Today’s tickers: LULU, YHOO, PCS & COF
LULU - Lululemon Athletica, Inc. – Shares in the maker of high-end athletic apparel jumped 7.5% to $50.55 today after the stock was added to the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs, but one options trade on LULU seems to be saying the price of the underlying may head downward, dog. It looks like the buyer of a 1,000-lot January $43.75/$48.75 bear put spread on Lululemon paid a net premium of $1.24 per contract to position for potential double-digit declines in the share price through expiration later in the month. The spread prepares the investor to profit should LULU’s shares drop at least 6.0% to breach the effective breakeven price of $47.51, with maximum potential profits of $3.76 per contract ripe for harvest in the event the stock declines 13.5% to settle below $43.75 at expiration day. Shares in the apparel retailer dipped below $43.75 as recently as December 15.
YHOO - Yahoo!, Inc. – A massive transaction in Yahoo! options signals confidence in the Internet-media giant by at least one large player following the company’s announcement it has appointed PayPal President, Scott Thompson, to serve as its new CEO. The decision to appoint Thompson did not help shares today, however, with the stock currently down 2.7% at $15.84 as of 12:25 PM in New York. The largest single trade on YHOO today, a one-by-two ratio call spread, suggests the price of the underlying may post limited gains during the first seven months of 2012. It looks like the strategist purchased 20,000 calls at the July $16 strike for a premium of $1.92 each, and sold 40,000 calls up at the July $19 strike at a premium of $0.67 apiece. Selling twice as many $19 strike calls significantly reduces net premium paid on the spread to $0.59 per…
