Today’s tickers: STZ, RIMM & NRG
STZ - Constellation Brands, Inc. – Shares in the world’s largest wine company are leading the few gainers in the S&P 500 Index this morning, bucking the broader market trend as U.S. equities extend losses for a third session in four. Constellation Brands increased as much as 14.0% to $22.10 today on reports global brewing giant, AB InBev, may buy the portion of Mexican brewing company, Grupo Modelo SAB, it does not already own in a transaction that could be valued at $20 billion and include a payment to Constellation Brands. Heavier than usual trading traffic in the July $20 strike call on Friday afternoon ahead of the chatter is worth noting as double-digit gains in the underlying has at least one strategist sitting on triple-digit gains on a particularly well-timed bullish options position. Open interest in the July $20 strike call suggests some 1,550 contracts were purchased for a premium of $0.40 apiece on Friday afternoon, roughly one hour and forty minutes prior to the closing bell. These contracts are currently trading at $2.30 apiece as of 12:20 p.m. ET, a more than five-fold increase in the value of the call options over the weekend. Meanwhile, news of the potential deal spurred fresh bullish positioning in Constellation Brands calls this morning with buyers snapping up Aug. $20, $22.5 and $25 strike calls to position for further upside in the stock. The front-month July $22.5 strike call is the most heavily traded so far today, with upwards of 2,500 calls in play against fewer than 1,000 open contracts. Constellation Brands is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings prior to the opening bell on Friday.
RIMM - Research in Motion Ltd. – Investors continue to dump Research in Motion, sending shares in the Blackberry maker down as much as 8.3% today to a fresh multi-year low of $9.03 after analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight from equalweight. Weekly…
