Bulls Take The Driver's Seat In Uber Stock, Options Traders Hammer Calls

Uber Technologies, Inc UBER gapped up and ran 12% higher on Tuesday after the ride-share company announced it expects to print its first revenue positive earnings result as early as this quarter. Prior to the announcement, the stock had been trading in a steep downtrend making consistent lower highs and lower lows on the daily chart.

Options traders believe Uber’s ride north is just getting started and on Tuesday hammered dozens of call contracts. During one hour, between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. alone, traders purchased over $1.97 million worth of bullish calls. The orders below only include the contracts with a total cost of over $50,000.

See Also: Uber Eyes Positive Q3 EBITDA, Shares Jump 6% Premarket

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 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 UBER trades: Below is a look at the notable options alerts, courtesy of Benzinga Pro:

• At 10:00 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 537 Uber options with a strike price of $50 expiring on Jan. 19, 2024. The trade represented a $461,820 bullish bet for which the trader paid $8.60 per option contract.
• At 10:05 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 506 Uber options with a strike price of $42 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $88,550 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.75 per option contract.
• At 10:09 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 7855 Uber options with a strike price of $57.50 expiring on Nov. 19. The trade represented a $204,230 bullish bet for which the trader paid 26 cents per option contract.
• At 10:18 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 421 Uber options with a strike price of $41 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $105,250 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2.50 per option contract.
• At 10:19 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 300 Uber options with a strike price of $50 expiring on Jan. 21, 2022. The trade represented a $54,000 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.80 per option contract.
• At 10:20 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 958 Uber options with a strike price of $43 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $133,162 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.39 per option contract.
• At 10:22 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 1203 Uber options with a strike price of $43 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $174,435 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.45 per option contract.
• At 10:22 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 1744 Uber options with a strike price of $43 expiring on Oct. 1. The trade represented a $261,600 bullish bet for which the trader paid $1.50 per option contract.
• At 10:26 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 1253 Uber options with a strike price of $45 expiring on Nov. 19. The trade represented a $313,250 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2.50 per option contract.
• At 10:38 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep near the ask of 200 Uber options with a strike price of $50 expiring on June 17, 2022. The trade represented a $88,550 bullish bet for which the trader paid $3.85 per option contract.
• At 10:45 a.m., a trader executed a call sweep above ask of 447 Uber options with a strike price of $47.50 expiring on Dec. 17. The trade represented a $90,741 bullish bet for which the trader paid $2.03 per option contract.

UBER Price Action: The stock is trading higher by 12.2% to $44.64 at publication time.