GM – General Motors Co – Shares in GM are on the rise today, up 1.0% at $39.15 as of 11:20 a.m. EST, after earlier rallying 1.7% to touch a new 52-week high of $39.39. Trading in the regular December options on the automaker this morning suggest one strategist is positioning for shares in the name to extend gains during the next few weeks.
It looks like one trader initiated a one-by-two ratio call spread on the stock, a strategy that looks for limited gains in the price of the underlying through December expiration. The trader appears to have purchased 920 calls at the Dec $39 strike at a premium of $1.10 each and sold twice as many of the Dec $41 strike calls at an average premium of $0.345 apiece. The net cost of the ratio spread amounts to $0.41 per contract and positions the strategist to profit in the event that GM’s shares exceed the breakeven price of $39.41. Maximum potential profits of $1.59 per contract are available on the spread if shares in the automaker rise 4.1% to settle at $41.00 at expiration later this month. Shares in GM are up more than 50% since this time last year.
BBY – Best Buy Co., Inc. – Weekly options changing hands on Best Buy this morning suggest some traders are looking for shares in the consumer electronics retailer to continue higher during the next few trading sessions. Shares in BBY, up better than 200% since this time last year, are trading 2.0% higher on the day at $41.36 as of midday in New York trading.
Fresh interest in upside call options expiring at the end of this week are active today, with the Dec 06 ’13 $42 strike options attracting the most volume. Around 1,900 of the $42 weekly calls have traded thus far in the session against open interest of 161 contracts. One strategist appears to have purchased around half of the volume at a premium of $0.56 each just before 11:00 a.m. EST this morning. The calls make money at expiration if shares in BBY rally another 2.9% over the current price of $41.36 to exceed the breakeven point at $42.56. Traders are also homing in on the Dec 06 ’13 $43.5 and $44 strike calls, with around 430 and 750 contracts exchanged thus far in the session, respectively.