Investors prepare for Activision, McDonalds, Amlyn earnings

Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) shares dropped roughly one penny to $10.81 during the first hour of trading, and the company could announce earnings figures around Feb. 4. The company did not announce any news this morning, but it looks like investors bought the February 12 puts out of the gate. Around 5,000 of these options have crossed the tape, and the buying action expanded implied volatility. The February 11 straddle is currently priced at 82 cents, compared to the same straddle that closed on Wednesday at 77 cents.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) is scheduled to announce earnings figures tomorrow morning before the market opens, and analysts expect the restaurant to announce earnings of $1.02 per share. MCD did not announce any other news, but the stock climbed six cents to $63.07. The February 62.5 puts crossed 4,600 times thanks to investors who bought the options looking for protection ahead of the earnings report.

Amlyn Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMLN) is scheduled to announce earnings on Jan. 27 after the market closes, and the stock dropped two cents to $17.67 during the first hour of trading today. The March 20 calls and the March 15 puts crossed 8,000 and 7,500 times, respectively. We know investors bought the puts, but the call action remains unclear. Judging from the delta of the calls, it looks like investors could have traded a synthetic short bearish play.