Put Options Pick Up Ahead of Crucial Apple Inc. (AAPL) Earnings ...

Apple Inc - AAPL Stock Chart Technical Analysis for 05-12-16
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is set to report earnings after the close, ahead of tomorrow morning"s reports from another pair of blue-chip stocks. The event will be crucial for AAPL shareholders, who have watched the Dow stock wind its way lower over the past year. Meanwhile, ahead of earnings, options traders are busy, especially on the put side of the aisle.

Diving right in, put options are crossing at nearly double their usual intraday rate. Most active is the weekly 7/29 95 strike, where it appears traders are buying to open contracts in the hopes AAPL will drop below $95 by this Friday"s close, when the series expires.

Slightly longer-term traders, meanwhile, are targeting the critical $100 century level, with a mix of buy- and sell-to-open activity detected at the August 100 call,based on data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE). In short, the buyersbelieve AAPL will finally break through this recent area of congestion, while the sellershope resistance holds over the next four weeks.

Longer term, it"s the call buyers who have been in control. According to data at the ISE, Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), traders have bought to open 1.79 AAPL calls for every put over the last 10 sessions -- a ratio that ranks in the 81st annual percentile.

At the same time, short sellers have been hitting the exits. During the past two reporting periods, short interest declined almost 46%, and just 1% of AAPL"s float is sold short. Elsewhere, the brokerage crowd remains upbeat, sporting 26 "buy" or better ratings against a mere five "hold" or worse recommendations.

This collective optimism could spell trouble if AAPL comes up short on the earnings stage, as it has recently. In the session following the company"s April and January reports, the stock lost 6.3% and 6.6%, respectively. A repeat performancecould reinvigorate short sellers, and/or force bullish traders and analysts to the exits, which could exacerbate technical pressure. Interestingly, though, expectations are relatively muted ahead of the big event, as the Dow stock"s 30-day at-the-money implied volatility of 24.5% is the lowest it"s been ahead of an earnings report over the past eight quarters, according to Trade-Alert.

Turning once more to technicals, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been anything but impressive. At $97.39, the stock has surrendered one-fifth of its value over the past year, and as alluded to earlier, is staring up at round-number resistance at the 100 strike. Potentially reinforcing this overhead speed bump is AAPL"s historically significant 40-week moving average, which turned back rally attempts late last year and in April.

Sign up now for Schaeffer"s Market Recap to get all the day"s big stock movers, must-know technical levels, and top economic stories straight to your inbox.

Source: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/content/options/2016/07/26/put-options-pick-up-ahead-of-crucial-apple-inc-aapl-earnings-report

Continue Reading ..

After-Hours Earnings Report for January 27, 2015 : AAPL, T, AMGN, CNI, YHOO ...

The following companies are expected to report earnings afterhours on 01/27/2015. Visit ourEarnings Calendarfor a full list of expected earnings releases.

Apple Inc.(AAPL) is reporting for the quarter ending December 31, 2014. Thecomputer company's consensus earnings per share forecast from the18 analysts that follow the stock is $2.60. This value represents a25.60% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the pastyear AAPL has beat the expectations every quarter. The highest onewas in the 3rd calendar quarter where they beat the consensus by9.23%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015 Price toEarnings ratio for AAPL is 14.46 vs. an industry ratio of 19.40.

AT&T Inc.(T) is reporting for the quarter ending December 31, 2014. Thediversified company's consensus earnings per share forecast fromthe 13 analysts that follow the stock is $0.55. This valuerepresents a 3.77% increase compared to the same quarter last year.The last two quarters T had negative earnings surprises; the latestreport they missed by -1.56%. The "days to cover" for this stockexceeds 12 days. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2014Price to Earnings ratio for T is 13.22 vs. an industry ratio of18.10.

Amgen Inc.(AMGN) is reporting for the quarter ending December 31, 2014. Thebiomedical (gene) company's consensus earnings per share forecastfrom the 10 analysts that follow the stock is $2.05. This valuerepresents a 13.26% increase compared to the same quarter lastyear. In the past year AMGN has beat the expectations everyquarter. The highest one was in the 3rd calendar quarter where theybeat the consensus by 11.65%. Zacks Investment Research reportsthat the 2014 Price to Earnings ratio for AMGN is 18.59 vs. anindustry ratio of -7.60, implying that they will have a higherearnings growth than their competitors in the same industry.

Canadian National Railway Company(CNI) is reporting for the quarter ending December 31, 2014. Thetransportation (rail) company's consensus earnings per shareforecast from the 10 analysts that follow the stock is $0.84. Thisvalue represents a 23.53% increase compared to the same quarterlast year. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2014 Price toEarnings ratio for CNI is 21.22 vs. an industry ratio of 22.00.

