Options Brief: Large-Volume Bearish Put Play on EFA

EFA – iShares EAFE Index ETF – A large-volume bearish put play on the EFA, an exchange-traded fund designed to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the MSCI EAFE Index – an index that includes stocks from Europe, Australasia and the Far East, indicates one big options investor is bracing for continued erosion in the price of the underlying fund through July expiration. Shares of the ETF are currently down 3.30% to stand at $47.36 as of 12:20 pm (ET). It looks like one trader purchased 25,000 puts at the July $43 strike for a premium of $1.09 per contract. The massive size of the put purchase suggests perhaps that the trader responsible is long the stock and securing downside protection in case shares of the EFA do decline significantly by expiration next month. In such a scenario, shares of the fund must fall 11.50% from the current price to breach the effective breakeven point on the puts at $41.91 before downside protection to kicks in. Options implied volatility on the EFA is up 8.4% to 36.33% just before 12:30 pm (ET).