The Option Block

Trading Block: Selloff or rally? The market needs to make up its mind. Whither the VIX: there was a brief flirtation with 50 handle now back into the more “sensible” 20 handle. So, it takes a massive selloff in the marketplace to get VIX over 50. AAPL had a 20 handle range this week. We missed the deal of the century on the AAPL Sep 75 puts.   Odd Block: Calls trade in BTU, calls trade in P, and p...

Trading Block: The DJIA briefly slumped more than 1,000 points, its biggest point-drop ever. VIX Cash hit 53.29 at 10am. The VIX jumped as much as 90 percent to 53.29, its highest since January 2009. VIX didn’t update for 30 minutes as options quotes got erratic. AAPL hit a low of $92 before rebounding.   Around the Block: Retail earnings season winds down this week

Trading Block: 6.5 month low. Breaking through big technical levels in the S&P. Huge move in VIX. A rundown of soft and hard losers. When Wal-Mart becomes a flight-to-safety. Everything is NOT awesome.   Odd Block: Strange and unusual activity in MSFT, PNK, and POT. Mail Block: Listener questions and comments in response to Monday’s show. Comment 1 from @MarkBrant1KM: One thing I learned from Dr....

Trading Block: Stocks to watch include: Tesla, Zulilly, Pentair, and Estee Lauder. Gold trading outlook: Futures extend gains on US rates speculations. U.S. stocks rise as investors turn focus on economic strength. Odd Block: Call spreads go up in Williams Companies Inc. (WMB), giant call roll in Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (HIG), and calls trade in Xilinx Inc. (XLNX). Strategy Block:...

Trading Block: Bearish options bets on Apple are spiraling higher. Stocks to Watch: Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) +2.26%), American Apparel Inc. (APP), Lenovo Group Ltd. (HKG). OCC and U.S. Securities Market Coalition ask U.S. Department of Labor to allow use of listed options in retirement accounts.   Odd Block: Calls trade in SYSCO Corp (SYS), puts trade in SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield (JNK), and...

Trading Block: Our special guest today is Vlad Karpel, Founder of Tradespoon. Dow jumps triple digits; oil recovery boosts energy 2%. How should investors play falling Apple stock? Earnings today after the bell: Rackspace Hosting, Inc., Shake Shack, Inc., Take Two Interactive - TTWO $31.38, Straddle - $3.10 - Approx. 10%. BATS gets regulatory nod for second U.S. options exchange.   Odd Block: Call...

Trading Block: Stocks getting crushed post-earnings.   Disney - stock closed @ $121 prior to earnings on 8/4. ATM straddle $4.10 or 3.4%. Stock off over 10% in the past two days - off 2% today. Tesla - stock $270 prior to earnings. ATM straddle $22.25 or 8.2%. Down 28 handles, over 10% today. A massive sell-off is underway in media stocks, and Viacom is by far the biggest loser. Odd Block: Calls t...

Trading Block: Thanks to everyone that came out last week to our live show! We had a wonderful seeing all of our listeners in person.   Earnings today after the bell: Brookdale Senior Living, Avis Budget Group, Allstate Corp, General Growth Properties. Media & retail highlight earnings this week: CVS, Office Depot Inc., Walt Disney Co. Highlights of this week: Wednesday: Tesla, Time Warner, and Tw...

Trading Block: Still in the thick of earnings season. LNKD straddle going out at over $25. Talking FB, VIX. Trading the Sebastian bottom. The introduction of VIX weekly futures. Whole Foods prices weigh on earnings. Who’s afraid of insider trading? Chinese equity vol. Will Gold fall to $350/ounce? SO MANY new CBOE indexes. SO MANY.   Odd Block: Ratio/vertical calls roll in MDLZ.  Ratio buy-write i...

Trading Block: China meltdown. Chinese equities have suffered the sharpest one-day crash in eight years. Earnings: Bidu, Facebook, Twitter, Exxon Mobil. Will option traders ‘pin’ gold to $1,100/oz?   Odd Block: Call buyers in EXCO Resources Inc. (XCO), calls trade in Knowles Corp (KN), and calls trade in Pfizer Inc. (PFE) Strategy Block: What is going on in the S&P 500? Mail Block: Listener questi...

Trading Block: Earnings! MSFT: $47.28 on earnings. Straddle: $2.40 / 5%. Opens down approx. $2. Microsoft lost 3.7 percent after posting its largest-ever quarterly loss. AAPL: Closed near $131 on earnings. Straddle: $6.15 / approx. 4.7%. Opened $122 - down $8.75. Apple fell 4.2 percent after iPhone sales and revenue forecast missed estimates. Nasdaq retreats amid tech selloff after Apple, Microsof...

Trading Block: In which we feature special guest co-host: Fred Ruffy from Trade Alert   Earnings Today: Before the Bell: Morgan Stanley, Haliburton, Hasbro; After the Bell: IBM. Tech names blowing through their straddles: NFLX: 8%, GOOG: 3.5%. Stocks slightly higher as NASDAQ hits new record. Odd Block: Puts trade in Ford Motor Company (F), puts trade in Windstream Holdings Inc. (WIN), and calls t...

