Health Care Equipment & Services
Express Scripts Holding Company (ESRX) $56.30 -0.01%
Express Scripts (ESRX) is off 2 cents to $56.28 and several small lots of Apr 55 puts traded on the stock for 26 and 27 cents, before a 3350-lot traded for 28 cents per contract on CBOE. 4,700 now traded. Open interest is sufficient to cover, but some of the early activity on ISE was [...]
HCA Holdings Inc (HCA) $36.51 -2.98%
HCA drops 88 cents to $36.75 and sees relative weakness today on disappointing guidance from Health Management Assoc. Early options trades in HCA include an Apr – May 37 call spread, for 90 cents, 4500X. Looks like it rolls a position in Apr 47 calls (at 60c) that was opened on 4/4 for 90 cents [...]
St Jude Medical (STJ) $40.99 -2.27%
ST Jude Medical (STJ) is under pressure today, down 97 cents to $40.97, on increasing volume of 1.05 million shares after RBC downgraded the stock Tuesday morning. 3,585 puts and 815 calls traded on STJ so far. Apr 40 puts are the most active. 2,225 traded against 1,730 in open interest. May 39 puts have [...]
Community Health (CYH) $44.59 -1.00%
Community Health (CYH) drops 40 cents to $44.65 and an Apr 42 – 47 risk-reversal trades on the stock for 10 cents, 3000X. Will create the largest blocks of open interest in the stock. Hospital names came under pressure earlier this week. CYH was one of them.
Humana Inc (HUM) $75.05 +8.59%
Humana (HUM) rallying $5.89 to $75 in brisk trading of 5.4 million shares and options on the stock are very busy heading into a ruling on medicare reimbursement rates, due out after the closing bell. 24K calls and 27K puts traded in the stock and 30-day ATM implied volatility in HUM is moving ot 52-week [...]
Zimmer Holdings Inc (ZMH) $74.07 +1.86%
Zimmer Holdings (ZMH), the Warsaw, IN medical instruments company, is up $1.30 to $74.02 amid light volume (696K shares) and thin trading Tuesday. In the options market, volume in ZMH is 8X the daily average and concentrated in Apr 70 puts. Several smaller lots traded before a 2325-lot printed for 40 cents per contract on [...]
Humana Inc (HUM) $68.48 -1.40%
Humana (HUM) drops 99 cents to $68.46 and a three-way spread trades on the healthcare company midday Thursday, as an investor is apparently selling 9180 Aug 75 calls on HUM at $2.50 to buy 11,340 Aug 60 – 67.5 put spreads for $2.95. The position looks opening and comes one day after investors opened bearish [...]
Humana Inc (HUM) $70.25 -0.03%
Humana (HUM) adds 3 cents to $70.30 and a 9665-lot of Apr 65 puts trades on the stock for $1 per contract on ISE when market was 85 to $1.05. A customer bought, to open, according to ISEE data. More than 10,300 and, along with the 7120 in existing open interest, will create the largest [...]
Thoratec Corp (THOR) $35.37 -1.15%
Thoratec (THOR) is off 39 cents to $35.39 and an Oct 32 – 40 bullish risk-reversal is opened on the stock for a dime, 3000X. The flow will create two of the largest blocks of open interest in the Pleasanton, CA medical instruments company and might replace the 3300 of open interest in March 40 [...]
Aetna Inc (AET) $51.14 -0.62%
A few big prints in Aetna (AET) today are part of a position adjustment. Shares are down 29 cents to $51.17 and an Apr 47 – 50 put spread is bought on the insurance company for 63 cents per spread, 15,500X. 23,000 now traded on the day. Open interest in the 47 strike is 23100 [...]
