Friday Options Update: LEH, SCHW, AKAM, KG, APO, TGT, ORCL, KO

August 22, 2008

Rebecca Engmann Darst contributed to this report.

Lehman Brothers (LEH) – Shares in Lehman Brothers bounded sharply out of the gate with a 10% gain to $15.09 on speculation that the firm might be bought by Korea Development Bank. The move in Lehman comes a day after respected analyst Richard Bove floated the notion of Lehman’s vulnerability to a hostile takeover bid, and amid generally bullish action in financials today on back of interest rate-dovish and largely reactive, rather than proactive, rhetoric from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke speaking in Jackson Hole. Response from option traders has been interesting, not least in the October contract, where one fund a trader appears to have played against the “easy-fix” rumors by buying a long 8870-lot put spread between strikes 2.50 and 5.00. This trade was entered for a 25-cent debit, creating an initial break even of $4.75 – requiring an almost disastrous $10 drop. The trader stands to gain as much as $2.25 – 9 times the money at risk – if Lehman shares make a cataclysmic drop, but don’t break below the $2.50 level. In another October play, traders may have sold 27-strike calls at 22 cents apiece in order to fund a long collar between strikes 12.50 and 20 – a protective play on an underlying stock position that would otherwise cost 33 cents to put on.

Complete Story »