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Investors in Baxter International Inc (BAX) gained access to new options with a February 2026 expiration date as of today. The new put contract at the $27.50 strike price has a current bid of 15 cents, requiring a commitment to buy shares at $27.50, effectively lowering the cost basis to $27.35 against a current trading price of $29.83 per share. The put represents an approximate 8% discount, with a 68% chance it may expire worthless, yielding a potential return of 0.55% on cash commitment.
On the call side, a contract at the $32.50 strike price with a bid of 45 cents allows investors to sell shares at that price, representing a 10.46% return if exercised, while the chance of it expiring worthless stands at 54%. The $32.50 strike is about a 9% premium to the current stock price, with potential additional returns of 1.51%, or 2.23% annualized, if the contract expires unexercised. The implied volatilities for the put and call contracts are 36% and 35%, respectively.
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