Monday’s Vital Data: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Facebook Inc (FB) and Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX)

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U.S. stock futures are pointed higher this morning, as Wall Street looks to eke out one more positive week before many traders take a break for the holidays. The Federal Reserve remains in focus Monday morning, with Fed Board Chair Janet Yellen set to speak this afternoon, but diplomatic tensions with China loom large in the background.

Heading into the open, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.15%, while S&P 500 futures have added 0.12% and Nasdaq-100 futures have risen 0.14%.

On the options front, volume came in just above average for the past three weeks, with December expiration providing the extra kick. Overall, about 18.8 million calls and 16.5 million puts changed hand on Friday. On the CBOE, the single-session equity put/call volume ratio continued to move higher following its recent one-year low, coming in at 0.62. The the 10-day moving average ticked lower once again, however, tagging yet another fresh two-year low of 0.56.

Turning to Friday’s volume leaders, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) saw increased call volume after being reiterated with a $155 price target. Meanwhile, Facebook Inc’s (NASDAQ:FB) advertising woes continued after it said it underreported iPhone traffic for some publishers. Finally, Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX) took a nosedive after selling Gulf of Mexico oil prospects and moving into Indonesian mining.

Monday’s Vital Options Data: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Facebook Inc (FB) and Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX)

Apple Inc. (AAPL)

In what could be the end of an era for Apple bulls, Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster concluded his coverage on AAPL stock on Friday by reiterating his “overweight” rating and $155 price target on the shares. Munster has been an Apple mega bull since 2004, and remains optimistic on AAPL stock “despite flat overall smartphone demand.”

AAPL options traders appeared to take heed in Munster’s plea, as call volume swelled to an above average 65% of the nearly 1.1 million contracts traded on Friday. However, AAPL puts have gained sway in the weekly Dec. 23 series, with the put/call open interest ratio rising to a perch at 0.84 in recent weeks.

It would appear that options traders are hedging their bets on a Santa Claus rally, especially with peak AAPL put OI for the series residing at the near-the-money $115 strike, totaling more than 45,000 contracts.

Facebook Inc (FB)

Speaking of Apple, it seems Facebook underreported iPhone traffic for its Instant Articles platform between Sept. 20 and Nov. 30. Traffic numbers for iPad and Android devices were not affected. Facebook apologise for the error, but the company now has a growing image issue when it comes to overstating ad revenue and miscalculating ad metrics, as this marks the third such issue in the past several months.

In fact, FB stock options traders took notice on Friday. Total volume arrived at 547,000 contracts, with calls accounting for only 59% of the day’s take — well below FB’s average daily call volume percentage near 64% to 65%. That said, short-term optimism is still running high on FB stock.

Specifically, the weekly Dec. 23 series put/call OI ratio arrives at 0.62, with calls nearly doubling puts among options set to expire at the end of this week. In particular, call traders have their sights set on FB taking out $120, with more than 10,000 call contracts currently open at this strike in the series.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX)

FCX stock was smacked for a loss of more than 5% on Friday, as traders took issue with a pair of moves by the company. First, Freeport sold its deepwater properties in the Gulf of Mexico — just as oil prices are rebounding.

Second, the company said it is pushing ahead with a mining project in Indonesia, despite regulatory issues in the country that could increase costs.

Freeport options traders piled on by loading up on FCX puts on Friday. Total volume came in at 337,000 contracts, with puts snapping up 54% of the day’s take. Zeroing in on the weekly Dec. 23 series, the put/call OI ratio has ballooned to a perch at 0.93, with calls and puts in near parity.

The out-of-the-money $15 strike has attracted the most attention, with roughly 4,700 calls and 4,800 puts currently in residence.

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/2016/12/mondays-vital-data-apple-inc-aapl-facebook-inc-fb-and-freeport-mcmoran-inc-fcx/.

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