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January-Daily Freebies

 January 31st, 2012

Unisys (UIS) trading with a $880M market cal and 6.26X earnings, 0.8 PEG, 0.22X sales, 1.32X cash and 4.44X cash flow with 10.65% of the float short. It averages just 400 calls a day, but more than 2,000 February $20 calls bought on 1-25-12 and OTM $22 calls seeing 280 bought today. Shares have made 10%+ moves the last 9 quarters and 20% or greater in 4 of the last 7, so it is a hit or miss, but options flow bullish this week into results.

JP Morgan (JPM) June $35/$27 put spread bought 20,000X at $1.46 to open on the AMEX, not seeing it tied to any stock

US Steel (X) March $32 calls with 12,250X bought on the day.

Broadcom (BRCM) near day lows and net bullish bias halfway through the day, notably around 2,000 March $35/$38 call spreads bought to open today just under $1. The February $35/$38 1X2 call spread at $0.50 is a good looking upside play.

Altera (ALTR) with 2,000 March $37 puts bought to open at the $1.05 offer today, more than $230,000 in put premium, bearish action in the name failing at resistance.

Louisiana Pacific (LPX) with 5,500 March $9 puts bought here, weak on Plum Creek (PCL) results and put action 20X daily average into 2/7 earnings

January 30th, 2012

Opko Health (OPK) trading 35X daily put volume with 3,000 June $5 puts sold at $0.45/$0.40 to open, 70% bid side and March IV falling. Traders are showing confidence in the $1.5B diagnostics Co., willing to be long stock at a $4.55 basis, currently at $5.29 and earnings expected 2/9/12.

Occidental Petro (OXY) size buys of May $100 calls for 1,500 contracts at the $5.60 offer, over $870,000 in call premium

Rockwood (ROC) spikes here as 2,000 February $50 calls bought to open at $1.15 and $1.25 offers, tied to 30,000 share sale, potential stock replacement. ROC is a chemical Co. that could be next in the M&A surge

Elan (ELN) block of 3,000 February $12 puts trade at $0.15/$0.20, likely playing the Biogen (BIIB) Tysabri results

Fluor (FLR) trading 2X daily put volume with 2,285 February $52.50 puts bought to open this morning

Weatherford (WFT) seeing hot buying in May $20 OTM calls for 9,300 contracts, over $545,000 in call premium and a large bullish Net Delta in trades today

January 27th, 2012

Huntsman (HUN) call buyers back with 4,000 March $13 calls bought at $0.60, trading 2X daily calls with 87% offer side and IV jumping as chemical M&A heats up

Amazon (AMZN) earnings next week and large trade at 12:46pm with the February $210/$225 ratio call spread bought 2,000X4,000 at $1.25, and looks tied to 16,000 shares short at $194.50

Astex Pharma (ASTX) trading 2,125 of the February $2.50 calls, already 6,849 in OI, and IV30 jumping 16.5% today. The Biotech is also breaking out to multi-month highs. The $213.6M Biotech trades 1.7X cash value with no debt. On February 9th Astex is expected to hear from a FDA Panel for Dacogen for treatment of acute myelogneous leukemia with a March 6th PDUFA. Back on 12-30 February $2.50 calls were bought in size, and have been active the past week as well.

Frontier Communications (FTR) putting in a huge hammer reversal today and around 3pm 25,000 February $4 puts were sold at $0.15 bid to open, while March $4 calls being bought up big with 14,000 of those trading, call volume 10X daily and IV30 up an insane 62% today.

EnCana (ECA) now sees a bullish spread like we saw yesterday in various names, the April $16 puts sold 15,000X to buy 7,500 July $21/$23 call spreads, net $0.03 credit on the spread.

Coeur DAlene (CDE) a silver miner breaking out and 3,070 February $31 OTM calls bought to open today, traders paying the $0.35 offer, and call volume 2X daily. The $2.5B market cap makes it a potential target considering Mine Finders (MFN) was bought out last weekend.

January 26th, 2012

Waste Mgmt. (WM) bullish action here as more than 3,000 March $35 calls bought on the $0.65 offer to open in multi-exchange sweep

Fossil (FOSL) block of 5,000 February $90 puts bought at $3.30 to open, earnings on 2/14, but ptus tied to 135,000 shares of stock long at $96.81 in slight Delta Negative spread.

