Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG), and BlackRock, Inc. (BLK) are all making post-earnings moves
Third-quarter earnings season is getting into full swing, with
the latest results from big bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) helping to lift the Dow to a comfortable lead in early trading. Also in focus are quarterly reports from blue chip
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), motorcycle name
Harley-Davidson Inc (NYSE:HOG), and investment firm
BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK). Here's a quick look at how JNJ, HOG, and BLK fared in the earnings confessional, and how options traders are reacting to the stocks' respective post-earnings moves.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Shares of JNJ are down 2.2% at $115.85, after Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) announced it will begin to ship
a discounted version of Johnson & Johnson's rheumatoid arthritis drug, Remicade, by late November. This is overshadowing JNJ's
better-than-expected third-quarter earnings report, with the company unveiling an adjusted profit of $1.68 per share, on revenue of $17.82 billion. Longer term, JNJ is up 18% year-over-year, with today's pullback testing support at the stock's rising 160-day moving average.
In the options pits, volume is running at three times the average intraday pace -- with almost 18,000 contracts on the tape, versus an expected 5,293. Calls have the lead over puts, with 11,055 of the former and 6,639 of the latter traded. Meanwhile, in the wake of this morning's scheduled event, Johnson & Johnson's 30-day at-the-money implied volatility has plunged 7.8% to 14.7%.
Harley-Davidson Inc (NYSE:HOG)
After reporting a drop in third-quarter profit and sales amid what CEO Matt Levatich called "a fiercely competitive environment and an ongoing weak U.S. industry," HOG unveiled
restructuring plans that includes a round of layoffs. At last check, HOG stock was up 6.1% at $52.73. More broadly, the security has added 45% since bottoming at a four-year low of $36.36 in January.
Options traders were initiating long calls over puts at a near-annual-high clip in the weeks leading up to today's results. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Harley-Davidson Inc's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 6.21 ranks just 4 percentage points from a 52-week peak. Today, HOG calls are crossing the tape at seven times what's typically seen at this point in the day, with 7,920 contracts traded, compared to around 4,166 puts.
BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)
BLK said its third-quarter earnings came in
above the consensus estimate, even though CEO Larry Fink said the low-interest environment has been "really tough for our clients," and that the "whole industry is facing what I would call turmoil." The stock is moving higher on the earnings beat, up 0.6% at $356.77. This positive price action is just more of the same for BLK, though, with the shares up more than 27% off their late-January lows near $280.
In BLK's options arena, volume is running at a faster-than-usual clip, although numbers are still light on an absolute basis. Around 700 total options have changed hands -- compared to an average
daily volume of 613. Breaking it down even further, 395 BlackRock, Inc. calls are on the tape, versus 272 puts.
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