Bank of America's second-quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street's estimates
Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) stepped into the earnings confessional this morning, joining other bank names in the unofficial beginning to earnings season. Bank of America reported second-quarter profits of $1.03 per share, well above Wall Street's estimates of 77 cents per share, while revenue fell short of expectations due to low interest rates and a stagnation in trading activity. The company also noted higher expenses for the quarter. As a result, BAC was last seen down 2.3% at $38.95.
Options traders are flooding Bank of America stock's options pits in response to the event. In the first hour of trading, 137,000 calls and 97,000 puts have crossed the tape, which is double the amount that's typically seen at this point. Most popular by far is the July 40 call, followed by the 39 put from the same series.
Meanwhile, the options pits have been much more bearish than usual over the last 10 weeks. This is per the security's 50-day call/put volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits higher than 95% of readings from the past year. This means long puts are being picked up at a faster-than-usual clip.
Now could be a good opportunity to take advantage of BAC's next move with options. The stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 26% sits in the relatively low 19th percentile of its annual range, indicating the equity sports attractively priced premiums at the moment.
Regarding Bank of America Stock's chart performance of late, the security is just over a month removed from a 13-year high of $43.49. The equity is up 26.1% year-to-date, but today's negative price action has BAC pacing for its second close below the 100-day moving average in 2021.