Monday’s Vital Data: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) and Snap Inc (SNAP)

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U.S. stock futures are mixed this morning, even as oil prices rally on an unexpected alliance between Saudi Arabia and Russia on production cuts. In a joint statement after this weekend’s Group of 20 meeting, the energy ministers of Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed that the current OPEC production cut should be extended by nine months, three months longer than analysts were expecting. Crude futures have rallied over 3% to $49.40 per barrel on the news.

Monday’s Vital Data: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) and Snap Inc (SNAP)Against this backdrop, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.2% and S&P 500 futures have added 0.13%, while Nasdaq-100 futures are down 0.04%.

On the options front, volume remained brisk on Friday, with about 16.5 million calls and 14.1 million puts crossing the tape. On the CBOE, the single-session equity put/call volume ratio dropped to a one-month low of 0.57, dragging the 10-day moving average to its own monthly low of 0.64.

Driving Friday’s options activity, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) saw heavy call volume as traders rushed to position themselves to claim a chunk of the roughly $3 billion in dividends the company is paying out this week. Elsewhere, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) pulled in call activity following reports that Prime TV could be heading to the Apple TV following a two-year hiatus. Finally, a dispute has risen over whether Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) beat or missed consensus earnings expectations last week.

Monday’s Vital Options Data: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) and Snap Inc (SNAP)

Apple Inc. (AAPL)

Today is the last day to buy AAPL stock if you’re looking to cash in on Apple’s quarterly dividend of 63 cents per share this Wednesday. In total, the payout is roughly $3 billion in cash — quite a hefty sum, and one AAPL stock traders have been anxiously awaiting. Typically, stocks trade lower as dividends are paid out, but Apple shares are trading marginally higher in pre-market action, up 0.25% at $156.49 at last check.

On Friday, Apple call options were the place to be. More than 2.1 million contracts changed hands on AAPL stock, with calls snapping up 76% of the day’s take. As a result of Friday’s influx of call options, AAPL’s June put/call open interest ratio ticked fractionally lower to 1.29 from Friday’s reading of 1.3. This ratio still ranks near all-time-high territory, and is indicative that, despite the dividend payout, options traders remain mostly bearish on AAPL stock’s prospects over the short term.

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)

Rumors are floating around Wall Street that Apple and Amazon have mended their rift, at least where Prime TV and Apple TV are concerned. Prime TV is reportedly returning to Apple’s set-top box, with Apple expected to make the announcement at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 5. Additionally, rumors call for Amazon to start carrying the Apple TV once again, after the device was de-listed due to a lack of “acceptable business terms.”

AMZN options traders were keen on the idea of Prime TV heading back to Apple, with calls making up 57% of the more than 426,000 contracts traded on Friday. That said, puts still rule the roost in the June series for AMZN stock, with the put/call OI ratio arriving at 1.12. With AMZN trading in all-time high territory, some caution is warranted, and many of the deep-out-of-the-money puts, like the 1,100 contracts at the $920 strike, may in fact be sold as a way to collect premium.

Snap Inc (SNAP)

Snap judgments were made on Snap Inc’s earnings last week, and SNAP stock paid the price. Specifically, estimates from analysts affiliated with the 10 underwriting firms for Snap’s IPO placed expectations at revenue of $138.4 million, some $30 million below estimates from those with no connection to the underwriting firms. Snap reported revenue of $149.6 million, appearing to miss consensus expectations, but topping targets set by analysts with more knowledge of the situation.

Regardless, expectations were exceedingly high, even for the perceived minor miss compared to the widely accepted consensus target, hinting that more was at play than just a revenue miss. Still, Friday’s report on the divergence in expectations helped SNAP stock rebound more than 6%, and the shares are up another 2% in pre-market action this morning.

What’s more, SNAP options traders appear to be reevaluating their stance on the shares. Friday’s action saw calls snap up 55% of the more than 414,000 contracts traded on SNAP stock. Calls have been quite active on SNAP since Thursday last week, sending the June put/call OI ratio down from a reading of 1.17 to its current perch at 1.

Peak call OI at the $20 strike has declined to about 3,700 from 3,900, but $19 strike call OI has risen steadily and now tops 3,300. With SNAP in recovery mode from last week’s earnings debacle, expect more call activity in the coming weeks.

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/2017/05/monday-vital-data-apple-inc-aapl-amazon-com-inc-amzn-snap-inc-snap/.

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