New Options Available for Virtu Financial Investors: Analyze Your Choices

Investors in Virtu Financial Inc – Class A (Symbol: VIRT) can explore new options this week for the October 18th expiration. Thanks to Stock Options Channel’s YieldBoost formula, we’ve analyzed the VIRT options chain and identified a noteworthy put and call contract.

Put Contracts: A 1% Discount Opportunity

The $33.00 strike price put contract currently has a bid of 20 cents. Selling-to-open this contract means committing to buy the stock at $33.00 while collecting the premium. This brings the effective purchase price to $32.80 (before broker commissions). For investors looking to buy shares of VIRT, this strategy provides a potentially attractive alternative to directly purchasing at $33.20/share today.

Since the $33.00 strike price represents an approximate 1% discount to the current trading price, the put could also expire worthless. The analytical data suggests there is a 60% likelihood of this outcome. Stock Options Channel will track these odds, updating our website with a chart that reflects the ongoing changes. If the put expires worthless, the premium could yield a 0.61% return on the cash involved, which equates to an impressive 110.61% annualized—an option we refer to as the YieldBoost.

Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve-month trading history for Virtu Financial Inc – Class A, with the $33.00 strike highlighted:

Call Contracts: Protecting Against Upside Loss

On the calls side, the $34.00 strike price call contract has a current bid of 5 cents. If an investor purchases VIRT shares at the current price of $33.20/share and sells-to-open this call contract as a “covered call,” they agree to sell at $34.00. Adding the premium, the total potential return (excluding dividends) would be 2.56% if the stock is called away at the October 18th expiration (before broker commissions). However, if VIRT shares increase significantly, the investor might miss out on further gains, underscoring the importance of reviewing the trailing twelve-month trading history and the company’s fundamentals.

Here’s a chart illustrating VIRT’s trailing twelve-month trading history with the $34.00 strike marked in red:

Notably, the $34.00 strike price is about 2% above the current trading price, making it out-of-the-money by that margin. There’s a chance the covered call could expire worthless, allowing the investor to retain both their shares and the premium collected. Current analytical data indicate a 57% probability of this happening. Stock Options Channel will keep track of these odds over time, providing insights on our website, as well as charting the trading history of the option contract. If the call expires worthless, the premium would yield a 0.15% additional return for the investor, or an annualized 27.48%—another opportunity we call a YieldBoost.

The implied volatility for the put contract stands at 33%, while the call contract shows a 35% implied volatility. Meanwhile, our calculation of the actual trailing twelve-month volatility (using the last 251 trading day closing values and today’s price of $33.20) is at 33%. For more ideas on put and call options contracts, be sure to visit StockOptionsChannel.com.

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Also see:

• Funds Holding FUTU
• DRIP shares outstanding history
• PTLC Videos

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.