Your intraday options trading update
High Options Volume by Strike
Top strikes are held for most part by Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) as it goes ex-dividend tomorrow and professional traders are trying to either grab the dividend or avoid having to pay it. Owners of PFE at close of trading today will be eligible for a 20 cent dividend. The largest volume is in the PFE May11 20 Call up .12 to .75 on 504,807 contracts. PFE is up .20 to 20.80.
Boeing (NYSE: BA) trading up with its BA May 11 75 Call trading more than 205,000 options, up .25 to 4.95. BA is up .28 to 79.92, very near 52-week high of 80.65.
The old Citigroup (NYSE: C) still finding fans as the C1 Dec11 4.5 Call trades down .01 to .34 on 150,000-some contracts. The new? Citi is trading at 44.05, down .11. Citi implemented its 10-for-1 reverse stock split over the weekend.
Major Stock Trading Volume Movers
CKX Inc. (NASDAQ: CKXE) is up 1 to 5.45 on nearly 35 million shares. Apollo Global management makes $5.50 per share bid for CKX in deal valued around $509 million. CKX is “entertainment content” firm, owns rights to the use of Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali names and images.
Biomimetic Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BMTI) trades about 5 million shares as tock drops 4.67 to 8.72 as the company’s bone-graft product Augment is up for regulatory approval on Thursday. Reports of an announcement this afternoon
Dean Foods (NYSE: DF) reported results and raised its full year outlook and traders send stock higher 1.33 to 12.31 on more than 19 million shares. Dean profits hit 14 cents a share, or $25.3 million, while analysts had predicted 6 cents per share earnings.
Find more option analysis and trading ideas at Options Trading Strategies.
Stocks/Underlying – Big Daily Change in Option Volume
Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) trades 23,135 option contracts, a 2700% rise, as stock trades up .27 to 28.67. SE also is going ex-dividend tomorrow, with owners at today’s close eligible for a dividend of 26 cents per share. Spectra is a natural gas firm.
Unilever (NYSE: UN) is up .58 to 33.21 and trades 3368 options, a 2500% rise. Unilever officially completed its $3.7 billion acquisition of Alberto Culver today.
Titanium Metals (NYSE: TIE) trades more than 31,000 options as stock rises .30 to 19.80. The stock is reportedly near its 200-day moving average.
Stocks/Underlying – High Option Volume
The SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) has option volume of about 541,000 contracts as it trades up .74 to 135.46. The Standard & Poor’s Index Options (CBOE: SPX) is up 6.69 to 1352.98 on nearly 308,000 option contracts.
The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) trades more than 320,000 options as it continues rebound, rising .60 to 37.58. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) rallies some too, up .50 to 147.88 on 53,000 options.
The CBOE Volatility Index (CBOE: VIX) is down .78 to 16.38 with 139,000 options traded against the index.
New Citigroup (NYSE: C) trades 133,000 options as underlying moves down .11 to 44.05.
Burney Simpson is the managing editor of InvestorPlace options pages.
