Looking at options trading activity among components of the S&P 500 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Illumina Inc (NASD: ILMN), where a total volume of 6,859 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 685,900 underlying shares (given that every 1 contract represents 100 underlying shares). That number works out to 67.2% of ILMN's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 1.0 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $165 strike call option expiring July 29, 2016, with 679 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 67,900 underlying shares of ILMN. Below is a chart showing ILMN's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $165 strike highlighted in orange:
FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) saw options trading volume of 7,645 contracts, representing approximately 764,500 underlying shares or approximately 51.4% of FDX's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 1.5 million shares.
Particularly high volume was seen for the $100 strike put option expiring September 16, 2016, with 5,054 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 505,400 underlying shares of FDX. Below is a chart showing FDX's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $100 strike highlighted in orange:
And Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASD: WFM) saw options trading volume of 24,750 contracts, representing approximately 2.5 million underlying shares or approximately 48.2% of WFM's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 5.1 million shares.
Particularly high volume was seen for the $36 strike call option expiring July 29, 2016, with 2,123 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 212,300 underlying shares of WFM. Below is a chart showing WFM's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $36 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for ILMN options, FDX options, or WFM options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
Special Offer: Join the income investing conversation on ValueForum.com with a special Seven Days for Seven Dollars invitation from Forbes.