With practically all but the IPO-allocated insiders still under-water, Snap shareholders will be anxiously awaiting today’s unleashing of options of the money-burning, user-shrinking ‘camera’ company.
Not been a fun ride so far…
But it’s about to get even more exciting, as Reuters reports, weekly and monthly options contracts on Snap’s shares are expected to start trading on Friday, CBOE said last week, once certain regulatory requirements for their listing are met. Snap’s options market debut will allow traders to place bets on where they expect the shares to trade in the future.
“I think there will be high demand for Snap options,” said Ophir Gottlieb, chief executive of Los Angeles-based Capital Market Laboratories.
“Technology stocks, especially social media stocks, are the kind of companies that really draw a lot of activity from options traders,” said David Russell, senior manager at online broker E*Trade Financial Corp (ETFC.O) in Chicago.
The timing of the Snap options listing, coming as it does in the midst of a market-wide slump in volatility, also bodes well. Higher volatility in Snap shares relative to the broader market could offer enticing potential payouts for traders who place bets on sharp price moves.
“The options market in general has been hungry for anything that has volatility,” Gottlieb said.
The options will also give short sellers an additional venue for betting on a drop in the stock, market experts said.
“People who want to bet to the downside will be looking to buy puts on a name like this,” Russell said.
Notably, while it is difficult to pin down exactly how many shares are available to lend to short sellers, early data suggests short interest around $300 million, S3 Partners Managing Director of Research Ihor Dusaniwsky said.
