Shares in Sprint (Ticker: S), which closed up more than 8.0% yesterday perhaps on reports the company may be closer to securing $45 billion in financing to make a bid for T-Mobile US Inc. (Ticker: TMUS), declined 8.5% on Thursday morning down to as low as $7.70.
The sharp moves in the price of the underlying amid continued deal chatter and the company’s upcoming fourth-quarter earnings report next week spurred heavier than usual trading traffic in Sprint options. As of the time of this writing, options volume on the stock is more than four times the average daily level. The largest trades in Sprint options today are in the Mar $50 strike puts, with around 50,000 contracts in play as of midday in New York. Time and sales data suggests most of the put options were purchased at a premium of $0.40 each. The puts may be profitable at March expiration in the event that shares in Sprint drop 18% from the current price of $8.02 to trade below the effective breakeven point at $6.60. Shares in Sprint last traded below $6.60 in October.
