| MARKET CONDITIONS PROFILED: Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) |
Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) is seeing accelerated option activity on both the call and the put side today, with volume running at a 5% and 22% mark-up to average intra-day levels, respectively. The two most active strikes expire at Friday's close, and it seems a number of speculators are split on the stock's short-term trajectory.
The most sought-after position heading into the final hour or so of the session is BAC's weekly 3/7 16.50-strike call, where a healthy portion of the 19,400 contracts traded have changed hands on the ask side. Implied volatility (IV) has jumped 6.8 percentage points, hinting at buy-to-open activity. Delta for this out-of-the-money call is docked at 0.32, suggesting a 32% chance of an in-the-money (ITM) finish at week's end -- when the options expire.
Meanwhile, the weekly 3/7 16-strike put has also garnered notable attention. Specifically, 83% of the 14,366 contracts traded here have done so at the ask price, and IV is up 5.7 percentage points, indicating the initiation of new bearish positions. The options market isn't too confident this put will be ITM at Friday's close, as delta is perched at negative 0.24.
On the charts, BAC has spent most of 2014 bouncing between the $16 and $17 levels, translating into a modest year-to-date advance of about 5%. However, a large portion of option traders have been focusing on the aforementioned options, as peak call and put open interest in the weekly 3/7 series can be found at the 16.50 and 16 strikes, respectively. In today's session, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) has succumbed to the broad-market sell-off, and was last seen 1.2% lower at $16.32.
The most sought-after position heading into the final hour or so of the session is BAC's weekly 3/7 16.50-strike call, where a healthy portion of the 19,400 contracts traded have changed hands on the ask side. Implied volatility (IV) has jumped 6.8 percentage points, hinting at buy-to-open activity. Delta for this out-of-the-money call is docked at 0.32, suggesting a 32% chance of an in-the-money (ITM) finish at week's end -- when the options expire.
Meanwhile, the weekly 3/7 16-strike put has also garnered notable attention. Specifically, 83% of the 14,366 contracts traded here have done so at the ask price, and IV is up 5.7 percentage points, indicating the initiation of new bearish positions. The options market isn't too confident this put will be ITM at Friday's close, as delta is perched at negative 0.24.
On the charts, BAC has spent most of 2014 bouncing between the $16 and $17 levels, translating into a modest year-to-date advance of about 5%. However, a large portion of option traders have been focusing on the aforementioned options, as peak call and put open interest in the weekly 3/7 series can be found at the 16.50 and 16 strikes, respectively. In today's session, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) has succumbed to the broad-market sell-off, and was last seen 1.2% lower at $16.32.
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