Salesforce.com (CRM) March $125/$145 ratio call spread trades 2,000X4,000 at $2.95 on the PHLX, spread tied to 28,000 shares short, protective on short position.

Whiting Petro (WLL) with 5,000 March $42.50 puts sold at $0.725 and the March $52.50/$57.50 ratio call spread bought 5,000X10,000 at $0.75, another large 3 way spread in an Oil and Gas Co.

Robert Half (RHI) earnings after the bell and block of 1,250 February $30 puts bought on $1.20 offer here, a name that averages just 8 puts a day. Shares are trading near major resistance and overbought. The $4.33B staffing Co. trades 32X trailing earnings, 1.2X sales and 43X cash flow, a bit rich, but sees 33% EPS growth. Weak results from Monster (MWW) today may be a bearish sign into results with low hiring rates. Shares have jumped strong the last 3 reports.

DeVry (DV) is another name with a bullish 3 way spread as 8,000 May $30 puts are sold at $0.70 and 4,000 May $45/$50 call spreads are bought for a net debit of $0.50. The spread traded with 168,000 shares of stock below bid, and ESI is down today despite strong numbers, education names under pressure, this spread looks to be protecting a new short position.

Qualcomm (QCOM) block of 232,500 shares bought at $57.95 along with 7,500 March $62.50/$50 collars

January 25th, 2012

Open Table (OPEN) an IV gainer today with 1,780 of the February $47.50 ITM puts bought to open, shares been stalling and earnings 2/7

Open Text (OTEX) confirmation bullish with 1,000 May $50 puts sold to open today, seeing this base holding strong with earnings February 1st

Soda Stream (SODA) traded a bullish 3 way spread with 2,000 February $32.50 puts sold on the $0.40 bid and 2,000 March $42.50/$47.50 call spreads bought at $1.25 to open, net $0.85 debit for the bullish play. Earnings should be coming up in February and reported strong results last quarter, though the move was quickly faded, but this upcoming report will include what was a likely strong Holiday period. Shares are bull flagging below its 200 day EMA after breaking key trend resistance on the move through $35 on 1/4/12. Shares could run back to $50 on a breakout, helped with the 48.9% short float, and many of the high short float names have recently been squeezed. The $770M Co. trades 26.5X earnings, 0.86 PEG, 2.88X sales and 3.3X book and is still a strong growth play at 25% Y/Y in EPS. OpCo reiterated Outperform with a $55 target back on 1-13-12, and on 1-5 the Company announced a Co-Branding deal with Kraft.

Human Genome (HGSI) large spread with 6,650 February $11 calls bought and 1900 February $9/$8 put spreads sold. Nice bull flag breakout today

Uinsys (UIS) ripping with 2,750 calls trading, over 2,000 OTM $20 February calls with earnings 1/31, volume 9X daily with IV jumping, bullish action

January 24th, 2012

Yahoo (YHOO) large trade into earnings, the April/May $16/$18 diagonal call spread 7,500X at $0.86 and this matches similar positioning seen lately with April and July options the most bullish for Yahoo, earnings tonight seen as minor event.

Electronic Arts (EA) down despite an upgrade this morning and 10,000 March $18/$21 bear call spreads trade at $0.88 credit, earnings on 2/1/12 and the 20,000 February $17 puts remain in Open Interest

Clean Energy (CLNE) call volume running 2X daily the first 15 minutes of trading with 75% on the offer, opening buyers into an Obama speech focusing on Energy tonight, and IV30 jumping 11%

Norfolk Southern (NSC) is lower by 1% after disappointing earnings from CSX earlier today, and trading 9,500 puts which is 5X daily average. The common trade is buying the February $72.50 puts and selling the March $70 puts for around 3,500 of those diagonal spreads, seeing downside, but likely limited to key 200 day EMA support at $70. Norfolk Southern has beaten big on earnings and jumped higher the last 3 reports. Shares recently hit all time highs, so a pullback is healthy to get shares out of overbought territory. The $25.5B rail trades 12.7X earnings, 0.99 PEG, 2.37X sales and 2.5X book with a 2.26% yield, raised to Buy with a $92 target at UBS on 1-5-12. Looking at a recent presentation NSC profits are likely to be hurt by weak coal which is the most profitable segment, and Ags as well.

January 23rd, 2012

Kimberly Clark (KMB) bearish ratio put spread trades into earnings with the February $72.5/$70 1X2 spread at $0.20 Debit for 3,000X6,000 contracts with shares at $73.55, looking for a pullback in shares, but limited downside.

Time Warner Cable (TWC) massive put volume at 20X daily with 17,000 February $67.50 puts bought to open today, earnings 1/26 before the open, traders looking to fade the recent strength in shares, expecting weak cable TV results, possibly due to the growth in streaming

Safeway (SWY) late day bullish buying in March $24 calls with 6,500 bought to open in the $0.25/$0.30 range , trading more than 10X daily call volume with $125,000 in premium purchased, shares moving into the July earnings gap. The $7.43B grocer trades 11.95X earnings, 0.17X sales and 1.6X book with a 2.65% yield, so the value is there, and also 12.4% of the float short.

Citrix Systems (CTXS) trading 5X daily put volume with 2,250 February $65 puts bought to open today, potential bearish signal into VMware (VMW) earnings, a sympathy mover. VMW also seeing bearish buyers of February $85 puts with 3,870 trading, and most of the call holders are selling today.

Coach (COH) trading 2,500 February $65 calls into earnings, mostly offer side buys at $2.10, a few large 200+ contract lots bought. Earnings are tomorrow morning and shares are off 1.6% today, but action suggests a move higher on results with major resistance overhead at $67.

Grainer (GWW) put volume running 6X daily with $466,000 in call premium purchased, bearish into 1/25 earnings, a name that has run a long way and starting to become overbought and over-valued. The July 200/185 ratio put spread traded 350X700 at a $1.70 net credit

Starwood Hotels (HOT) failed breakout and now reversing down 0.8%, and seeing offer side put buying including 1,390 March $52.50 puts opened, earnings on 2-2-12 before the open. At 23.9X forward earnings, 1.93X sales and 28.4X cash flow, shares may have ran too far, too fast, and a pullback looks long overdue especially with the lodging industry exposure to Europe and Asia.

January 20th, 2012

Apple (AAPL) largest trade today 5,000 January (next week expiration) $385/$390 bull put spreads at $0.40 credit for 1/24 earnings. More than 10,000 of these spreads have traded all together, seeing limited downside for shares and selling the credit spread into todays weakness.

Melco Crown (MPEL) trading 13,500+ April $14 far OTM calls on the offer, though calls look tied to short stock. Call volume running 8X daily volume in the name with $830,000 in call premium purchased. Shares broke out of a downtrend last week and trade 18.9X earnings, 0.52 PEG and 2.18X book.

Range Resources (RRC) sees a similar spread looking for Natural Gas and shale names to continue lower, as the March $52.50/$48 ratio put spread is bought 3,500X7,000 at a $0.20 debit. This spread would target a move down to the 200 week EMA, which looks likely based on the current weakness on the chart.

WellPoint (WLP) stock falling back to support, shares bull flagging into 1/25 earnings and the February $70/$75/$80 butterfly call spreads seeing action with 1,200X2,400 trading, a nice looking bullish trade on shares.

First Niagara Financial (FNFG) traded 7,098 calls on the day which is 70X daily call volume, hot action with 70$ bought on the offer and IV30 jumping 20.8% ahead of earnings on January 26th before the open.  A big buyer of 2,000 February $10 calls at $0.15 kicked off the action in the early afternoon, while later more than 3,750 April $10 calls were also bought to open, record amount of bullish call buying.  Shares are beginning to break out of a cup and handle pattern with an upside target at $11.  The $2B Regional Bank trades 9.8X earnings, 2.06X sales and 0.71X book value.

Analog Devices (ADI) reports earnings in mid-February and a trader sells 2,150 February $40 straddles for $2.35 here, expecting this level to be "sticky"

January 19th, 2012

Starbucks (SBUX) reports earnings on 1/26 and today 5,000 of the April $43/$39 put spreads bought at $0.57, shares looking very oversold, and also over-valued, although positive news today on expansion plans into India.

