Options Brief: Liberty Global (LBTYA)

LBTYA – Liberty Global, Inc. – It looks like one options strategist expects shares of the international producer of video, voice and broadband internet services to remain range-bound through October expiration. Liberty Global’s shares are currently down 0.20% to stand at $29.65 as of 3:05 pm ET. LBTYA reported an adjusted net loss of $2.42 a share for the second quarter of 2010 after the market closed on Tuesday. But, shares moved very little following earnings. Perhaps the lack of fluctuation in the price of the underlying shares during earnings season bolstered the strangle seller’s premonition that LBTYA’s shares are likely to trade within a specified range for the next couple of months. The investor appears to have sold roughly 10,000 puts at the October $27.5 strike for a premium of $0.70 each in combination with the sale of about the same number of calls at the October $32.5 strike for an average premium of $0.35 apiece. The trader pockets gross premium of $1.05 per contract, and keeps the full amount as long as Liberty Global’s shares trade between $27.50 and $32.50 through October expiration. The premium received on the trade provides limited protection for the trader should the stock experience wayward shifts in price. But, losses will start to accumulate for the investor if shares rally above the upper breakeven price of $33.55, or if shares slip beneath the lower breakeven point at $26.45, ahead of expiration in October.