2 Bank Stocks to Watch After Earnings

Earnings season kicked off with reports from plenty of bank stocks. This morning, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK) threw their hats into the ring, both beating expectations. Both stocks are lower since the start of the year, with BAC sporting an 18% deficit, while BK is down 12.1% year to date. 

Bank of America reported third-quarter profits of 90 cents per share -- nine cents higher than the same quarter last year and above analyst estimates of 82 cents -- alongside better-than-expected revenue of $25.32 billion. BAC is trading 1% higher at $27.25 at last glance. 

Options bulls are targeting Bank of America stock after the event, with 81,000 calls exchanged so far -- double the intraday average volume -- compared to 46,000 puts. The October 27.50 call accounts for most of this volume.

Meanwhile, the shares of Bank of New York Mellon have completely reversed their morning gains, down 4.3% at $40.06 at last look, as this morning's retail sales data stokes interest rate concerns. The company announced third-quarter earnings of $1.22 per share on revenue of $4.37 billion, both outperforming analyst estimates. 

So far in the options pits, BK has seen 814 calls and 1,773 puts exchanged, which is five times the amount the security typically sees at this point. The October 40 put is the most active, followed by the November 37.50 put.