Today’s tickers: CAKE, LIZ & K
CAKE - Cheesecake Factory, Inc. – Traders are loading up on Cheesecake Factory call and put options today, perhaps ahead of the restaurant operator’s fourth-quarter earnings report next Tuesday. Shares in CAKE rose 1.6% to stand at $31.51 as of 12:55 p.m. in New York. March expiry calls garnered much of the attention from traders, with appetite for CAKE calls outpacing that of puts by around 1.4 to 1. The Mar. $34 strike calls are the most active as some 2,780 contracts changed hands against open interest of just 20 positions. It looks like the majority of the calls were purchased by one investor at a premium of $0.25 each. The strategist may profit at expiration in the event that Cheesecake Factory’s shares rally another 8.7% to surpass the effective breakeven point and new 52-week high of $34.25. The same investor may also be responsible for the purchase of call options at the Mar. $33 strike, where roughly 750 contracts traded for an average premium of $0.54 apiece. Time stamps for trades in the Mar. $33 and $34 strike calls exactly match those of transactions in the Mar. $29 strike puts. Nearly 950 of the $29 strike put options were purchased for an average premium of $0.55. The strategist snapping up both call and put options on the stock is prepared to see CAKE’s shares make big moves in either direction. The rise in demand for Cheesecake options has the overall reading of options implied volatility 31.5% on the day at 42.3% in early-afternoon trade.
LIZ - Liz Claiborne, Inc. – Shares in the owner of Juicy Couture, Kate Spade and other retail-based premium brands rallied to a fresh 52-week high of $10.38 today, extending year-to-date gains to 23.4%. A spate of…
