Today’s tickers: DD, BCSI, JBLU & FCS
DD - EI du Pont de Nemours & Co. – Shares in the U.S. chemical maker dropped on Friday after the company lowered full-year earnings guidance by $0.10 a share to a range of $3.87 to $3.95 a share. The stock is off its lowest point of the session to stand 4.75% lower on the day at $44.31 just before 12:00 PM ET. Activity in DuPont put options expiring in January 2012 indicate some traders are positioning for the price of the underlying to extend losses in the near term. It appears one strategist initiated a ratio put spread, buying 2,250 puts at the Jan. 2012 $41 strike for a premium of $0.94 each, and selling 4,500 puts at the lower Jan. 2012 $38 strike at a premium of $0.48 apiece. The spread yields a net credit of $0.02 per contract and positions the trader add to profits in the event that shares drop 7.5% from the current price of $44.31 to breach the effective breakeven point on the downside at $41.00 by expiration. Maximum potential profits of $3.02 per contract are available to the investor should DuPont’s shares plunge 14.2% to settle at $38.00 at expiration day in January. The chemical company is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings ahead of the opening bell on January 25, after the Jan. 2012 expiry puts will have expired.
BCSI - Blue Coat Systems, Inc. – Investors that bought December expiry call options in the latter half of November saw the value of their positions sky-rocket overnight on news Blue Coat Systems, Inc. agreed to be purchased by an investor group for a reported $1.3 billion. Shares in the provider of Internet-security software jumped 44.5% to $25.27 in the first half of the trading session. Call open interest in the front…