Cavium (CAVM) 3,000 contract 3 way spread in February from last week adjusted, the February $33 calls and $27 short puts closed, and February $30 puts sold 3,000X to open and February $35 calls bought 3,000X to open, while the short 3,000 February $37 calls remain in Open Interest, staying bullish the name.

Broadcom (BRCM) closing on day highs trading 38,000 calls, 3X average with buyers leading the action, including 2,000 February 35/38 call spreads at $1.05 late in the day

Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) seeing the most bullish read into earnings with 20,800 calls and just 3,100 puts trading and 55% of calls on the offer, Net Delta of 289,000 with buyers active in January $19, $20, and $21 calls since the open. Also, more than 2,000 February $20 calls trading, fresh buying. Shares have been on a big run lately, but at 9X earnings and 13.5X cash flow, remain cheap with upside potential as the Semi industry orders pick-up.

Aetna (AET) traded 9,394 puts on the day which is 6X daily put volume and more than $620,000 in put premium purchased, bearish action after United Health (UNH) traded weak on fairly good results. Aetna reports earnings on February 1st, and today buyers were active in April $42 puts for 4,100 contracts, and 1,300 of the July $40 puts. Aetna was rejected at major 2011 high resistance just below $45 and could pullback to $41.50 or so. The $16B Co. trades 8.7X earnings, 0.47X sales and 1.5X book, but sees a decline in EPS of 1.2% next year, some uncertainty in this industry. Barclays reiterated Overweight and raised its target to $59 last week.

Gulfport Energy (GPOR) trading 8X daily call volume with 1,500 January $25 calls rolled to 2,500 February $30 calls, a bullish trader staying very bullish. Shares look to be carving out a base along its 50 week EMA and ready for a run higher. The $1.8B Oil & Gas Co. trades 13.1X earnings, 0.35 PEG, and 3.5X book, a strong small cap growth play in the industry. Wunderlich started shares Buy with a $41 target yesterday.

January 18th, 2012

NXP Semi (NXPI) trading 3,040 calls in the first 10 minutes with the February $17.50 calls seeing more than 2,000 bought, and the $20 calls also active, bullish buying pushing IV higher as Semis strengthen after Linear Tech (LLTC) and ASML Corp (ASML) posted strong quarterly results. Call action is 3X daily in just 10 minutes of trading. Shares are also breaking out past key resistance, a projected move to $21. The $4.25B Semi trades 9.88X earnings, 0.36 PEG, 0.98X sales and 3.13X book, and is a play on NFC which is expected to be in a lot of new devices for 2012

America Movil (AMX) potentially basing, and a bullish 3 way spread trades with 1,500 August $19 puts sold at 0.73 to buy 1,500 August 23/27 call spreads at $1.43, net $0.70 debit on the spread, positioned for upside, and willing to be long at a $19.70 basis.

Caterpillar (CAT) saw one of the most bullish readings on the day with $2M in call premium bought and $1.4M in put premium sold, Net Delta 548,000 as traders focused on May options, buyers of more than 6,000 $95 deep ITM calls while more than 14,000 of the $90 puts were sold to open, many of the trades in a 1X2 ratio risk reversal spread. Caterpillar shares continue to break higher, measured move target of the channel breakout is $110. At 11.5X earnings, 0.69 PEG, and 1.2X sales shares are still cheap with 33% EPS growth seen for 2012. Barclays hiked its price target to $128 from $115 last week, Overweight rated.

Credit Suisse (CS) broke a short term downtrend today, and up 4.6%, also seeing 5,500 March $27 calls bought to open on the day, a name that has seen hot February and March call buying the last two weeks.

AK Steel (AKS) pops here as 5,000 June $11 calls bought at $0.67

January 17th, 2012

Energy (XLE) trading 66,800 puts today which is 2X average, over $1.7M in put premium bought, looks like the March $63 puts closed 30,000X+ and March $68 puts bought to open 15,000X.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) shares broke support and February puts active on Friday with bearish flow, now trading at the lowest level since late 2010. A trader just purchased 35,000 January 2013 $35/$45 call spreads at $0.35. These spreads are way OTM and would require shares to gain 75%, so the only real possibility would be a big buyout offer. The $14.11B Co. now trades 0.87X book, and Foreign Oil is interested in acquiring US Shale Assets.

Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR) trading 6,000 calls, 12X daily with 2,000 January $20 calls sold to close, and 2,000 April $25/$30 call spreads bought at $2.50 to open, staying bullish the Biotech trending higher, a play in the MS group.

Linear Tech (LLTC) large block of Jan. 30 calls bought at $0.60 to open 15 minutes before the bell into earnings, more than 2,300X. Also, back on 12-22 more than 3,250 February $30 calls were bought to open, and more than 5,000 sit in Open Interest. The Analog Semi Co. trades 12.7X earnings, PEG 1 and 21.4X cash flow with a 3.2% dividend yield.

Cree (CREE) trading up 3.5% in front of earnings, but with 6,500 February $22/$18 put spreads bought to open at $0.99 into earnings after the bell. Last week buyers targeted more than 5,000 March $25 calls to open, so a mixed read into results. Another popular front month trade today is the January $24/$27.50 call spread 2,000X at $0.82. Shares have traded higher the past few weeks and sit right below the 50 day EMA, while $25 is major long term resistance overhead for the downtrend. Crees IV Skew through March is fairly flat, a bullish bias with OTM calls bid up just as high as the puts. January IV at 127% compares to February at 65.6%. Cree has traded lower 6 of its last 7 reports, and over the last 6 has averaged 12.5% moves on earnings. Cree has a 65% EPS beat rate and 59% revenue beat rate. The adoption of LED has come at a slower pace than expected and overseas slowdowns likely to weigh on the forecast yet again. At 24.9X trailing earnings, 2.7X sales and 1.06X book, downside appears minimal on valuation, still a fairly good longer term growth play. Over-supply, rising expenses, and pricing pressure all lead to a likely guidance cut, also weak margins expected. The straddle is pricing in a just under a 10% move.

January 13th, 2012

Cloud Peak Energy (CLD) near day lows and January IV up 10% with 3,300 January $20 puts bought today. Shares are near the break of trend support, and although the coal name is cheap on valuation, with PCX cutting production today, could see more of that for the industry. Put volume is running 17X daily average.

Covidien (COV) falling and ready to roll below the 20/50 EMA crossover and 2,000 February $45 puts bought to open at $1.45.

VIX trading 100,000 March 30/45 call spreads today, rolled from 100,000 February 35/55 call spreads, possibly extending a hedge

Home Construction (ITB) potential fade play or protecting a long position with 5,000 April $12 puts bought at $0.60 to open

Microsoft (MSFT) roll of 80,000 January $26 calls to 117,000 July $28 calls, likely extending a buy write position

Coca Cola (KO) weak again and the January 2013 $75/$50 bear risk reversal trades 10,000X at a $0.20 debit, shares falling since a double top was formed at $70.50. The spread is a collar on 320,000 shares of stock bought.

January 12th, 2012

Exxon (XOM) traded 41,669 puts to 27,345 calls, bearish bias with $1.1M in put premium purchased, and negative Net Delta of 658K. The February $87.50 puts saw notable buying with 4,007 trading. Shares recently were rejected at major long term resistance near $87. The $407B Co. could face similar earnings issues that Chevron (CVX) is forecasting, and trades 10.2X earnings, 0.86X sales, and 2.6X book with a 2.22% yield. If shares break the recent $83.94 lows expect a move back to $81.

Regeneron Pharma (REGN) volatility sales with 3,000 February 85/65 strangles sold at $3.40

Kohls (KSS) spread looking for continued weakness, the February $46/$44 ratio put spread trades 2,000X4,000 at $0.10 debit on the NYSE to open

JP Morgan (JPM) reports tomorrow before the open and trading 74,000 calls and 56,000 puts today, in-line with average day. On the day a bearish bias with Net Delta -685,000, and $1.6M in put premium purchased while $478K in call premium sold. The largest traded of the day was Delta Neutral with 6,000 February $36 calls. Traders looking for a pullback are most active in Jan. 36 weekly puts with 5,600 trading. JPM shares have made a big run and expectations have risen, today testing channel resistance, so a pullback to 34.50 may be in the cards. Overall, the longer term bias has been bullish with plenty of Open Interest remaining in Feb 35 calls, and the large June ratio call spread traded yesterday. The February $36 calls are very active today with 10,900 trading.

