Options Flow Summary: AAPL & Pin Candidates

It's been a volatile triplewitching week so far, with a solid rebound today as interest rates continue to pull back. Manybroad-based averages are up 1% or more and implied volatilities are easingwith the CBOE VIX down 1.8 (8.8%) to 15.20.

Apple (AAPL)
AAPL stock is off 3% today to$116 without much news. However, given the recent thirty day run from $100 to $127,todayís pullback is not surprising.  AAPLoptions lead the single-stock space, with 160,000 puts and 250,000 callschanging hands. 

Order flow appears to bedominated by options sellers with continued interestin the June 115 puts and 120 calls. With more than 50,000 of each having traded in relatively small sizeorders today with a bid-side bias. It appears that some traders are willing to sellthis strangle and collect $1.10 while betting that the stock remains inthe $115-$120 range.

Update on optionswith large open interest that expire Friday:

ORCL
Aggressive buyers persist in the ORCL June 19 calls, perhaps in anticipation of a move inspired by tomorrow afternoonís ADBE earnings.

More than 17,000 contracts have traded today, including those lifted by a multi market sweep order to buy 12,500 for $.20 that helped the stock rise from $19.00 to current levels around $19.15.

About Henry Schwartz

Henry Schwartz has traded derivatives on US and European exchanges for nearly 20 years. His experience includes market-making and institutional trading at the Hull Group, Salomon Brothers, Bear Stearns and most recently Banc of America Securities, where he led the electronic market-making project coincident with the launch of the ISE. His current work involves real-time stream analysis of options market activity for a number of leading institutional sell-side firms.