Yahoo! Inc.(YHOO) is reporting for the quarter ending December 31, 2014. Theinternet services company's consensus earnings per share forecastfrom the 11 analysts that follow the stock is $0.19. This valuerepresents a 51.28% decrease compared to the same quarter lastyear. In the past year YHOO has met analyst expectations once andbeat the expectations the other three quarters. Zacks InvestmentResearch reports that the 2014 Price to Earnings ratio for YHOO is41.55 vs. an industry ratio of 26.50, implying that they will havea higher earnings growth than their competitors in the sameindustry.

Ace Limited(ACE) is reporting for the quarter ending December 31, 2014. Theinsurance (property & casualty) company's consensus earningsper share forecast from the 13 analysts that follow the stock is$2.27. This value represents a 5.02% decrease compared to the samequarter last year. In the past year ACE has beat the expectationsevery quarter. The highest one was in the 3rd calendar quarterwhere they beat the consensus by 10.46%. Zacks Investment Researchreports that the 2014 Price to Earnings ratio for ACE is 11.76 vs.an industry ratio of 14.80.

Stryker Corporation(SYK) is reporting for the quarter ending December 31, 2014. Themedical products company's consensus earnings per share forecastfrom the 6 analysts that follow the stock is $1.45. This valuerepresents a 17.89% increase compared to the same quarter lastyear. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2014 Price toEarnings ratio for SYK is 19.57 vs. an industry ratio of -10.30,implying that they will have a higher earnings growth than theircompetitors in the same industry.

Illumina, Inc.(ILMN) is reporting for the quarter ending December 31, 2014. Thebiomedical (gene) company's consensus earnings per share forecastfrom the 14 analysts that follow the stock is $0.78. This valuerepresents a 73.33% increase compared to the same quarter lastyear. In the past year ILMN has beat the expectations everyquarter. The highest one was in the 3rd calendar quarter where theybeat the consensus by 37.5%. Zacks Investment Research reports thatthe 2014 Price to Earnings ratio for ILMN is 76.11 vs. an industryratio of -7.60, implying that they will have a higher earningsgrowth than their competitors in the same industry.

Western Digital Corporation(WDC) is reporting for the quarter ending December 31, 2014. Thecomputer storage company's consensus earnings per share forecastfrom the 11 analysts that follow the stock is $2.10. This valuerepresents a 4.11% decrease compared to the same quarter last year.In the past year WDC has beat the expectations every quarter. Thehighest one was in the 3rd calendar quarter where they beat theconsensus by 2.94%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the 2015Price to Earnings ratio for WDC is 12.27 vs. an industry ratio of-7.60, implying that they will have a higher earnings growth thantheir competitors in the same industry.

Electronic Arts Inc.(EA) is reporting for the quarter ending December 31, 2014. The toy(game/hobby) company's consensus earnings per share forecast fromthe 3 analysts that follow the stock is $0.82. This valuerepresents a 30.51% decrease compared to the same quarter lastyear. In the past year EA has beat the expectations every quarter.The highest one was in the 3rd calendar quarter where they beat theconsensus by 44.19%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the2015 Price to Earnings ratio for EA is 29.10 vs. an industry ratioof 21.00, implying that they will have a higher earnings growththan their competitors in the same industry.

Vmware, Inc.(VMW) is reporting for the quarter ending December 31, 2014. Thecomputer software company's consensus earnings per share forecastfrom the 9 analysts that follow the stock is $0.80. This valuerepresents a 3.61% decrease compared to the same quarter last year.In the past year VMW has beat the expectations every quarter. Thehighest one was in the 3rd calendar quarter where they beat theconsensus by 12.96%. Zacks Investment Research reports that the2014 Price to Earnings ratio for VMW is 32.59 vs. an industry ratioof -13.50, implying that they will have a higher earnings growththan their competitors in the same industry.

Juniper Networks, Inc.(JNPR) is reporting for the quarter ending December 31, 2014. Thewireless equipment company's consensus earnings per share forecastfrom the 6 analysts that follow the stock is $0.20. This valuerepresents a 39.39% decrease compared to the same quarter lastyear. The last two quarters JNPR had negative earnings surprises;the latest report they missed by -15.38%. Zacks Investment Researchreports that the 2014 Price to Earnings ratio for JNPR is 23.07 vs.an industry ratio of 24.40.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

Source: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/after-hours-earnings-report-for-january-27-2015-aapl-t-amgn-cni-yhoo-ace-syk-ilmn-wdc-ea-vmw-jnpr-cm437137

Continue Reading ..