Monday’s Vital Data: Facebook Inc (FB), Twitter Inc (TWTR) and Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)

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Slowing growth in China took its toll on U.S. corporate earnings on Friday, with several lackluster reports creating a catalyst for yet another losing week on Wall Street. Overall, the S&P 500 has posted losses in four of the past five weeks.

Not surprisingly, puts remained popular on the CBOE on Friday, with the exchange’s single-session equity put/call volume ratio rising to another one-week high of 0.86, while the 10-day moving average rose to 0.66.

In equity news, social media darlings Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) saw a spike in options activity ahead of this week’s quarterly earnings reports. Meanwhile, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) stock continued to see profit taking despite bullish research notes projecting that U.S. streaming habits could rise significantly in the next few years.

Monday’s Vital Data: Facebook Inc (FB), Twitter Inc (TWTR) and Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)

Facebook Inc (FB)

Social media giant Facebook is slated to release its second-quarter earnings figures after the close of trading on Wednesday. Wall Street is currently looking for earnings to rise nearly 16% to 47 cents per share, with revenue seen spiking 37% to $4.03 billion. Whispers among the brokerage community, however, place expectations closer to 49 cents per share, according to EarningsWhisper.com.

Options volume on FB stock hit a short-term high for the equity, with more than a half-million contracts crossing the tape on Friday. Calls were the overwhelming favorite, accounting for 74% of Friday’s volume. Looking at weekly July 31 series options, traders have zeroed in on the overhead $100, $98 and $97 strikes, which sport peak open interest of 43,686, 15,113 and 10,912 contracts, respectively. On the put side, the deep out-of-the-money $90 strike claims OI of 7,832 contracts.

Twitter Inc (TWTR)

For maybe the first time in the past quarter, TWTR stock has battled its way onto the most active options listing without being the target of a takeover rumor. Twitter is slated to release its second-quarter earnings figures after the close of trading tomorrow afternoon, with Wall Street looking for a 50% jump in earnings to 4 cents per share. Revenue of $481.13 million is also expected.

In the options pits, some 149,000 TWTR contracts traded on Friday, with calls gaining a slight edge in the final total. That said, Twitter calls are currently more than twice as popular overall as puts, with the stock’s total put/call open interest ratio coming in at 0.42. In the weekly July 31 series, those calls are perched at the overhead $40 strike (7,202 contracts) and the $44 strike (5,537 contracts).

Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)

NFLX stock has shed more than 7% after hitting an all-time high of $117.88 after last week’s quarterly earnings report. Profit taking has pushed the shares south of potential support at $110, despite bullish reports like the one from Moffett Nathanson Research. According to Moffett Nathanson, Netflix could see consumer viewing hours double or even triple by 2019. That said, the research group sees quite a bit of these new viewing hours coming from existing customers, which could allow Netflix raise prices.

NFLX stock had seen high levels of call volume up until recently. On Friday, 209,565 contracts traded on the stock, though puts now account for 54% of the overall take on NFLX. Additionally, the stock’s total put/call open interest ratio has risen to a perch at 1.01, with puts and calls in virtual parity with one another among all current open interest.

As of this writing, Joseph Hargett did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2015/07/mondays-vital-data-facebook-inc-fb-twitter-inc-twtr-netflix-inc-nflx-options/.

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