Daily Options Report

Some action from yesterday via Cuttone and Company

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF $100.63 last) traded lower after a  Credit Suisse conference in London was somewhat muted. Traders looked to the options market to hedge some longs as the March puts were active. The March 85/90 put spread was purchased 4500x for a $0.48 premium. Puts outpaced calls as 25,000 traded vs. 13,000 calls.

OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OSIP $57 last) gained ground after a story that the bid may rise as Astellas Pharma...

Well, one important thing that TV never tells you about volatility is that it can happen on the upside too. Especially in violent breaks to the upside. Volatility is about uncertainty, and when a stock hits new highs, or even just breaks above a comfortable range, you can see some options chasing.

BIDU however will have none of this options squeeze I speak of. The stock itself makes new highs every 3 minutes, but the high price tag hides the fact that it's quite the orderly run up. Options at...

If you charted Vampire Weekend, I think it would look like BIDU. Especially on the PnF, not sure I've seen quite that many X'x in a row.

But hey, I think both met their price objectives. Shorting some BIDU call spreads, not sure how to play the other other than not hunting them down from SNL.

And that VIX? Unless we get a market dip, it looks like that streak of positive closes will end at 1. And you can make a strong case that the 1 lift yesterday was merely the standard Monday...

This from Jim Strugger at MKM Partners.

Pride International (PDE, Buy, $29.72, $40 PT, Matt Conlan, 2010 Focus List Member) trades at a 26% discount to our $40 per share liquidation value and is also our top takeover candidate among the offshore drillers. As a result, we expect the stock to move higher because of either an event or steady appreciation of the undervalued shares. Upside directional exposure can be attained via July 32.5/37.5 call spreads offered at $1.25 to make a maximum of...

We go over a Year In VIX on the Options Zone

On March 5, 2009, as we neared the end of a simply awful stretch of market action, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) hit a low of 46.98 and a high of 51.95, before closing at 50.17.

Staring at a VIX of around 17 on the screen now, it may be hard to remember this, but 50 in the VIX was actually well off the highs. The VIX hit 80 in October 2008, and then again in November 2008.

That's not to say you ever had the chance to "sell" the VIX at those...