Today’s tickers: GILD, SPLS & ODP
GILD - Gilead Sciences, Inc. – Bullish activity in the biotechnology company’s options jumped and shares in Gilead Sciences moved up more than 2.0% to $46.18 the same day the drug maker presented at the 2012 RBC Capital Markets’ Healthcare Conference in New York. Positive comments from management along with the impending April 19th first-quarter earnings report from the Company could be catalysts for the sizable bull call spreads accumulating in the April expiry. It looks like one investor purchased a roughly 15,000-lot April $47/$50 call spread for a net premium of $1.13 per contract to position for shares to extend gains during the next couple of months. Profits may be available on the spread in the event that Gilead’s shares rally another 4.2% to surpass the average breakeven price of $48.13, while maximum possible profits of $1.87 per contract pad the investor’s wallet should the stock surge 8.3% to top $50.00 at expiration. Gilead’s shares had realized year-to-date gains of 35.0% earlier this month after the Company’s better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings report sent the stock up as high as $56.50 on the 6th of February. The stock subsequently came back down with a thud shortly after reaching its highest level since 2008, but the options trader responsible for the call activity this morning is poised to benefit should the stock regain its footing in the near term.
SPLS - Staples, Inc. – Shares in the office supplies retailer rallied 4.7% to $15.95 in sympathy with competitor, Office Depot, Inc., which opened sharply higher on better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings released ahead of the opening bell this morning. Staples is scheduled to reveal its fourth-quarter performance before U.S. markets open on Wednesday, and it looks like options traders are positioning for the upward move in…
