OPTIONS -Applied Materials calls busy into results
CHICAGO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Implied volatility edged up, and calls turned busy again Monday in Applied Materials Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT - news) options.
The company's third-quarter results are due out on Tuesday.
Implied vols for the semi-conductor equipment maker's August 70 calls rose to about 88 percent, with the puts near 95 percent. In the September 70s, vols rose to about 68 percent.
The stock's one-month historical volatility is roughly 47 percent.
``The vol definitely has crept up here late last week and today as well,' said Ross Goodheart, lead market maker with Group One Trading at the Pacific Exchange. ``I think some folks believe the numbers are going to be better (than expected).'
According to the First Call/Thomson Financial consensus forecast, Applied Materials is expected to earn 53 cents per share.
He said retail was buying puts and calls last week, but seemed more interested in calls on Monday, ``definitely more buying than selling.'
That helped pad volume again on Monday to roughly 5,430 calls and 3,350 puts after Friday's brisk trade of nearly 20,000 contracts. Volume this summer typically has averaged between about 2,500 and 5,000 contracts daily, Goodheart estimated.
The most-active call, the August 70, rose 3/8 to 3-1/2 on volume of 1,545 and open interest of 5,764. The August 75 calls dipped 1/8 to 1-1/4 on volume of 1,496 and open interest of 6,062.
Shares of Applied Materials rose 3/4 to 70-1/2 on New York Stock Exchange volume of 8.1 million. |
