Day: November 22, 2024

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on YPF YPF.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the positions showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don’t know. But when something this big happens with YPF, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

Today, Benzinga’s options scanner spotted 10 options trades for YPF.

This isn’t normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 70% bullish and 20%, bearish.

Out of all of the options we uncovered, there was 1 put, for a total amount of $132,750, and 9, calls, for a total amount of $350,675.

Expected Price Movements

Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $15.0 to $43.0 for YPF over the last 3 months.

Insights into Volume & Open Interest

Assessing the volume and open interest is a strategic step in options trading. These metrics shed light on the liquidity and investor interest in YPF’s options at specified strike prices. The forthcoming data visualizes the fluctuation in volume and open interest for both calls and puts, linked to YPF’s substantial trades, within a strike price spectrum from $15.0 to $43.0 over the preceding 30 days.

YPF Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Noteworthy Options Activity:

About YPF

YPF SA is an Argentina-based integrated oil and gas company. It is engaged in operating a fully integrated oil and gas chain across the domestic upstream, downstream, and gas and power segments. The company’s upstream operations consist of the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and LPG. Its downstream operations include the refining, marketing, transportation, and distribution of oil and a wide range of petroleum products, petroleum derivatives, petrochemicals, LPG, and bio-fuels. The company generates maximum revenue from the downstream segment.

In light of the recent options history for YPF, it’s now appropriate to focus on the company itself. We aim to explore its current performance.

Where Is YPF Standing Right Now?

• Currently trading with a volume of 3,532,859, the YPF’s price is up by 7.77%, now at $40.38.
• RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be overbought.
• Anticipated earnings release is in 11 days.

What Analysts Are Saying About YPF

1 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $25.0.

Unusual Options Activity Detected: Smart Money on the Move

Benzinga Edge’s Unusual Options board spots potential market movers before they happen. See what positions big money is taking on your favorite stocks. Click here for access.
* Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from JP Morgan keeps a Neutral rating on YPF with a target price of $25.

Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest YPF options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.

U.S. stocks traded mostly higher midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining by more than 250 points on Friday.

The Dow traded up 0.59% to 44,128.84 while the NASDAQ rose 0.08% to 18,986.80. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.28% to 5,965.15.

Check This Out: Top 3 Materials Stocks That Could Blast Off In November

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer staples shares rose by 1.5% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, communication services shares fell by 0.6%.

Top Headline

Ross Stores ROST reported better-than-expected third-quarter EPS results.

The company said it sees FY25 earnings of $6.10 to $6.17 per share

Equities Trading UP
                       

• Elastic N.V. ESTC shares shot up 16% to $109.17 after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results and issued FY25 guidance above estimates.
• Shares of Matthews International Corporation MATW got a boost, surging 19% to $30.26 following upbeat earnings.
• Replimune Group, Inc. REPL shares were also up, gaining 45% to $16.00 after the company on Thursday announced it received breakthrough therapy designation status for RP1 and will submit an RP1 biologics license application to the FDA under an accelerated approval pathway.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Autonomix Medical, Inc. AMIX shares dropped 55% to $6.11 after the company announced the pricing of a $9 million underwritten public offering.
• Shares of Aptose Biosciences Inc. APTO were down 43% to $0.1390 after the company announced the pricing of an $8 million public offering.
• Cemtrex, Inc. CETX was down, falling 41% to $0.1164 after the company announced its board approved a 1-for-35 reverse stock split.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.5% to $71.16 while gold traded up 1.1% at $2,704.00.

Silver traded up 1.1% to $31.275 on Friday, while copper fell 0.8% to $4.0940.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 1.12%, Germany’s DAX gained 0.77% and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.46%. Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.16%, while London’s FTSE 100 gained 1.35%.

The S&P Global UK composite PMI declined to 49.9 in November versus 51.8 in the previous month, while Eurozone composite PMI dipped to 48.1 in November from 50 in the prior month.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.68%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index falling 1.89%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipping 3.06% and India’s BSE Sensex gaining 2.54%.

Economics

• The S&P Global US Services PMI climbed to 57 in November versus 55 in the previous month, while manufacturing PMI increased to 48.8 in November from 48.5 in the previous month.
• The University of Michigan consumer sentiment for the US fell to 71.8 in November versus a preliminary reading of 73.
• The year-ahead inflation expectations in the U.S fell to 2.6% in November from 2.7% in October.

Now Read This:

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is facing legal heat following accusations of unlawful communication with Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), a leading opponent of the Biden administration’s plan to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Now, a judge has given both DEA and SAM until November 25 to respond.

Here’s what we know.

The Facts

On November 20, DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney issued an order responding to a motion filed by cannabis organizations Village Farms International and Hemp for Victory. The motion disputes the DEA’s role as a “proponent” of the rescheduling rule, alleging conflicts of interest.

The motion argues that the DEA’s advocacy for the rescheduling rule violates impartiality principles:

“Not once in its history as an agency had DEA ever rejected an HHS scheduling recommendation. This time, however, DEA did not just disagree with HHS’s views, it opposed them so vehemently that the Attorney General had to refer the interagency dispute to the Office of Legal Counsel for resolution.”

As a result, Mulrooney has set a deadline for the DEA to respond by November 25, 2024. Part of the argument is that the DEA engaged in unlawful communications with the anti-cannabis group SAM, thus indicating its bias on the cannabis issue.

The plot thickened and legal tension escalated the very next day, on November 21, when Mulrooney extended the invitation for SAM to address allegations of unlawful ex parte communications with the DEA.

“As such, it is herein ORDERED, that in addition to the Government, should Smart Approaches to Marijuana (and by this order only that Designated Participant) elect to respond to the Motion it may do so no later than 2:00 P.M. Eastern Time on November 25, 2024,” stated his last order, as reported Marijuana Moment.

Read Also: DEA Is Compromised, DOJ Should Replace It In Cannabis Rescheduling, Claims Joint Motion

The Arguments And SAM’s Alleged Role

The motion, filed on November 18, claims that the DEA’s actions contradict its traditional role.

The groups argue that the DEA, which enforces controlled substances law, should not also be advocating for changes to that law.

The motion also points out that the DEA’s strong opposition to the rescheduling proposal, despite the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommendation, raises concerns about the agency’s neutrality. The involvement of SAM in this process, especially regarding alleged unlawful communications, has become a key issue in the case.

That is the reason why Mulrooney has ordered both the DEA and SAM to respond to the allegations, something they have failed to do so far.

Get Benzinga’s exclusive analysis and the top news about the cannabis industry and markets daily in your inbox for free. Subscribe to our newsletter here. If you’re serious about the business, you can’t afford to miss out.

Legal And Political Implications

As the December 2, hearing approaches, the stakes in this legal battle continue to rise. The outcome could significantly affect cannabis policy in the United States. Cannabis advocates, researchers and veterans groups are calling for a fair and transparent process.

These groups have raised concerns about the list of approved participants for the hearing, pointing out that Village Farms is the only cannabis company selected by the DEA. Additionally, despite over 42,000 public comments supporting rescheduling or delisting cannabis, the DEA’s list is dominated by anti-cannabis groups.

Cover: AI Generated Image