Wednesday Options Recap

Sentiment

Market action is volatile for a second day, as Hewlett Packard (HPQ) is seeing a sharp post-earnings sell-off and crude oil is rallying beyond $98 a jug on spreading civil unrest. H-P shares are down 9.9 percent and easily the biggest loser in the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the computer maker reported earnings late-Tuesday. While the headline number was above expectations, analysts expressed concerns about revenue growth. It’s the second Dow component this week to raise the same worries after Wal-mart’s (WMT) revenue growth forecast disappointed investors Tuesday. Meanwhile, spreading civil unrest continues and, with the death toll rising beyond 1,000 in Libya, the 18th largest oil producer, supply fears have crude oil up another $2.60 to $98.02 a barrel late-Wednesday. Volatility is spilling over into global equity markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost another 84 points and the NASDAQ is off 24. With about an hour left to trade, the CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX) gained .86 to 21.86. Trading in the options market reflects the cautious sentiment. 11.3 million calls and 10 million puts traded so far.

Bullish Flow

Intel (INTC) is down 3.5 percent to $21.05 and the second biggest loser in the Dow Jones Industrial Average behind HP, which is reeling on disappointing revenue growth numbers. INTC is falling in sympathy and options action is brisk. 104,000 calls and 73,000 puts traded on the chipmaker. The overall flow seems to reflect mixed sentiment, as March 22 calls have traded 31,884 and are the most actives. Two-thirds of the volume is trading at the ask. March 21, April 20, and Jan 17.5 puts are seeing brisk trading as well. Some very short-term players appear to be opening new positions in the Weeklys (expiring 2/25) $22 calls, as 9775 traded. Meanwhile, implied volatility in INTC is up 4.5 percent to 23.75 and, in a trend seen almost marketwide, is up substantially from levels late last week. In fact, Intel vols were near 52-week lows around 19 before the week began and have since risen 25 percent.

Bearish Flow

Longtop Financial (LFT), which is a Hong Kong-based tech company focused on the financial services industry, is down another 93 cents to $30.31 and has now fallen nearly 15 percent month-to-date. The stock rallied more than 8 percent when earnings were reported on Jan 31. The stock has been under pressure since that time, however, and one investor appears to be bracing for additional losses. A block of 2,689 Jun 25 puts traded at $1.10 when the market was 55 cents to $1.10. 3,222 contracts now traded vs. only 6 contracts of open interest. Implied volatility is up 2.5 percent to 45.

Implied Volatility Mover

Trading is very heavy in Citi (C) during the first hour of Wednesday’s session. 179K calls and 275K puts traded in the bank, which is 4X the typical volume. Jun 4.5 puts are the most actives. 93,500 traded. Shares are off 2 cents to $4.67 and some investors might be selling these puts after yesterday’s 4.5 percent slide in the share price. 62 percent of the volume has traded on the bid. Mar 4.5 and Jun 4 puts are busy as well. Meanwhile, Jan 7.5 calls have traded 64000 contracts (53 percent Bid). Implied volatility is up 6 percent to 34.5, as options volume picks up and Citi shares fall for a third consecutive day.