Assured Guaranty (AGO) IV up with shares continuing to breakout and 2,590 of the February $15 calls trading, opening buyers.

NovaGold (NG) buyers in January 2013 $10 calls for more than 10,000 contracts today, over $475,000 in call premium bought, open interest already elevated, so want to check the Open Interest change tomorrow. Shares are on the lows of the day here.

Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) traded 390,000 shares of stock with 10,000 March $18 calls at $0.65

January 11th, 2012

Altera (ALTR) sees some bearish positioning with 3,000 February $34 puts bought to open at $0.70, multi-exchange sweep, over $230,000 in put premium bought in the Semi today. Altera gave terrible guidance recently but shares always seem to recover. Shares are now struggling at resistance and could roll over.

JP Morgan (JPM) opening buyer of the June $37/$40 call ratio spread 7,000X14,000 at $0.23 credit, earnings this Friday

Ultra Petroleum (UPL) was one of the many Natural Gas related stocks hit hard on the day with prices hit hard. On the day IV30 jumped 15.1% and traded 15,960 calls and 13,300 puts, 6X and 13X respectively. The most interesting action was in June with the $28 calls bought 5,000X and the $26 puts sold 5,000X in bullish risk reversals at $0.25 debits. Shares hit there lowest level since 2005 back in October but rebounded sharply, and now near a move back to that $25 level, shares oversold, possible capitulation. Ultra Petro is a Green River Basin and Marcellus Shale play and we could see a lot of M&A in this group with the names getting hit hard, as the assets remain valuable to Foreign Oil. The $4.12B Co. trades 10.8X earnings, 0.6 PEG, and 2.8X book value, raised to Buy at Canaccord on 12-21 with a $53 target.

Halozyme (HALO) bullish action with March $10 calls bought 1,877X today, 85% on the offer and IV30 surging 34.3% with shares breaking out. The $990.6M Biotech is presenting at the JP Morgan Conf. today at 2pm PT.

JA Solar (JASO) February $1.50 calls with 2,500 bought now, yet another Chinese solar name with bullish activity, action ahead of February 13th when the US Department of Commerce could determine whether preliminary duties should be imposed on imported solar modules/cells.

Sara Lee (SLE) stock moving higher and 6,500 January 2013 $20/$17.50 bullish risk reversals trade 6,500X at $0.10 debit. Last Friday 10,000 July $20 calls were bought to open.

January 10th, 2012

Fortinet (FTNT) chart looks ugly, but late buyer of 2,000 January $20 calls at $0.75 offer on the PHLX and then another 2,500 bought into the close, very suspicious action. Fortinet is considered a highly likely takeover target in Tech.

Textron (TXT) breaking out and trading 9,933 calls on the day with more than 4,000 January $19 calls being rolled out and up to the February $21 calls. The stock trades 11.35X earnings, 0.48X sales and 1.6X book. Shares have pushed through the 200 day EMA today on good volume.

NII Holdings (NIHD) had more than 5,000 far OTM June $27 calls bought to open last week, and today a buyer of 3,000 March $23 calls at $1.05 to open on the ISE is looking for the beaten down name to recover strong.

Tiffanys (TIF) bullish 3 way spread with 2,500 January 2013 $50 puts sold to buy 2,500 January 2013 $60/$75 call spreads, net $0.20 debit

Marvell Tech (MRVL) early morning buyer of 2,500 May $17/$20 call spreads at $0.81, and later another 2,500 were bought, bullish positioning in the recently hot Semi.

Sina Corp (SINA) bull flagging intraday, bullish options flow with $3.6M in call premium bought today, a big 1,600 contract January 2014 $60/$40 bull risk reversal traded at $5.70 to open, longer term bullish view on the beaten down China growth stock.

American Eagle (AEO) seeing more attempts to buy the weakness with call volume 5X daily average today, big buys in May $15 calls with 17,500 trading against OI 11,361. On the day more than $750,000 in call premium purchased and Net Delta above 400,000. Action in the calls began at 1:45pm and has seen IV jumping since.

