Akamai Technologies is working its way higher today, and one investor is adjusting a winning trade.
optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker monitoring system detected the purchase of about 7,800 May 52.50 calls for $2.85 and the sale of a similar number of February 48 calls for $2.95. Volume was below open interest in the 48s, so it appears an existing long position was rolled up in price and out in time.
Long calls lock in the price where shares can be purchased in the Internet-caching company, letting investors cheaply control gains in the stock. Moving from the February calls to the May contracts provides an additional three months of exposure to potential upside. The trader also recovered $0.10 of capital.
Another benefit of today's trade is that it reduces the risk of a bad earnings report on Feb. 5 because the investor has a lower delta and more time value in the position. (See our Education section)
AKAM rose 0.43 percent to $49.39 in afternoon trading. It fell in October after providing a weak forecast but found support at its 200-day moving average and has been working higher since.
Total option volume is 9 times greater than average in the session, with calls outnumbering puts by 18 to 1.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.