Today’s tickers: GRMN, CELG & GSK
GRMN - Garmin, Ltd. – Bearish options were changing hands on Garmin this morning after the provider of navigation devices and GPS technology reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and provided full year 2013 guidance below the consensus estimate. Shares in Garmin fell more than 11% at the start of the session to a new 52-week low of $34.65. Put buying on the stock ahead of Garmin’s fourth-quarter report this morning generated substantial overnight profits for one or more traders today. Open interest in the Mar. $38 strike puts increased 650 contracts following Tuesday’s trading session, and a look back at time and sales data for the $38 puts indicates most of the contracts were purchased for an average premium of $1.46 each. The sharp post-earning pullback in the price of the underlying now finds the Mar. $38 strike puts changing hands at $3.65 each, or more than twice the amount traders paid for the contracts on Tuesday. Meanwhile, options traders initiating bearish positions on Garmin today looked to the Mar. $34 strike, exchanging more than 1,400 puts versus open interest of 672 contracts. It looks like most of the $34 puts were purchased for an average premium of $0.64 apiece. Put buyers may profit at expiration next month should Garmin’s shares slip another 4% to trade below the average breakeven price of $33.36, the lowest level for GRMN shares since October 2011.
CELG - Celgene Corp. – Shares in the maker of cancer drugs are up sharply on Wednesday after the company announced it will buy back $600 million in stock from an unnamed investment bank during the next three months. In June, the biotechnology company approved a $2.5 billion stock buyback program. CELG shares are up better than 2.5% on the day to stand at $103.04 as of 11:35 a.m. ET, after earlier rallying to a record-high of $103.69. Upside call buying on the stock today suggests some options traders are looking for shares in Celgene to extend gains during the next…
