Cisco Systems (CSCO) – Bearish: Investors used the traditional options market to purchase weekly CSCO options ahead of the company’s 4Q earnings release next week. 7k August 23 puts were purchased for approximately $0.26. Investors would need shares of CSCO to fall by over 5.5% by Friday for the trade to yield a profit. CSCO binary options can be traded on the StartOptions platform.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) – Bullish: Over 50k September 45 calls were purchased today in the VIX with the buyer paying $0.50 per contract. With VIX trading around 22, the volatility indicator would need to more than double by September expiration for these calls to yield a profit IF the investor held on the position. This trade, however, looks to be the act of someone playing a short-term spike in the VIX, possibly on the back of jobs numbers due out over the next couple of days. This trade could pay off handsomely if the VIX surged on Thursday or Friday, or in other words, the market collapses before the weekend. Just a short-term observation that could come in very handy for binary options traders looking to play short-term movement in the VIX. VIX binary options can be traded on the Anyoption platform.

Yahoo! (YHOO) – Bearish: Early Friday morning options traders took a bearish stance on YHOO by purchasing some near-term downside puts. Traders purchased 5k September 13 puts on YHOO paying $0.34. Investors would need shares of YHOO to decline by over 8.5% by September expiration for the trade to turn a profit. YHOO binary options can be traded on the StartOptions platform.

The Binary Options Trading Monitor highlights traditional options trading of the underlying assets currently available on the leading binary options trading platforms. With a focus on short-term activity, binary options traders can use this intelligence to gauge stock sentiment and help assess potential stock movement in the coming weeks.

Notable Options Trading:

iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV): Bearish put buying in the Silver ETF (SLV) emerged today as investors purchased over 14k September 16 puts for an average price of $0.29. We saw similar downside put buying in the SLV last month when investors loaded up on August 15 puts. Today’s put purchases would require shares of the SLV ETF to drop by over 9% upon September expiration to yield a profit. Silver binary options can be traded on the OptionBit platform.

The Binary Options Trading Monitor highlights traditional options trading of the underlying assets currently available on the leading binary options trading platforms. With a focus on short-term activity, binary options traders can use this intelligence to gauge stock sentiment and help assess potential stock movement in the coming weeks.

Notable Options Trading:

Coca-Cola (KO) – Bullish: Following a solid earnings report investors rolled a long August calls positions out to November by purchasing 15k November 57.5 calls. The long call purchase suggests this particular investor expects shares of KO to continue its upward ascent at least until KO’s next earnings announcement. KO binary options can be traded on the EZ Trader platform.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) – Bullish: Put sellers have emerged in the VIX as bullish volatility traders seem to be bracing for increased market volatility over the next month. In the latest activity traders seem to be focused on the August 25 puts, potentially seeing the level as near-term floor in the fear-gauge. The VIX finished the day at 25.64, up 7%. VIX binary options can be traded on the Anyoption platform.

The Binary Options Trading Monitor highlights traditional options trading of the underlying assets currently available on the leading binary options trading platforms. With a focus on short-term activity, binary options traders can use this intelligence to gauge stock sentiment and help assess potential stock movement in the coming weeks.

Notable Options Trading:

BP PLC (BP) – Bullish: Sentiment in the embattled Oil & Gas producer has turned pretty positive over the last few sessions in options land. Last week we noted bullish August call spread buying and today we’re seeing September call buying, more specifically 5k September 41 calls purchased for roughly $1.33. Investors would need shares of BP to climb over 20% by expiration to yield a profit. The company is scheduled to report 2Q financial results on 7/27 before the market opens.  BP binary options can be traded on the StartOptions platform.

The Binary Options Trading Monitor highlights traditional options trading of the underlying assets currently available on the leading binary options trading platforms. With a focus on short-term activity, binary options traders can use this intelligence to gauge stock sentiment and help assess potential stock movement in the coming weeks.

Notable Options Trading:

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) – Bullish: After a week of mostly bearish flow in the VIX, the last couple of sessions have seen investors positioning for an increase in market volatility over the next month or so. On Monday investors scooped up 50k August 60 calls in the VIX likely as a hedge against a sharp drop in the markets. Investors don’t necessarily need the VIX to trade above the 60-level  (a 130% gain from current levels) to yield a profit; all they need is for the VIX to spike higher sometime over the next week or so, causing the premiums on those calls to increase and allow for the investors to trade out of the position for a nice profit. VIX binary options can be traded on the Anyoption platform.

The Binary Options Trading Monitor highlights traditional options trading of the underlying assets currently available on the leading binary options trading platforms. With a focus on short-term activity, binary options traders can use this intelligence to gauge stock sentiment and help assess potential stock movement in the coming weeks.

Notable Options Trading:

ProShares Ultra S&P 500 (SSO) – Bearish: With 3 trading days left in July expiration, investors were busy today buying over 20k July 35 puts in the SSO. The SSO ETF returns twice the daily return of the S&P 500. This cheap protection option cost the buyer around $0.40 on average. Shares of the SSO would need to fall 5% by Friday for the trade to yield a profit. With key earnings due out from GOOG, C, INTC, JPM and BAC this week, buying protection to lock in recent gains may not be such a bad idea. S&P 500 binary put options can be purchased on EZ Trader and most other leading binary options trading platforms.

JP Morgan Chase (JPM) – Bullish: Investors positioned for upward momentum in shares of JPM a couple days before the company announces 2Q earnings. Over 13k September 42 calls were purchased mid-day for roughly $1.60 implying shares would need to increase by over 7% by September expiration for this trade to yield a profit. JPM releases 2Q financial results on 7/15 before the market open. JPM binary options can be traded on EZ Trader and Anyoption platforms.

The Binary Options Trading Monitor highlights traditional options trading of the underlying assets currently available on the leading binary options trading platforms. With a focus on short-term activity, binary options traders can use this intelligence to gauge stock sentiment and help assess potential stock movement in the coming weeks.

Notable Options Trading:

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) – Negative: We’ve noted bearish trading in the VIX over the last 3 trading sessions and today’s activity showed more of the same. Over 100k August 25 puts hit the tape today with the majority of the volume consisting of buy orders. The trading suggests investors believe that market volatility will continue to subside throughout the remainder of the summer. The VIX is down over 35% since reaching an intra-day high of ~37.5 11 days ago. At an average price of $1.40, shares of the VIX would need to fall another 4% from current levels to yield a profit. VIX binary options can be traded on the Anyoption platform.

SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) – Neutral: Gold options were active today with investors expressing a neutral to slightly bullish bias by selling a downside put spread. Investors sold roughly 5k August 112-105 put spreads suggesting the investor does not expect GLD to dip below the 112 level over the next few weeks (though not saying he expects shares of GLD to rise!). Gold binary options can be traded on the EZTrader platform.