Cisco Call Options Fly off the Shelves

Today’s tickers: CSCO, DRYS, CIGX, AES, V, MCD, BIIB, SNE, GME & VALE CSCO - Cisco Systems, Inc. – Bullish call-buying dominated options trading patterns on Cisco today on news the firm is slated to “make a significant announcement that will forever change the internet and its impact on consumers, businesses and governments.” Cisco’s shares jumped 4.15% to a new 52-week high of $26.25 during the session on a target share price upgrade to $28.00 from $26.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Bullish traders purchased approximately 15,800 in-the-money calls at the March $26 strike for a premium of $0.33 apiece and coveted 9,300 calls at the higher March $27 strike for an average premium of $0.10 each. Uber-bullish individuals bought 4,000 calls at the March $28 strike for just two pennies premium per contract. Investors long the closest-to-the-money March $26 strike calls are positioned to accrue profits if Cisco’s shares trade above $26.33 ahead of expiration day. The surge in demand for options on the stock as well as uncertainty surrounding tomorrow’s announcement lifted the reading of overall options implied volatility on Cisco by 17.5% to 22.85% in afternoon trading. DRYS - DryShips, Inc. – Dry-bulk shipping company, DryShips, Inc., experienced a short-lived dip in the price of its shares in morning trading, but regained its footing this afternoon, rallying 7.77% to $6.10 with about forty minutes remaining in the session. Call-buying action flooded DRYS today with approximately 22,300 now in-the-money calls picked up at the near-term March $6 strike for an average premium of $0.22 apiece. Nearly 12,000 calls were coveted at the higher March $7 strike for $0.05 premium per contract. Optimism spread to the same strike prices in the April contract, as well. Investors secured roughly 11,600 long in-the-money calls at the April $6 strike for an average premium of $0.39 each. Traders bought another 4,000 call options at the higher April $7 strike for $0.16 per contract. Options traders exchanged more than 130,000 contracts on DryShips during the session, which represents about 27% of total existing open interest on the stock of 480,443 contracts. Options implied volatility jumped approximately 34.8% this afternoon to 60.26%. CIGX - Star Scientific, Inc. – Shares of the maker of dissolvable smokeless tobacco products surged 6.70% to $1.12 today, inspiring one investor to establish a bullish risk reversal on the stock in the August contract. The trader appears to have sold roughly 7,200 puts at the August…