Caterpillar, Inc. (CAT) – The machinery maker's shares may surrender much of the gains posted during the October rally, according to one bearish strategy initiated in the December contract this morning. Shares in Caterpillar are in the red this afternoon, along with all of the other Dow 30 names, to trade 3.5% lower at $92.50 as of 12:45 pm ET. It looks like one investor initiated a roughly 3,000-lot bearish put spread, buying the Dec. $90 puts, and selling the same number of Dec. $75 options, for an average net premium outlay of $3.07 per contract. The trader may profit at expiration next month if CAT's shares fall 6.0% to breach the average breakeven price of $86.93. The investor may pocket maximum potential profits of $11.93 per contract should shares Caterpillar plunge 18.9% to trade below $75.00 at December expiration day. CAT's shares last traded below $75.00 back on October 7. The stock presently trades 37.0% higher than its October 4 52-week low of $67.54.
Universal Display Corp. (PANL) – Shares in Universal Display Corp. rallied as much as 11.75% to an intraday high of $55.25 after the company posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. The provider of components and technologies used in the production of flat-panel displays earned $0.12 a share, excluding some items, which beat the average expectation that the firm would break even for the quarter. Shares in PANL are off their highs off the morning to stand 8.2% better on the day at $53.49 as of 11:25 am ET. One options player appears to be positioning for shares in Universal Display Corp. to continue to climb through November expiration. It looks like the investor purchased a 1,000-lot Nov. $55/$60 call spread at a net premium of $2.10 per contract. Profits are available on the spread should PANL's shares rally another 6.7% to surpass the effective breakeven price of $57.10. The bullish trade yields maximum potential profits of $2.90 per contract to the investor in the event that shares in Universal Display surge 12.2% over the current price of $53.49 to trade above $60.00 at expiration. Options implied volatility on the stock is down 20.1% to arrive at 81.9% in the first half of the session.
Life Technologies Corp.