Trading Block: GOOG after the bell. ATM Straddle: Approx. $21 - a 3.5% move. Last earnings: 19 handle move from close to open, approx. 3.5%. Volume: Approx. 3x ADV. Calls nearly 3 to 1 over puts. Bank of England urges longer jail terms for market manipulators. On July 16th, 2004 - Martha Stewart was sentenced for insider trading, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice in the ImClone trading scanda...

Trading Block: July and the VIX weigh heavily on the S&P. U.S. stocks rise after Greece reaches an agreement with creditors. Netflix hits new high price in advance of stock split, earnings. Fitbit shares are in uncharted territory as analysts initiate coverage.   Odd Block: Puts trade in IAMGOLD Corp. (IAG), calls trade in Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC), calls trade in Market Vectors Oil Services...

Trading Block: What glitch? Competition eases NYSE shut-down. Fed increase are little more than a coin flip for derivative traders. Apple stock chart points to more downside ahead. Earnings today: Before the bell: PepsiCo, Walgreens   Odd Block: Calls trade in CBS Inc. (CBS), calls trade WisdomTree EuropeHedged ETF (HEDJ), and calls trade in JCPenney Co. (JCP). Mail Block: Listener questions and c...

Trading Block: CBOE and C2 Options Exchange total trading volume up 16% in June. Surge in Europe stock options volume shows race to hedge Greece. A few dozen Chicago traders will don their multicolored jackets to trade soybean and forex futures the old-fashioned way one last time on Monday, marking the end of 167 years of open-outcry trading in the city where it was born. Oil at 3-months low as ou...

Today we have Special Guest Star Henry Schwartz from Trade Alert     Trading Block: Jobs data disappoints. OCC cleared contract volume grew 4% in June. Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) shares gain momentum after record quarterly deliveries. Odd Block: Calls trade in Targa Resources Partners LP (NGLS), calls trade in Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX), and puts trade in ARM Holdings plc (ARMH)     Mail Block...

Trading Block: Dow falls 225 points, in the red for the year amid Greece; VIX spikes 24%. Biggest one-day loss since 2011 for European stocks as Greek crisis deepens. FitBit options listed on 6/26: 1st day volume = 4,600 contracts. 2,500 on Friday, 2,500 so far today. Oil falls to three-week low amid risk of Greek exit from Euro. Odd Block: Calls trade in US Silica Holdings (SLCA), calls trade in...

Trading Block: A Greek deal drives the rally ho! Dow briefly adds 150 points, NASDAQ sets intraday high on Greece hopes. Crude and gold both drop - gold off 1.5%. Hilton: Why are so many traders betting on this hotel giant? Amberella getting crushed.   Odd Block: Puts trade in Ford Motor Company (F), calls trade in Owens Corning (OC), and calls trade in Green Plains Inc. (GPRE).   Strategy Block:...

Trading Block: Rally ho on the street. Fitbit IPO prices at $20 a share, above expectations. Fitbit Inc., the maker of wearable fitness-tracking devices, priced its initial public offering above its estimated range at $20 a share, raising $732 million. That makes it the biggest tech IPO this year and gives it a market cap of roughly $4 billion. Apple Bands - Apple (AAPL) shares are in focus in ear...

Trading Block: Trade bodies urge regulators to sort out derivatives reporting. Stocks to watch: CVS, Lumber Liquidators, Actavis. CBOE extends VIX and SPX options trading hours as global growth in VIX continues to build.   Odd Block: Puts trade in SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB), calls trade in iShares MSCI Germany Index (EWG), and calls roll in TASER International, Inc. (TASR).     Strategy Block...

Trading Block: Apples big meeting is a loser for investors - the Apple (AAPL) faithful are breathlessly awaiting the company's latest announcements at its confab starting Monday. But investors know better – it's a bust. VXX - closed the day at $18 (a change of -2.33%) at a relative volume of 0.95. Lululemon founder, Chip Wilson, files to sell his stake in the company. Odd Block: Calls trade in iSh...

Trading Block: Down day on the market: weekend coming in; selloff. TSLA up $7, but why? What is going on with Greece? If they can get out of their debt, why not the rest of the EU? Theta vs. delta. Could AAPL go over the trillion dollar market cap level? AVP rumor redux: making up stories to manipulate the market & SEC. Odd Block: Puts trade in TUR, puts trade in AU, and calls trade in CCL. Strate...

Trading Block: A pronounced selloff across the market today. The IMF calls out the Fed - says rates should be not raised until 2016. Goldman is long puts in USO and XLE - saying volatility is just too low. Odd Block: Puts trade in Ocwen Financial Group (OCN), puts trade in Intel Corp. (INTC), and Aug calls trade in Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) Mail Block: Listener questions and comments Question fro...

Trading Block: Embrace options in the TWTR stock fire sale. Intel to buy Altera in nearly $17B cash deal. Euronext to launch volatility contracts. Odd Block: Calls and puts trade in CSX Corp (CSX), puts trade in IAMGOLD Corp (IAG), and calls trade in EV Energy Partners LP (EVEP) Strategy Block: Anything you can do with stock, I can do with options. Around the Block: June kicks off the close of ear...