Today’s tickers: POT, EWZ, USO, C, NTRI, GFI, AUY, AA, & WYE
POT - Shares of the Canadian producer of potash rallied more than 5% during the trading session to break through the $90.00-level. The stock tempered this afternoon, however, and stands just 2.5% higher for the day at $87.89. We observed interesting bullish plays take place in the December contract. One investor established a 2,000-lot buy-write strategy, also known as a covered call. The covered call involved the purchase of shares of the underlying stock for approximately $90.74, and the simultaneous sale of 2,000 call options at the December 110 strike for a premium of 1.80 per contract. The cost of buying the stock is reduced by the value of the premium received on the sale of the calls, resulting in an effective price per share of $88.94. Additionally, the short call position serves as an exit strategy for the trader if shares of POT trade above $110.00 by expiration. If the December 110 strike calls land in-the-money, the investor will likely have the underlying shares called from him, and he will be left with net profits of 24% on the rally in the stock. The other strategy employed by POT-lovers this afternoon was a call spread. Investors purchased 5,000 calls at the December 115 strike for 1.25 each, and sold 5,000 calls at the higher December 120 strike for 85 cents premium apiece. – Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. –
EWZ - Shares of the Brazil exchange-traded fund are slightly higher this afternoon by less than 0.5% to stand at $69.58. Option traders expecting continued bullish movement in the price of the fund initiated optimistic plays across several contracts. One nearer-term indication of bullish sentiment is a call spread in the November contract. The trade likely involves the purchase of 2,000 calls at the November 71 strike for a premium of 3.23 apiece, spread against the sale of 2,000 calls at the higher November 77 strike for one dollar each. The net cost of the transaction amounts to 2.23 per contract. Thus, maximum potential profits of 3.77 are available in the event that shares of the EWZ rally 11% to $77.00 by expiration next month. Plain-vanilla call buying is another tactic employed by bullish investors today. Some 2,500 calls were purchased at the March 2010 80 strike for a premium of 2.70 each. Finally, 1,000 calls were coveted by a long-term…