January 9th, 2012

General Motors (GM) trader staying bullish with a roll of 12,500 January $20 calls to 12,500 February $20 calls at $3.20, leading the large early bullish action

Cardinal Health (CAH) February $41 calls seeing hot action again with 4,869 trading after 5,000 bought last week, vying for that big VA contract

Norfolk Southern (NSC) unusual purchase of 1,400 January 2014 $100 calls with stock at $76.17, potentially seeing eventual buyout of the Rail

Polycom (PLCM) is trading 3,070 calls on the day, 2X daily with IV30 up 15%, 72% offer side action with $144,000 in call premium bought today, the February 17.50 and even the 22.50 calls seeing buys. Shares put in a long base along $14.50 and now today breaking out above its 50 day SMA on fairly good volume. The beaten down Tech name now has just a $2.9B market cap, and trades 12.8X earnings, 1.4 PEG, 2X sales and 18.66X cash flow with 21.7% EPS growth seen for next year, so shares are cheap. Earnings are 1/23/12 and shares tend to move big. Citi raised to Buy on 12-21.

January 6th, 2012

Talisman Energy (TLM) IV jumping as call volume rips to 9X daily with 71% on the offer, as 4,300 January $13 calls bought and 1,450 February $13 calls

Estee Lauder (EL) shares breaking 20 day EMA, bearish action with opening February $105 ITM call sales on the bid for more than 1,550 contracts, pushing IV lower

Agrium (AGU) off 2.3% at lows of the day, yet trading 3X daily call volume with 3,300 OTM February $80 calls bought to open today, buyers paying the $0.60 offer, unusual action, the kind of speculation you would see for a buyout, Agrium trading with an $11.33B market cap.

Fusion-IO (FIO) shares breakout past $28 this morning and call volume heats up with 1,200 February $30 calls bought at $2.90, opening bullish buyers. The $2.37B Co. trades 70.55X forward earnings, but is the future of storage, a major growth/momentum name.

RR Donnelley (RRD) traded 5,598 puts yesterday, buyers of 5,400 January 2014 $8 puts at $1.15/$1.20, more than $239,000 in put premium purchased, shares at $15. This looks to be a longer term bearish bet, a play on the theme of a dying industry, print media, as RRD makes magazines, books, and other print material. Very interesting action yesterday, and I can see the rationale as E-Books are sure to takeover the market by 2014.

Citrix Systems (CTXS) climbing back from weakness on a downgrade and trading 3X daily call volume, two days after a buyer of 1,500 February $62.50 calls. Today the January $60 calls with 2,000 bought to open, and 1,500 of the March $60 ITM calls, bullish action.

VIX June $24/$16 ratio put spread bought 20,000X40,000 at $0.90

January 5th, 2012

CVR Energy (CVI) February $22.50/$17.50 bullish risk reversal opened 1,500X at $0.10 debit, bullish play on refiner nearing entry into large gap

Intermune (ITMN) shares up 11.86% on the day after announcing initial Esbriet sales in Germany, and a trader opens 2,000 February/April $15 calendar call spreads at $1.10 on the NYSE

Signet (SIG) traded 57.7X daily call volume, buyers in January $45 and February $50 calls, IV30 jumped 5.8%. The $4B jewelry retailer is still a great value name, and near a breakout to 5 year highs. Shares trade 11.2X earnings, 0.9 PEG, 1.11X sales and 1.89X book value, and has reported consistently strong results.

American Axle (AXL) traders rolling up 3,000 January $10 calls to the $11 strike, taking some off the table, but still bullish

Canadian Pacific (CP) shares traded near all time highs and February options active, on trader puts on 1,000 February $70/$65 bullish risk reversals at $0.70 to open, and another trader sold 750 of those $65 puts to open. The $11.7B rail is in the sweet spot for Transportation and trades 15.9X earnings, 2.35X sales, and 2.3X book with a 1.71% dividend yield. JP Morgan upgraded to Neutral yesterday on hopes for management changes, and option traders positioning for upside, thinking that shares definitely hold above the recent $65 breakout level.

Van-Heusen (PVH) seller of volatility, 1,640 March $80/$67.50 strangles sold to open on the AMEX at $4.35

OmniVision Tech (OVTI) June $14 calls with 2,400 bought today near $1.45 offer, active bullish flow for shares to recover. Shares trade 1.5X cash value with nearly zero debt.

