Guess, Inc. (GES)–
Call options on the apparel retailer are on trend with bullish players
positioning for shares in Guess to rally substantially by September
expiration. September contract options, which are by far the most
actively traded on GES this morning, expire after the company's August
25 second-quarter earnings report. Shares in the designer of
contemporary apparel and accessories are currently down 0.75% to stand
at $40.91 just after 11:50 am ET. The largest single transaction in GES
options was initiated at the September $44 strike, where some 10,000
calls were purchased for an average premium of $1.45 each against paltry
previously existing open interest of 314 contracts. The call buyer
profits at expiration if the price of the underlying jumps 11.1% over
the current price of $40.91 to surpass the effective breakeven point at
$45.45. GES shares last traded above $45.45 in March. Bullish players
also snapped up more than 100 calls at the September $45 and $48 strikes
for premiums of $1.17 and $0.57 per contract. Meanwhile, investors
anticipating bearish movement in the price of the underlying looked to
the September $41 strike to pick up around 1,500 in-the-money puts at an
average premium of $2.70 apiece. Put buyers profit if shares in the
apparel producer drop 6.4% in the next couple of months to trade beneath
the average breakeven price of $38.30 at expiration in September.
Options implied volatility on Guess, Inc. rose 7.0% to 35.92% in
early-afternoon trade.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT)– Investors
itching for a near-term rally in Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. shares
appear to be hoarding August contract call options. Shares in the
manufacturer of tires and rubber products increased as much as 3.8% in
the first half of the session to secure an intraday high of $17.42. GT
earlier said it has closed a tire manufacturing facility in Union City,
TN, which the company had previously estimated may take until the end of
the year to close. Traders initiating bullish stances on Goodyear may
be looking for a positive earnings surprise when the company reveals its
performance for the second quarter on July 28. Investors picked up
2,000 in-the-money calls at the August $17 strike for an average premium
of $1.15 each, but trading traffic was heaviest up at the August $18
strike.