Friday July 24, 7:20 pm Eastern Time
U.S. OPTIONS/Gateway vols dip after Q2
CHICAGO, July 24 (Reuters) - Options on Gateway 2000 Inc. (GTW - news) were active on Friday after the group posted
disappointing second quarter results.
Gateway earlier said it earned $0.38 per diluted share in the latest quarter, up from last year but well short of Wall Street's
forecast of around $0.44 per share. The stock skidded 5-8/16 to 53-3/16.
Implied volatility for August at-the-money options dipped to around 58 percent after the results were posted from around 64
percent last week. Volatility averages between 44 and 60 percent.
The August 55 puts and August 65 calls were among the most actively traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange
(CBOE), with almost 1,500 and 1,900 contracts changing hands, respectively.
The activity in Gateway spilled over into Dell Computer Corp. (DELL - news) options, especially the calls, traders said.
On the American Stock Exchange, the August 110 calls topped the most active list with almost 5,500 contracts trading. The
August 105, 120, 115, 130 and 100 calls also attracted big interest and were among the active. On the put side, the August 95
and 100 contracts drew the most volume.
Implied volatility for nearby at-the-money Dell options was holding around 72 percent, up from around 64 percent on Thursday
and up from its four-week average of around 54 percent.
The stock climbed off its lows by midday and was down 7/8 to 104-1/2 in heavy trading. |