January 4th, 2012

Dunkin Brands (DNKN) not doing much today after positive Analyst coverage, shares just up 1% failing at its 50 day EMA near $25.50. Put volume is running above 7,000 on the day with the February $25/$22.50 ratio put spreads bought at $0.50 today for 2,000X4,000, looking for shares to head lower, although downside fairly limited. Shares of the $3B Co. do look pricey at this level, trading 27.2X earnings, 4.88X sales and 4.06X book with no dividend. It is tough to justify Institutions buying the stock, as Starbucks (SBUX) is outperforming, no need for anyone to be long Dunkin. The spread then traded another 2,950X5,900 contracts at $1 near the close.

Acme Packet (APKT) massive put roll with the 7,000 February $32.50 puts rolled down to 13,800 February $25 puts bought to open at $2.50, looking for further downside to shares as guidance continues to be cut.

Southwestern Energy (SWN) now also seeing buyers in February $34 calls with 2,500 trading, and then another 2,500 bought later with 5,000 now trading

NutriSystem (NTRI) is a name highlighted for weeks with bullish call action, buyers were playing March and later options for a recovery when shares were under $11. Now shares are breaking out in a big way, up 5.6% today and an opening buyer pays $2.95 for 4,000 March $12 ITM calls. 

Yahoo (YHOO) July $16/$19 ratio call spread has traded 60,000X120,000 now on the day

Dollar Thrifty (DTG) trading 3,900 calls and IV30 up 4% today, buyer of 1,500 February $75 calls at $1.35 to open, also some buyers of the $72.50 calls at $3.10. A deal for the Company recently fell through, but potentially it is seen as eventually getting done.

January 3rd, 2012

Retail (XRT) bearish spread with 31,350 March $52/$47 put spreads bought at $1.43 on the AMEX ahead of same store sales on Thursday. This comes aster 5,470 February 51/46 put spreads were bought in the XRT last Thursday at $1.

Tibco Software (TIBX) moving to lows on the day, weak in a strong tape as cloud/software names fade, and 1,000 February $22 puts bought to open at the $1 offer.

Sohu.com (SOHU) making day highs and bullish action heats up with more than 1,550 February $60 calls bought at the $1.80 offer to open.

Microchip Tech (MCHP) rejected at $37 resistance and trading 3X daily put volume with 2,100 February $36 puts bought to open on the day, bearish positioning in the Semi. MCHP has a 3.8% yield.

RPC Inc. (RES) trading 3,985 calls, often featured in takeover chatter, trading 7X daily call volume, mostly offer side buys in February $22.50 calls trading 2,260, and IV30 jumping big 19.6% today to 64.6%. On the weekly chart shares really have a good long base formed and nearing a trend break to the upside with room to $25. The $2.7B oilfield services Co. trades cheap at 7X earnings, 0.4 PEG, and 3.77X book with stronger growth outlook than peers. Canaccord has a Buy and $24 target on shares.

January 2nd, 2012

Ross Stores (ROST) traded 7,097 calls on the day, more than 4X daily with 66% offer side, more than $320,000 in call premium purchased with most of the action in January $47.5, $48.75, and $50 calls. The action comes ahead of same store sales after a year in which Ross was a big outperformer in retail. The discount shopping theme is sure to remain in 2012, and Ross is likely to continue its strong performance. On 12/22 Goldman recommended buying calls in ROST ahead of the report.

Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) traded 3X daily call volume with the bullish action in April $28 ITM calls as 1,825 were bought to open at $3.40. Shares has a fairly quiet year in 2011, basing along the 200 week EMA and now looking to breakout for a run at the double top level of $34. At 15.86X earnings, 0.96X sales and 14.3X cash flow valuation is fair, and 17% of the float is short, so a potential squeeze name, and the $1.6B market cap could make it an acquisition target. Stephens started Overweight with a $34 target in late November, and the Company is starting to expand Internationally.

Discover Financial (DFS) traded 4X daily call volume and 6X daily put volume as strategists bought 3,600+ July $24 straddles at $5.40, expecting 2012 to be more volatile for Discover. Shares have been coiling in a tight consolidation pattern and need to break $25 for a push to $27, a Company with improving fundamentals and the credit card stocks have been strong. Discover trades just 7.25X earnings, 0.63 PEG and 1.28X cash value, raised to Buy at Stifel with a $29 target on 12-16.