Sony Corp (ADR) will release 'The Interview' after all
It turns out Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) will screen "The Interview" on Christmas Day after all, backtracking from last week's decision to put a lid on the controversial movie. Upon making the announcement, the shares shot higher, and are now 1% above breakeven at $20.99, with options traders eyeing additional upside.
Taking a quick step back, SNE options are crossing at 1.8 times the usual intraday clip. Also, a number of mid-sized blocks were exchanged during the lunch hour, when the aforementioned news hit the Street. Digging deeper, speculators are buying to open the weekly 12/26 21-strike call, anticipating at least modest upside through week's end, when the series expires.
Today's penchant for call buying breaks with the recent trend observed in SNE's options pits. During the last two weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the equity has racked up a put/call volume ratio of 5.62, which ranks in the 99th annual percentile.
Returning to today's headlines, Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) also made waves by threatening to sue Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) because of users who have been posting screenshots of illegally obtained emails. The former is asking the latter to enforce its policies, which prohibit the posting of another person's private data.