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Rising Risk Aversion Prompts Crude Oil Bears to Target USO Put Options

Today’s tickers: USO, SU, DTV, AIG, CCE, PMCS & TRLG USO - United States Oil Fund LP – Despite a stronger dollar so far during 2010 the price of crude oil has rebounded smartly and spent some time this week trading above $80 per barrel. Today’s sudden bout of risk aversion knocking equity prices running for cover has created fears of lower oil prices ahead according to options activity today. Investors targeted downside protection as they snapped up more than 10,000 put options reserving rights to sell shares in the fund that mimics the price of crude before expiration in March. Investors chose the fixed strike price of $36.00 to lock into selling rights compared to the fund’s share price of $37.67 – down 3.4% already today. Investors forced the premium of the put options from 45 cents to as high as 59 cents throughout the morning. It appears that today’s activity is fresh investor activity since it exceeds the number of open positions as of the close of business on Wednesday, while the volume also represents more than 20% of overall options volume today. SU - Suncor Energy, Inc. – Despite the nearby bearish overture for the fortunes of crude oil prices, a decent-sized bullish options transaction was established on the Canadian energy company. Undeterred by a 3% decline in Suncor Energy’s share price to $28.24, one investor initiated a debit call spread in the June contract to position for a sharp rebound in Suncor’s share price by expiration in four months. The trader purchased 10,500 calls at the June $31 strike for a premium of $1.26 apiece, and sold the same number of calls at the higher June $36 strike for a premium of $0.30 each. The net cost of the spread amounts to $0.96 per contract. Maximum available profits of $4.04 per contract accumulate for the bullish trader if Suncor’s shares rally approximately 27.5% from the current value of the stock to $36.00 by June expiration. We note that shares traded as high as $38.22 on January 6, 2010. DTV - The DIRECTV Group, Inc. – Covered-call selling is the theme of the day in Directv options trading as it appears investors are picking up shares of the underlying stock while simultaneously shedding out-of-the-money calls in the June contract. Shares of the provider of subscription television services slipped 0.90% during the session to $33.30. Approximately 25,300 calls were sold at the June $35…
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