Apple Volatility Bets Surge in Options Market as Buyback Beckons
Apple Inc. employees cheer before opening the doors to the company's George Street store for the sales launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in Sydney, Australia.
Photographer: Lisa Maree Williams/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Apple Inc.’s new habit of disclosing billions of dollars of stock buybacks along with its April earnings report is contributing to a flurry of options speculation.
Prices for contracts tied to Apple’s shares are the highest in a year and a half relative to the Nasdaq 100 Index before the company releases results on Monday. While the approach of earnings is enough to get speculation brewing in the stock, anticipation is also building after the iPhone maker boosted repurchases in 2013 and 2014. Apple climbed 1.7 percent at 9:41 a.m. in New York.