hopes Are High for The Blackstone Group L.P.

Traders are placing their bets on an impressive third-quarter earnings report

by Elizabeth Harrow (eharrow@sir-inc.com) 10/30/2009 1:30 PM

BX

stocks

options