One investor sees little hope for ArcelorMittal, which has been falling for years.
On Friday , optionMONSTER's tracking programs detected unusual activity in the September calls as an investor rolled a short position in 10,000 contracts down from the 15s to the 14s. They collected $0.35 of income at the time.
He or she returned to the trade yesterday, buying back the September 14s for $0.83 and opening a new short position in the September 13s for $1.23. That's another $0.40 of income.
Investors usually sell calls against long positions in a stock, generating premium and reducing the volatility of a bullish position. The drawback of the trade is that they must sell their shares for the strike price. So, while the recent transactions have brought in $0.75 of cash, they've also eliminated the possibility of $2 in upside down the road. See our Education Section for more on the strategy, known as a covered call .
MT fell 1.80 percent to $13.13 yesterday. The stock peaked over $105 in mid-2008 and has been trending lower since amid weak demand for steel. It's been responding by closing plants, cutting its dividend and selling shares to support its hefty debt load. Both Moody's and Standard & Poor's lowered its credit rating to junk status last year.
Total option volume was 5 times greater than average in Wednesday's session.
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.
