Schaeffer's Top Stock Picks for '25

Most Active Weekly Options: Facebook Inc and Amazon.com, Inc.

Weekly call players are targeting Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Sep 6, 2016 at 3:13 PM
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The 20 stocks listed in the table below have attracted the highest weekly options volume during the past 10 trading days. Names highlighted are new to the list since the last time the study was run, and data is courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. Two stocks of notable interest are social media stock Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and e-commerce name Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Most Active Weekly Options September 6

Option volume is accelerating on FB stock this afternoon, with the contracts crossing at two times the average intraday pace. While puts have been preferred recently, calls are the options of choice today, outpacing the former by a more than 2-to-1 ratio. The weekly 9/9 series is hot, accounting for eight of FB's 10 most active options.

Drilling down the weekly 9/9 128- and 129-strike calls are most active, with a collective 63,822 contracts on the tape. However, it looks a number of these calls may have sold to open earlier today when FB stock was trading south of the strikes. Elsewhere, option bulls are possibly purchasing new positions at FB's weekly 9/9 130-strike call, expecting the stock to notch a new record high by week's end, when the series expires.

Today, FB is up 2.4% at $129.58 -- and fresh off an all-time peak of $129.94 -- after Baird reiterated its "outperform" rating, projecting future revenue growth from Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Additionally, the brokerage firm said "the Street's knee-jerk reaction to moderating ad load growth" as a significant source of revenue is "short-sighted." However, a near-term pullback may be in the cards, considering Facebook Inc's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) was last seen at 73.51 -- in overbought territory.

AMZN is also seeing faster-than-usual option activity, with total volume running at two times what's typically seen at this point in the day -- and calls having the slight edge over puts. Each of the stock's 10 most active options expires at this Friday's close, with the weekly 9/9 787.50-strike call in the lead.

According to data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), there appears to be a mix of buy- and sell-to-open activity here. For those purchasing the calls, the goal is for AMZN to rally north of $787.50 -- into all-time-high territory -- by this Friday's close. Those writing the calls, meanwhile, are hoping this level serves as a short-term ceiling.

With history on its side, AMZN hit a record peak of $787.88 earlier -- last seen up 1.8% at $786.22 -- in the wake of an analyst note. Specifically, Piper Jaffray reiterated its "overweight" rating and $900 price target, saying the firm has made substantial progress with its fulfillment centers, while will likely increase its free cash flow over the next decade. Longer term, shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) are up 16.3% in 2016.

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