Wednesday’s Vital Data: Bank of America Corp (BAC), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Facebook Inc (FB)

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U.S. stock futures are headed lower this morning, as the major market indices prepare to build upon yesterday’s selloff. The Donald Trump trade finally broke yesterday, as Wall Street came to the realization that many of the president’s campaign promises may not pass as easily or as quickly as many had hoped. Analysts cited mounting trouble with the healthcare bill, and worried that corporate tax cuts could face similarly stiff resistance in Washington.

Wednesday’s Vital Data: Bank of America Corp (BAC), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Facebook Inc (FB)As a result, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are down 0.2% this morning, while S&P 500 futures have shed 0.09% and Nasdaq-100 futures are lower by 0.05%.

On the options front, volume surged to a near-term high on Tuesday. Overall, roughly 20.1 million calls and 21.1 million puts changed hands on the session, nearly doubling Monday’s activity. Put activity ramped up on the CBOE, as the single-session equity put/call volume ratio spiked to a two-month high of 0.79 amid yesterday’s sell-off, sending the 10-day moving average to a one month high of 0.66.

Banking stocks were a major driver for Tuesday’s options volume, and Trump-trade poster child Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) was right in the thick of things as traders worried that regulation rollbacks and tax cuts may not materialize as soon as many had hoped. Meanwhile, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) picked an unfortunate time to unveil updated versions of its iPad and iPhone SE, though call options still outweighed puts on AAPL stock. Finally, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) managed to mitigate losses and attract call volume after BTIG upgraded FB stock.

Wednesday’s Vital Options Data: Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Facebook Inc (FB)

Bank of America Corp (BAC)

The froth had to come off the Trump trade sooner or later, and with the administration struggling to push through its promises on healthcare, traders were spooked that similar confrontations would arrive down the road. As the biggest beneficiary of the Trump trend in the financial sector, BAC stock tanked when the panic set in, plunging nearly 6% by the close.

That said, BAC options traders remained largely bullish amid the selloff. Total volume topped 2.4 million contracts, setting a near-term high for Bank of America options activity. What’s more, calls accounted for 67% of the day’s take. While this figure was slightly below recent activity for BAC stock, it remained well above the past three-months’ average.

In fact, some traders saw yesterday’s pullback as a buying opportunity. According to Trade-Alert.com, BAC was responsible for the single largest block trade of the day, with 72,103 June $26 calls crossing at the ask of 52 cents, or $52 per contract. While this block traded early in the session, other blocks, including roughly 9,000 contracts at the May $24 and April $27.50 traded later in the day.

Apple Inc. (AAPL)

AAPL stock managed to stave off the worst of yesterday’s plunge by announcing updates to its iPad and iPhone SE lines. The new iPad tablet will have a brighter screen and Apple’s lowest price ever for a full-sized tablet at $329. Meanwhile, the iPhone SE will now come in 32 and 128 GB versions, replacing the 16 GB and 64 GB models. In addition, rumors also swirled around the new iPhone 7 Red and new iPhone cases.

APPL options volume was also brisk on Tuesday, with more than 1.4 million contracts changing hands on the stock. While a touch below average, calls still made up 61% of yesterday’s activity, spurred by Apple’s new product updates.

Overall, AAPL options traders remains largely short-term bullish on the shares, with their April put/call open interest ratio arriving at 0.71, down from prior readings north of 0.8. Unsurprisingly, peak OI for the series totals more than 92,000 contracts at the just-overhead $140 strike.

Facebook Inc (FB)

FB stock also managed to limit its losses to roughly 1% yesterday. Providing ballast was an upgrade to “buy” from “neutral” from BTIG, one of the few remaining Facbook bears. BTIG praised Instagram Stories, noting that the feature has attracted about 150 million daily active users, pushing Instagram to more than 400 million daily users.

FB options activity was on the leaner side of the put/call spectrum yesterday. Total volume came in at 711,000 contracts, but calls only accounted for 61% of the day’s take, down notably from Facebook’s average of 67%.

That said, calls remain firmly in command over the short-term, as the April put/call OI ratio of 0.41 indicates that these typically bullish bets more than double their put counterparts. It’s safe to say that FB options traders are still betting on a rally, despite recent market turmoil.

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


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/03/wednesday-vital-data-bank-america-corp-bac-apple-inc-aapl-facebook-inc-fb/.

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