Referenced Stocks

Will iStar be the next financial to jump?

By optionMONSTER,  January 06, 2012, 04:18:10 AM EDT

The bulls think iStar Financial is ready to pop.

optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker tracking system detected the purchase of about 4,300 February 6 calls for $0.30. Volume was more than 60 times open interest in the strike.

SFI rose 1.07 percent to $5.68 yesterday. The commercial-property lender's last earnings report on Oct. 27 missed expectations, though its provision for bad loans declined.

It's mostly been following the bearish trend in financials and has lost almost half its value since last March. Recently, however, the sentiment toward the sector has been turning more bullish, as some investors have racked up quick gains in such names as Bank of America and SunTrust Banks.

Some investors may think that SFI is undervalued because it trades at about 0.29 times book value. Short interest is more than 20 percent of the float, which could also fuel a move to the upside if it starts to rally.

Overall option volume in SFI was 5 times greater than average yesterday, with not a single put crossing out systems.




The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.


This article appears in: Investing, Options

Referenced Stocks: SFI



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