Monday’s Vital Data: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) and Comcast Corporation (CMCSA)

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U.S. stock futures are headed for a mixed open this morning, as pressure from falling oil prices applies pressure in the first trading day of the second quarter. Crude fell in Asian trading due to global oversupply worries in the wake of higher U.S. rig counts and rising U.S. shale production. A stronger U.S. dollar also put pressure on oil prices, and is helping to pressure futures early this morning.

stock market todayAgainst this backdrop, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 0.07%, S&P 500 futures are almost flat and Nasdaq-100 futures have gained 0.1%.

On the options front, volume came in relatively average considering both the quarter and the month came to an end on Friday. Overall, only about 13.6 million calls and 12.4 million puts changed hands on Friday. On the CBOE, the single-session equity put/call volume ratio ticked lower to 0.56, while the 10-day moving average held at 0.64 for a third consecutive session.

Driving Friday’s options volume, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) remained on top among options traders after outperforming all other Dow stocks for the quarter. Elsewhere, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) capped a strong week of gains by throwing its hat in the ring of bidders for Toshiba’s NAND flash memory unit. Finally, Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) trades ex-dividend today, driving heavy call volume.

Monday’s Vital Options Data: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) and Comcast Corporation (CMCSA)

Apple Inc. (AAPL)

Judging by the first quarter, 2017 could be a banner year for AAPL stock. The shares outperformed all others on the Dow Jones, gaining more than 23% so far on the year.

The quarter was marked by a strong corporate earnings and plenty of speculation surrounding the next iteration of the iPhone. While AAPL stock has consolidated in recent sessions, the shares remain just shy of all-time high territory and should be bolstered by growing round-number support in the $140 region.

Options traders appear to be rallying behind the recent strength, as Friday’s volume topped 895,000 contracts, with calls snapping up 63% of the day’s take. What’s more, the April put/call open interest ratio may have put in a top on Wednesday last week, as the reading has moderated from a peak of 0.96 to hover at 0.95 for the past two sessions. A reversal higher could be a sign of short-term concern, but if today’s activity drives the reading lower, we could see AAPL trend higher heading into April expiration.

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)

Amazon had quite a busy week last week. The company finalized its acquisition of Middle Eastern retail site Souq.com, rolled out Amazon Connect — a self-service, cloud-based contact center service — and announced a new drive-in grocery delivery service called AmazonFresh Pickup. And if that wasn’t enough, Amazon joined the bidding war for Toshiba’s NAND flash memory unit.

The brisk week send AMZN stock nearly 5% higher, and sent AMZN options traders scrambling for calls. On Friday, more than 427,000 contracts crossed the tape, with calls accounting for 55% of the day’s take. As a result, the April put/call open interest ratio slipped from Thursday’s perch at 1.10 to 1.08, as calls were added at a faster rate than puts among near-term options. A continuation of this trend could be a sign that AMZN stock could be headed to $900 before the end of the month.

Comcast Corporation (CMCSA)

Last week, Congress voted to rollback Barack Obama-era online privacy rules that prevented internet service providers from selling your browsing history to third parties. President Donald Trump has promised to sign the bill, but several companies, Comcast among them, have already come out to state that they will not sell your data despite the new bill.

Such a move, if Comcast lives up to it, could go a long way toward bolstering sentiment among its many subscribers. The company has repeatedly been voted the most hated company in America.

Friday’s call heavy options volume could have provided a bullish sentiment outlook for the company, as calls made up 91% of the more than 314,000 contracts traded. However, the stock trades ex-dividend today, with shareholders of record as of the close on Friday eligible for a 15.75 cent dividend, payable on April 26. As such, the added call volume holds less of a sentiment impact due to the plethora of dividend capture plays initiated on Friday.

That said, CMCSA still has a rather rosy short-term options outlook. Currently, the April put/call open interest ratio arrives at 0.60, with calls nearly doubling puts for the series. What’s more, peak call OI of 125,000 contracts rests at the $38.75 strike, indicating that options traders are betting that CMCSA will top resistance in the $38 region before April options expire.

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/2017/04/monday-vital-data-apple-inc-aapl-amazon-com-inc-amzn-comcast-corporation-cmcsa/.

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