Qualcomm Bull Itching for a Sharp Rally in Shares by July Expiration

Today’s tickers: QCOM, KBE, XRT, GE, BAC, F, UPS, UAUA & NTRI QCOM - Qualcomm, Inc. – The manufacturer of digital wireless telecommunications products and services received a vote of confidence by one optimistic options investor who purchased a debit call spread in the July contract today. Qualcomm’s shares rallied 0.55% in late afternoon trading to stand at $42.84 as of 2:45 pm (ET). The trader initiated the call spread by purchasing 4,000 lots at the July $46 strike for a premium of $1.00 each, marked against the sale of 4,000 calls at the higher July $49 strike for $0.37 apiece. Net premium paid for the bullish play amounts to $0.63 per contract, thus positioning the investor to amass maximum potential profits of $2.37 per contract should Qualcomm’s shares rally 14.4% over the current value of the stock to $49.00 by expiration day in July. The parameters of the transaction suggest the responsible party hopes Qualcomm’s share price shifts toward the stock’s current 52-week high of $49.80, attained back on January 8, 2010, in the next several months to expiration. KBE - SPDR KBW Bank ETF – Shares of the SPDR KBW Bank fund, which replicates the performance of the KBW Bank Index, slipped 0.75% during the course of the trading day to stand at $28.18 with 35 minutes remaining in the session. Earlier today, one investor pocketed a net credit by selling a large chunk of call options spread against the purchase of put contracts. The trader sold 28,260 calls at the May $29 strike for a premium of $0.58 each, and purchased the same number of puts at the lower May $27 strike for $0.40 apiece. A net credit of $0.18 per contract pads the investor’s wallet as long as shares of the underlying fund trade below $29.00 through expiration day in May. Additional profits are available should shares slip beneath $27.00 in the next several weeks. The transaction may be linked to an underlying share position. If this is the case, the put options serve as downside protection should the fund’s share price erode, but the short position in calls could result in the investor having the underlying shares called away from him at expiration should the call contracts land in-the-money at that time. XRT - SPDR S&P Retail ETF – A massive bearish transaction on the XRT, an exchange-traded fund which seeks to replicate the performance of the S&P Retail Select Industry…