Sonki, Ibexx, and all, "Today's calls/puts tradings of Microsoft".
Reuters Story - January 22, 1998 22:37
CHICAGO, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Options on Microsoft Corp
saw heavy trade Thursday following the announcement of
a partial settlement in the U.S. Justice Department's antitrust
case against the company.
"It's very active," said a market maker in the Microsoft
crowd at the Pacific Exchange.
With large orders for both puts and calls flowing into the
pit, a directional bias to the activity wasn't easily
discernible, the market maker said.
But a drop in the options' implied volatility, down to 28
percent from an average in the low-30s, suggested more
investors were taking bullish positions in the stock, he said.
"Selling volatility is usually more bullish," the market
maker said.
Most-active Microsoft strikes were the March 150 calls with
volume of 5,160 contracts, February 140 calls at 4,712,
February 130 calls at 3,337 and February 135 calls at 3,073.
On the put side, the February 130 strike traded 5,011
contracts, the February 135 strike traded 3,053 and the March
135 strike traded 3,566.
In the partial settlement announced this morning, attorneys
for Microsoft and the Justice Department said computer makers
licensing the Windows 95 operating system can delete the icon
for the company's Internet Explorer browser.
The settlement did not resolve the larger Justice
Department charge that Microsoft violated a 1995 consent decree
forbidding the company from forcing computer makers that
license Windows to use other Microsoft products.
Microsoft rose 1-5/8 on the day to 138-5/8. The company
said Wednesday that second-quarter profits rose 52 percent but
warned that the Asian crisis could hurt future results. |
