Unusual Options Activity Tue 9/5/23

The following options are exhibiting notable trading, potentially indicating changing sentiment toward the underlying stocks, and/or potentially representing positioning for increased volatility.

Bullish Call Activity:

• MVIS Sep 3 calls (volume: 11.5K, open int: 90, implied vol: ~140%, prev day implied vol: 97%). 2K traded in a single transaction. Co is expected to report earnings early November.
• AXL Sep 7 calls (volume: 1850, open int: 0, implied vol: ~52%, prev day implied vol: 32%). 1850 contacts traded in a single transaction. Co is expected to report earnings early November.
• RENT Sep 2.5 calls are seeing interest with the underlying stock up 7% (volume: 11.1K, open int: 0, implied vol: ~25%, prev day implied vol: 22%). 2350 contracts traded in a single transaction. Co is expected to report earnings early November.
  

Bearish Put Activity:

• MTCH Sep 47 puts (volume: 1860, open int: 20, implied vol: ~45%, prev day implied vol: 33%). Co is scheduled to present at a Goldman Sachs conference tomorrow and a Citigroup conference on Thursday. Co is expected to report earnings late October.
• JD Sep 33 puts (volume: 3160, open int: 400, implied vol: ~40%, prev day implied vol: 33%). Co is expected to report earnings mid-November.
  

Sentiment: The CBOE Put/Call ratio is currently: 1.04, VIX: (13.79, -0.03, -0.2%).
September 15 is options expiration -- the last day to trade September equity options.

=JD.com (JD) reported earnings on Fri 2 March 2018 (b/o)

JD.com beats by CNY0.22, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs in-line 

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of CNY0.64 per share, CNY0.22 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of CNY0.42; revenues rose 38.7% year/year to CNY110165 bln vs the CNY108.88 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Annual active customer accounts increased by 29.1% to 292.5 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 from 226.6 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2016.
• Co issues in-line guidancefor Q1, sees Q1 revs of CNY98-100 bln vs. CNY99.74 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

=Vipshop Holdings (VIPS) : new $863 million investment from Tencent Holdings (TCEHY) and JD.com (JD)

Chinese internet giants Tencent Holdings (TCEHY) and JD.com (JD) announced an $863 million investment in Vipshop Holdings (VIPS), stepping up rivalry with Alibaba (BABA).

Tencent will invest $604 million for a 7% stake, while JD.com will invest $259 million to raise its existing stake to 5.5%.

"Vipshop is the 'Groupon' of China due to their discounted sales events though the company has built a strong franchise in clothing particularly women's clothing," said Brendan Ahern, CIO of Krane Funds Advisors, which offers the KraneShares CSI China internet ETF (KWEB).

He added: "VIPS will be highlighted on JD.com's mobile e-commerce platform and on Tencent's WeChat social media platform. Tencent is leveraging their stake in e-commerce platform JD.com in their battle with Alibaba."

Tencent added 1.1% Monday, JD jumped nearly 3%, Vipshop vaulted 44% and Alibaba gave up 0.2%.

=JD.com (JD) reported earnings on Tue 15 November 2016 (b/o)

JD.com beats by CNY0.17, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 revs above consensus :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of CNY0.20 per share, CNY0.17 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of (CNY0.37); revenues rose 36.9% year/year to CNY60.4 bln vs the CNY60.23 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • GMV for the third quarter of 2016 increased by 43% to RMB158.8 billion ($23.8 billion) from the core GMV (excluding Paipai.com) of RMB111.0 billion in the third quarter of 2015. GMV excluding virtual items for the third quarter of 2016 totaled RMB155.6 billion ($23.3 billion), up 47% from the third quarter of 2015.
  • Annual active customer accounts increased by 57% to 198.7 million in the twelve months ended September 30, 2016 from 126.9 million in the twelve months ended September 30, 2015, excluding unique customers from Paipai.com.
  • Fulfilled orders excluding virtual items in the third quarter of 2016 were 401.2 million, an increase of 55% from 258.1 million orders fulfilled for the core business excluding virtual items in the same period in 2015. Fulfilled orders placed through mobile accounted for ~79.7% of total orders fulfilled in the third quarter of 2016, an increase of more than 110% compared to the same period in 2015.
• Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of CNY75-77.5 bln vs. CNY72.35 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.