Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com) Tech titan Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ) reported on Monday that it swung to a fourth-quarter profit of $1.33 per share on $33.3 billion in revenue. Analysts had expected the Dow component to post a profit of $1.27 per share on revenue of $32.75 billion. Going forward, HPQ's new CEO Leo Apotheker said that the company would be turning its focus on research and development.
After an initial jump right out of the gate this morning, HPQ has since settled on fractional gains. Technically speaking, the shares have been hovering in the $42 to $43 region for the past several weeks, and are currently testing the support of their 10-week and 20-week moving averages.
Option activity has been rampant on the tech issue today, with volume of 95,000 contracts changing hands -- seven times HPQ's expected single-session option volume. Calls have been especially popular, with 62,000 of these bullishly oriented options crossing the tape.
Traders have set their attention on HPQ's December 43 call, with 9,720 contracts changing hands on this strike -- the majority of which crossed the tape at the ask price, suggesting that they were likely purchased. With HPQ hovering around $43.27, these 43-strike calls are right at the money.
For the record, both peak call open interest and peak put open interest for the December options series can be found at HPQ's 42 strike.
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