Tuesday’s Vital Data: Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Facebook Inc (FB) and AT&T Inc. (T)

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U.S. stock futures are mixed this morning. Traders initially cheered the passage of a three-week spending bill to fund the government through Feb. 8. But that enthusiasm has failed to hold, and stocks are searching for direction heading into the open.

stock market todayLater in the week,  traders should be on the lookout for commentary from world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the forum on Friday.

At last check, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 0.01%, S&P 500 futures are down 0.07% and Nasdaq-100 futures have added 0.06%.

Turning to the options pits, volume was considerably lower on Monday, though activity remained above the three-week average. Overall, about 20.8 million calls and 16.1 million puts changed hands. The CBOE single-session equity put/call volume ratio held at 0.56. The 10-day moving average ticked back toward three-year lows at 0.55.

Taking a closer look at Monday’s options activity, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) options activity was mixed ahead of last night’s blowout quarterly report. Meanwhile, options traders for both Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and AT&T, Inc. (NYSE:T) are preparing for next week’s earnings releases.

Tuesday’s Vital Options Data: Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), Facebook Inc (FB) and AT&T Inc. (T)

Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)

It appears I was a bit too conservative with my bullish call on Netflix yesterday. Following last night’s blowout report, NFLX stock is trading more than 10% higher in premarket activity. As a result, the recommended Feb $225/$230 bull call spread is set to open at its maximum profit potential (about a 57% return) this morning.

Driving Netflix stock, the company said it added 6.36 million subscribers internationally and 1.98 million stateside. It ended 2017 with 117.58 million subscribers, despite a price hike in October.

“We believe our big investments in content are paying off,” Netflix said in a quarterly letter to shareholders. Big, indeed; Netflix is spending roughly $8 billion this year on content in an effort to stave off competition from Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and a resurgent Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS). Disney became a major threat after acquiring a 60% controlling stake in Hulu.

Netflix options traders were caught flat ahead of the event. Volume rose to 350,000 contracts, or tripling NFLX’s daily average. Calls only made up 53% of the day’s take. However, the February put/call open interest ratio plunged from 1.43 yesterday to 1.29 today. This shift in sentiment could have further bullish implications for NFLX stock.

Facebook Inc (FB)

Facebook is among the last “FAANG” companies to report earnings this season. The company will release its quarterly report on Wednesday next week. Analysts are expecting a profit of $1.94 per share on revenue of $12.51 billion. The whisper number comes in at $2.05 per share.

Facebook options traders are already positioning themselves ahead of the event. Volume topped out yesterday at 308,000 contracts, with calls making up 70% of the day’s take. Meanwhile, the weekly February 2 series put/call OI ratio has plunged to a reading of 0.36. In other words, calls nearly triple puts among options most affected by earnings.

February 2 implieds, meanwhile, are pricing in a potential post earnings move of about 5.3%. This places the upper bound at $195 and the lower bound at $185 in terms of an earnings reaction for FB stock.

AT&T Inc. (T)

Finally, AT&T will also report earnings on Wednesday next week. Wall Street is currently expecting earnings to fall to 65 cents per share from 66 cents in the year-ago period. Revenue is expected to decline 1.6% year-over-year to $41.17 billion. The whisper number is in-line with expectations at 65 cents.

AT&T options traders don’t appear too worried about a negative reaction, however. Volume on Monday rose to 164,000 contracts, or about 1.5 times T’s daily average. Calls made up 69% of the day’s take, as well.

As for Feb. 2 implieds, options are pricing in a post earnings move of about 4.5% for T stock. The upper bound for the expected move lies at $39.70, while the lower bound rests at $36.30.

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/2018/01/tuesdays-vital-data-netflix-inc-nflx-facebook-inc-fb-and-att-inc-t/.

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