Understanding Laboratory Corp's Unusual Options Activity

On Friday, shares of Laboratory Corp LH saw unusual options activity. After the option alert, the stock price moved down to $299.39.

• Sentiment: BULLISH
• Option Type: SWEEP
• Trade Type: CALL
• Expiration Date: 2021-11-19
• Strike Price: $310.00
• Volume: 685
• Open Interest: 154

Three Ways Options Activity Is ‘Unusual'

One way options market activity can be considered unusual is when volume is exceptionally higher than its historical average. The volume of options activity refers to the number of contracts traded over a given time period. Open interest is the number of unsettled contracts that have been traded but not yet closed by either counterparty. In other words, open interest represents the quantity of contracts that individual parties have written but not yet found a counterparty for (i.e. a buyer finding a seller, or a seller finding a buyer).

Another indicator of unusual options activity is the trading of a contract with an expiration date in the distant future. Additional time until a contract expires generally increases the potential for it to grow its time value and reach its strike price. It is important to consider time value because it represents the difference between the strike price and the value of the underlying asset.

"Out of the money" contracts are unusual because they are purchased with a strike price far from the underlying asset price. "Out of the money" occurs when the underlying price is under the strike price on a call option, or above the strike price on a put option. Buyers and sellers try to take advantage of a large profit margin in these instances because they are expecting the value of the underlying asset to change dramatically in the future.

Understanding Sentiment

Options are "bullish" when a call is purchased at/near ask price or a put is sold at/near bid price. Options are "bearish" when a call is sold at/near bid price or a put is bought at/near ask price.

Although the activity is suggestive of these strategies, these observations are made without knowing the investor's true intentions when purchasing these options contracts. An observer cannot be sure if the bettor is playing the contract outright or if they're hedging a large underlying position in a common stock. For the latter case, the exposure a large investor has on their short position in common stock may be more meaningful than bullish options activity.

Using These Strategies To Trade Options

Unusual options activity is an advantageous strategy that may greatly reward an investor if they are highly skilled, but for the less experienced trader, it should remain as another tool to make an educated investment decision while taking other observations into account.

For more information to understand options alerts, visit https://pro.benzinga.help/en/articles/1769505-how-do-i-understand-options-alerts