Disney's Stock Takes Off And Options Traders Join The Ride

Walt Disney Co DIS raked in $60 million this weekend when it debuted Marvel’s “Black Widow” on its streaming service Disney+ and in theatres.

The news helped Disney’s stock break up bullishly from a descending trendline it had been trading under since March 10, two days after reaching an all-time high of $203.02. On Monday morning, it looked as though Disney was headed toward its next resistance level near the $182 and was the stock printing another green bullish candle. On Thursday and Friday, Disney’s stock printed a bullish kicker candlestick pattern, with two large green candlesticks after a bearish action, indicating higher prices were in the cards on Monday.

On Friday, options traders hammered Disney call contracts after recognizing the sentiment change in the stock, and on Monday a number of options traders continued to enter the trade and purchased $549,712 worth of call contracts.

See Also: How to Buy Disney Stock & Where to Buy It

Why It’s Important: When a sweep order occurs, it indicates the trader wanted to get into a position quickly and is anticipating an imminent large move in stock price. A sweeper pays market price for the call or put option instead of placing a bid, which sweeps the order book of multiple exchanges to fill the order immediately.

These types of call option orders are usually made by institutions, and retail investors can find watching for sweepers useful because it indicates “smart money” has entered into a position.

The Disney Option Trades: Below is a look at the notable options alerts, courtesy of Benzinga Pro:

• At 9:39 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 300 Walt Disney options with a strike price of $185 expiring on Aug. 6. The trade represented a $58,800 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.96 per option contract.
• At 10:00 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep above ask of 468 Walt Disney options with a strike price of $185 expiring on July 30. The trade represented a $62,712 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.34 per option contract.
• At 10:06 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 223 Walt Disney options with a strike price of $177.50 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $62,712 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2.51 per option contract.
• At 10:24 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 218 Walt Disney options with a strike price of $177.50 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $50,576 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2.32 per option contract.
• At 10:35 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 242 Walt Disney options with a strike price of $180 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $32,670 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.35 per option contract.
• At 10:41 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 200 Walt Disney options with a strike price of $180 expiring on July 23. The trade represented a $51,800 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2.59 per option contract.
• At 11:04 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 200 Walt Disney options with a strike price of $180 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $62,712 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.45 per option contract.
• At 11:19 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 249 Walt Disney options with a strike price of $180 expiring on July 16. The trade represented a $49,800 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2 per option contract.
• At 11:30 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 207 Walt Disney options with a strike price of $250 expiring on Jan. 20, 2023. The trade represented a $117,990 bullish bet for which the trader paid $5.70 per option contract.
• At 12:19 p.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the midpoint of 200 Walt Disney options with a strike price of $195 expiring on Aug. 20. The trade represented a $62,712 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2.02 per option contract.

DIS Price Action: Disney was trading up 2.8% to $182 at publication time.