Options on Las Vegas Sands Active Ahead of Earnings

Today’s tickers: LVS, FRX, FCX & SD LVS  - Las Vegas Sands Corp. –  A number of options players hit the like button on Las Vegas Sands call options today ahead of the casino operator’s first-quarter earnings report after the final bell on Tuesday. Shares in the LVS increased as much as 2.6% this morning to secure an intraday high of $48.25, but currently stand just 0.60% higher on the session at $47.29 as of 12:50pm in New York. A number of pre-earnings speculators targeted the weeklies to position for the price of the underlying to extend gains ahead of expiration on Friday. Investors purchased around 2,250 calls at the May ’06 $48 strike for an average premium of $1.45 a-pop. Call buyers at this strike profit in the event that the stock rallies 4.6% over the current price to surpass the average breakeven point on the upside at $49.45 by expiration. Bulls paid an average premium of $0.77 per contract to pick up roughly 1,600 calls at the higher May ‘06 $50 strike price. Meanwhile, investors populating the May ’06 $52.5 strike sold 1,300 calls to receive an average premium of $0.28 each. Call selling at this strike may represent a near-term ceiling on shares in LVS for some investors. Traders keep the premium pocketed on the transaction as long as the price of the underlying stock fails to exceed $52.50 at expiration. Low-delta call buying occurred up at the May ’06 $55 strike where some 250 calls were picked up for an average premium of $0.09 per contract. More than 61,900 option contracts have changed hands on Las Vegas Sands as of 1:00pm. Options implied volatility on the stock is up 6.2% to arrive at 46.57% in early afternoon trade, one day ahead of earnings. FRX  - Forest …