Options Action is a new options-oriented show that made its debut on CNBC on Friday night at 11:30 ET. Hosted by Melissa Lee, the show is clearly an options derivative of Fast Money, from the format to the graphics to the audio.
Given the choice between targeting options-savvy viewers and a broader audience, CNBC has elected to aim for the generalist audience by emphasizing the news and issues, while including some recommended stock trades along with the options trades. If you have a casual interest in options, this show could help grow your knowledge base; if you already consider yourself to be a relatively sophisticated options trader, Options Action is not likely to have a great deal of appeal.
The format relies on current news and investment issues, with Melissa Lee keeping things moving by prompting the guests for some brief analysis and asking for recommended stock and options trades. Financials were the top story on Friday, with some debate about the plight of Wells Fargo (WFC). Steve Jobs and Apple (AAPL); crude oil; and Microsoft (MSFT) vs. Google (GOOG) were the other items on the agenda.
For a debut offering, I thought guests Joe Terranova, Stacey Gilbert, Jim Iurio, Mike Khouw and Brian Stutland did an excellent job of bringing a variety of perspectives to bear on each issue, with reasonably strong interplay among the group. My favorite part of the show centered around the discussion of a naked sale of Google June 300 puts for 43.00, as recommended by Stutland, or selling a put spread instead, as recommended by Gilbert.
In terms of options-specific material that you might not find on Fast Money, in addition to the proposed options trades, there was a quick blurb on unusual options volume at United Technologies (UTX) as well as several charts that showed five day options volume trends in some of the other featured companies. Other than that, the name of this program could easily have been Fast Money: Options Edition.
CNBC has Friday’s show archived in three parts for anyone who wants to see what they missed: