Appetite for Options on YUM! Brands, Inc. Grows Ahead of Earnings

Today’s tickers: YUM, INTC, CBRL, CASY, RMD, PG & STEC YUM - YUM! Brands, Inc. – Traders are placing bullish and bearish bets on the operator of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell ahead of the firm’s second-quarter earnings report slated for release after the closing bell on Tuesday afternoon. YUM’s shares are up 0.97% to stand at $40.66 with 35 minutes remaining in the trading day. The overall reading of options implied volatility jumped 21.8% to 33.38% this afternoon as investors anxiously await the firm’s earnings for the second quarter. Some investors are preparing for a rally following earnings and ahead of July expiration. These optimistic individuals picked up at least 1,300 now in-the-money calls at the July $40 strike for an average premium of $1.13 apiece. Investors long the calls make money if YUM’s shares increase 1.15% to trade above the effective breakeven price of $41.13 by expiration on Friday. Bullish sentiment spread to the higher July $41 strike where 1,000 calls were purchased at an average premium of $0.57 a-pop. Traders long the higher-strike call options stand ready to accrue profits should YUM! Brands’ shares rally 2.2% to surpass the average breakeven price of $41.57 by expiration day. In contrast to the bullish behavior observed, pessimistic players purchased put options on the stock to position for disappointing second-quarter earnings from the firm. Bears bought approximately 4,900 puts at the July $40 strike for an average premium of $0.95 per contract. Put buyers make money if YUM’s shares decline 3.95% from the current price of $40.66 to breach the average breakeven point to the downside at $39.05 by July expiration. INTC - Intel Corp. – Options investors are hard at work populating the chip maker with various trading strategies ahead of Intel’s second-quarter earnings report scheduled for release after the closing bell tomorrow. Thus far in the session more than 144,700 option contracts have changed hands on INTC with investors exchanging 2 call options on the stock for each single put option in play today. The semiconductor manufacturer’s shares are currently up 1.40% to stand at $20.53 as of 3:10 pm (ET). One options trader expecting Intel’s shares to remain range-bound through expiration in January 2012 opted to sell a strangle in the first half of the trading session. It looks like the investor sold 5,000 calls at the January 2012 $25 strike for a premium of $1.54 each in combination with…