The Blubber

Beginning on October 28th, 2021 prior to and during the recent frenzy of revitalized meme stocks, we observed unusual options activity and volume in optical materials and semiconductor producer, II-VI Inc. (NASDAQ:IIVI), which opened today at $64.31.

• October 28th saw 12,583 in total call volume, versus an average well below 500
• IIVI is expected to report earnings on November 9th
• There were 5,969 contracts traded across 3 orders of the $70 strike expiring November 19th, 2021
• Unusual options activity continued into November 2nd, where traders sold the $75 put strike for January 20, 2023, and bought the $70 call strike for November 19, 2021

During the weeks leading up to their earnings report, II-VI Inc. (NASDAQ:IIVI), a relatively uncommon ticker in the world of options, experienced a significant spike in call option trading volume compared to their historical average.

On Thursday, October 28th, the total call option volume equalled 12,583. As demonstrated in the image below, this is a significant increase from the previous 5 days (which totalled only 1,600 volume over the course of 5 days).

Captured by the Unusual Whales flow tool, the main target of traders was the $70 call strike expiring on November 19th, 2021.  There were 5,969 contracts traded across 3 orders of the $70 strike expiring November 19th, 2021, totalling $488k in premium. During this time, IIVI traded between $61.16 per share (at the time of the first order for that call strike and expiration) and $61.63 (at the time of the final order of that call strike and expiration). The cost of those contracts within that window moved from a Spot price of $0.55 to $1.05 per contract.

On November 2nd, we see a similar trend wherein traders targeted the $70 call strike; only this time, the expiration was significantly further away; the January 21st, 2022 expiration. One order of 500 contracts, totalling $133k in premium, was particularly notable. Traders also sold the $65 put strike for November 19th, 2021 for a total of 138 contracts for $52k in premium. During this time frame, IIVI traded at $63.40, and closed the trading day on November 2nd at $63.87 per share.

This morning, November 3rd, 2021, IIVI opened at $64.31, and has traded as high as $65.35; a $6.68 increase (+11.45%) over the last 5 days. As of this morning, the $70 call strike expiring on November 19th, 2021 that was originally purchased on October 28th for $0.55 is trading at a price of $1.35; nearly 3 times higher than the original purchase price.

As noted in a previous Unusual Whales article regarding the Bed, Bath, and Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) rocket mission to Jupiter; someone always knows before the market shows.