Today’s tickers: NTRI, NEE & DDD
NTRI – Nutrisystem, Inc. – Shares in Nutrisystem rose more than 7.0% to a six-month high of $10.18 on Friday after the maker of weight loss products announced Thursday it has increased production of its Nutrisystem D 5-Day Jumpstart Weight Loss Kit to offer the product in 3,700 Walmart locations by the end June. Options in play on NTRI today indicate some traders are prepared to profit from further gains in the price of the underlying during the next couple of months. Traders initiating near-term bullish bets on the stock snapped up calls at the Jun $10 and $11 strikes, purchasing around 900 of the $10 calls for an average premium of $0.17 each and 500 of the $11 calls at a premium of $0.05 apiece. The Jul $10 strike calls are also changing hands today, with more than 500 of those contracts purchased at an average premium of $0.31 each. Looking out to the September expiry options, one or more traders appear to have purchased more than 200 of the Sep $11 calls for an average premium of $0.28 per contract. Buyers of the Sep $11 calls profit at expiration in the event that Nutrisystem’s shares gain another 10% to surpass the average breakeven price of $11.28.
NEE – NextEra Energy, Inc. – Clean energy company, NextEra Energy, Inc., popped up on our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner in the early going on Friday due to heavier than usual trading traffic in upside calls. Traders dabbling in September expiry calls appear to be positioning for shares in NextEra to hit fresh record highs by expiration. The stock today is up 1.2% at $80.10 as of 1:05 p.m. ET. Traders appear to have purchased more than 750 calls at the Sep $82.5 strike for an average premium of $1.44 each. The bullish trade makes money at expiration as long as shares in NextEra rally 4.8% over the current price of $80.10 to top the average breakeven point at $83.94. NEE shares in April traded up to an all-time high of $82.65.
DDD – 3D Systems Corp. – U.S. stocks kicked off the final trading day of the week in positive territory, but turned negative within the first 30 minutes of the session, reversing some of Thursday’s gains. Shares in 3D printer maker, 3D Systems, Inc., which rose as much as 4.6% near the open to an intraday high of $48.70, remain positive in early afternoon trading, up 1.4% at $47.22 as of 12:05 p.m. ET. Some options traders appear to be positioning for shares in DDD to extend gains during the next four weeks, exchanging more than 2,500 calls at the Jul $48 strike against open interest of just 450 contracts. It looks like most of the calls were purchased for an average premium of $3.35 each. Call buyers may profit at expiration if shares in DDD rally more than 8.0% over the current price of $47.22 to exceed the average breakeven point at $51.35. 3D Systems shares traded up to an all-time high of $51.94 in May.
Caitlin Duffy
Equity Options Analyst
