Wednesday’s Vital Data: Facebook, AT&T and Advanced Micro Devices

U.S. stock futures are trading lower this morning. Wall Street appears quite nervous ahead of today’s trade meeting between President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

stock market todayJuncker is looking to deescalate Trump’s rising rhetoric against the U.S.’s European trading partners. However, many on Wall Street expect the meeting to result in more inflammatory comments from President Trump.

Against this backdrop, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are down 0.38% and S&P 500 futures have fallen 0.14%. Finally, Nasdaq-100 futures are holding up better, but have still lost 0.01% this morning.

In options activity, volume rose on Tuesday as traders finally looked to reposition themselves after Friday’s July expiration. Overall, about 19.6 million calls and 15.7 million puts changed hands on the session. Over on the CBOE, the single-session equity put/call volume ratio dipped to 0.63, pushing the 10-day moving average lower to 0.61.

Corporate earnings continue to dominate activity in the options pits this week. On Tuesday, it was tech earnings that topped the list, including heavy hitters like Facebook (NYSE:FB), AT&T (NYSE:T) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD).

Let’s take a closer look:

Wednesday’s Vital Options Data: Facebook, AT&T and Advanced Micro Devices

Facebook (FB)

Facebook steps into the earnings confessional after the close this afternoon, and options traders are in a tizzy ahead of the event. Volume yesterday jumped to 354,000 contracts, or more than 1.6 times FB’s daily average. Calls gobbled up an above-average 66% of the day’s take.

Overall, the weekly July 27 put/call open interest ratio comes in at 0.77, indicating a healthy degree of skepticism ahead of tonight’s report. Finally, July 27 implied volatility is pricing in a post-earnings move of more than 5.5%.

Checking in on expectations, Wall Street is anticipating a profit of $1.72 on revenue of $13.36 billion (up 43.4% year-over-year). EarningsWhispers.com puts the whisper number at $1.90 per share.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)

AMD will join Facebook in the earnings limelight this afternoon. Wall Street is looking for a profit of 13 cents per share from the chipmaker, up massively over just 2 cents per share in the same quarter last year. Revenue is expected to spike 40.4% to $1.72 billion year-over-year. The whisper number comes in at 15 cents per share.

Ahead of the event, AMD options traders are leaning bullish on shares. Volume yesterday came in at 183,000 contracts, with calls claiming 61% of the day’s take. The weekly July 27 put/call OI ratio now rests at 0.71 and has been falling for the past week — indicating rising bullish sentiment on AMD stock.

Finally, July 27 implieds are looking at a potential post-earnings jump of more than 9%. In other words, options traders believe AMD could rally as high as $17.65 or fall as low as $14.75 before July 27 options expire on Friday.

AT&T (T)

Ailing tech giant AT&T disappointed investors after the close last night. T stock is set to open lower as a result. AT&T said that revenue fell 2.1% to $39 billion, missing Wall Street’s estimates. Earnings came in at 91 cents, however, topping expectations for 86 cents per share.

That said, pay TV subscriber numbers were the big focus, especially after the $85 billion merger with Time Warner. AT&T’s paid TV service lost 286,000 subscribers during the quarter, as the cordcutting movement gains speed. Direct TV added 342,000 subs, but these customers pay considerably less than pay TV subs, eating into AT&T’s bottom line.

Options traders looked hopeful ahead of the event. Volume came in at 224,000 contracts, and calls claimed 68% of that activity. Looking out to August, the put/call OI ratio rests at 0.61, as call options remain dominant. Peak call OI for the series rests at the out-of-the-money August $34 strike.

As of this writing, Joseph Hargett was long AMD stock.


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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2018/07/wednesdays-vital-data-facebook-att-and-advanced-micro-devices/.

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