Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc (HST) is a REIT that holds luxury hotels in the U.S. and around the world. The company’s stock is currently trading around $20.75 in a 52 week range of $15.60-$20.90. Shares of HST have been performing well this year as the stock has rallied nearly 7% year to date. Options order flow in HST during today’s trading session would suggest that traders expect this trend in HST to continue through April expiration. Earlier this morning a trader bought 5,427 HST Apr 21 calls for $0.30. This is a very bullish trade and the largest block to trade in HST today as calls are out trading puts 210 to 1. Nearly 22 times the average daily option volume in HST has already traded today. HST is also looking strong on a chart. The stock is trading above the Ichimoku Cloud and is just off of its 52 week highs.  With a bullish chart set up like this it seems like this trader is taking a speculative long in HST. Both the chart and order flow are signaling for a long in HST.

Block trader: Bought the HST Apr 21 Calls for $0.30
Risk: $30 per 1 lot
Reward: Unlimited
Breakeven: $21.30

PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG) is a supplier of paint and decorative coatings around the world. The company’s stock is currently trading around $196.00 in a 52 week range of $130.65-$201.59. The stock has been performing relatively well this year with shares rallying nearly 3.35% year to date. Options traders seem to believe this trend will continue as orders hitting the tape today have been decidedly bullish. Earlier this morning a trader bought 1,000 PPG Apr 200 calls for $2.40. While this may not seem like a large order this block is the largest to trade on a day when PPG is seeing 5 times its average daily option volume already traded. This is a very bullish trade that requires this trader to lay out $240,000 in capital. With shares of PPG trading above the Ichimoku Cloud it would appear that this trader is looking for a speculative long in PPG. The stock is also trading above its 9 and 26 period moving averages and the future cloud is upward sloping. With a strong technical set up this order flow provides a very bullish signal in PPG.

Block trader: Bought the PPG Apr 200 calls for $2.40
Risk: $240 per 1 lot
Reward: Unlimited
Breakeven: $202.40

Superior Energy Services, Inc. (SPN) is a company that provides services and equipment to customers in the oil and gas industry. The company’s stock touched off of a new 52 week high today and shares are currently trading around $30.69 in a 52 week range of $22.85-$31.41. The stock has been performing well this year with shares up nearly 15% year to date. There has been some bullish options activity in SPN today and it seems like options traders are expecting this uptrend to continue. Earlier this morning a trader bought 2,000 of the SPN Apr 32.5 calls for $0.25. This is the biggest block to trade today with calls massively out trading puts. Nearly 4.4 times the average daily option volume has traded in SPN today. With shares of SPN trading at 52 week highs and looking strong on a chart we believe that this order flow is signaling further upside in SPN.

Block Trader’s Trade: Buying the SPN Apr 32.5 Calls for $0.25
Risk: $25 per 1 lot
Reward: Unlimited
Breakeven: $32.75

The Coca-Cola Company (KO) is a beverage company that manufactures, markets, and sells nonalcoholic beverages worldwide.  They compete against Pepsi and SodaStream and have over 130,6000 full-time employees.  The stock looks like it’s trying to break the Ichimoku Cloud to the downside indicating it could be entering a downtrend. With blocks of April 11^th Weekly 38 puts hitting the tape today it looks like KO is setting up well for a short.

The Trade: Buying the KO Weekly 4.11.2014 38 Puts for $.23
Risk: $23 per 1 lot
Reward: $77 per 1 lot
Breakeven:   $37.77
Targets: $.32, $.45 and $.60

Greeks of this Trade:
Delta: Short
Gamma: Long
Theta:: Short
Vega: Long

Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) is an oil and gas refining company that produces gasoline and a range of other refined products. The company’s stock is currently trading around $54.55 in a 52 week range of $33.00-$55.96. The stock has been doing well this year with shares rallying more than 7.7% year to date. Options traders seem to think this trend will continue as we have been seeing some very bullish options trades hitting the tape during today’s trading session. Earlier this morning a trader bought 3,221 VLO May 57.5 calls for $1.24. Over 6,000 contracts have now traded on that line and these blocks of calls being bought represent very bullish trades in VLO. With shares of VLO trading well above the Ichimoku Cloud we believe that order flow this strong signals a long opportunity in VLO.

Trade: I bought the VLO May 57.5 Calls for $1.30
Risk: $130 per 1 lot
Reward: Unlimited
Breakeven: $58.80

My favorite technical indicator is the Ichimoku Cloud also referred to as known as “The Cloud.”  This indicator is a free plug-in on TradingView, but a trader must know which time frame to use for the indicator.  The Ichimoku works best on the 4 Hour bar for forex and today we see a great signal for a mild pullback trader who likes to trade with the trend.

Let’s breakdown the trade:

Short EUR/USD at 1.378 at 12PM CST on the close of the bar
STOP LOSS: 1.3835
Target #1: 50% of the Stop: 1.3752
Target #2: 100% of the Stop: 1.372
Target #3: 150% of the Stop: 1.369
Target #4: 200% of the Stop: 1.3656

Once I hit Target #2, if I want, I can move my stop to breakeven.

Plug Power Inc. (PLUG) is an alternative energy technology provider which engages in the design, development, commercialization, and manufacturing of fuel cell systems for markets around the world. We have noticed some interesting unusual options activity in PLUG during today’s trading session. Earlier today, a trader bought 7,000 of the PLUG Apr 4^th weekly 7 puts for $0.80. This is a very large order that had this trader putting $560,000 at risk. We believe that order flow this strong sets up well for a short in PLUG with a good reward to risk set up.

My Trade: I bought the PLUG Apr 4th Weekly 7 Puts for $.80
Risk: $80 per 1 lot
Reward: $620 per 1 lot
Breakeven: $6.20

Greeks of this Trade:
Delta: Short
Gamma: Long
Theta: Short
Vega: Long

Teck Resources Limited (TCK) is an integrated mining company with operation in Canada. The stock is currently trading around $21.65 in a 52 week range of $19.98-$30.02. Shares of TCK have been underperforming the market this year with stock falling nearly 17% year to date. Options traders seem to think this trend will continue as orders hitting the tape today are decidedly bearish. Early in today’s trading session a trader bought 6,000 of the TCK May 20-18 put spreads for $0.33. This is a bearish trade that requires this trader to lay out nearly $200,000 in premium. This block also represents volume over 6 times the average daily option volume in TCK.  With shares of TCK trading well below the Ichimoku Cloud and a downward sloping future cloud we believe that this bearish order flow in TCK can justify a short position.

Trade: Buying the TCK May 20-18 Put Spreads for $0.30
Risk: $30 per 1 lot
Reward: $70 per 1 lot
Breakeven: $19.70.

Quanta Services, Inc. (PWR) is a construction and engineering company that provides solutions to the electric, natural gas and oil industries. The company’s stock is currently trading around $36.85 in a 52 week range of $25.26-$37.28. The stock has been strong this year with shares rallying nearly 17% year to date. The options tape has been very bullish today with large blocks of out of the money calls being bought. Earlier a trader bought 2,287 PWR Apr 36 calls for $1.25. This is a very bullish trade that also represents volume nearly 7 times the average daily option volume in PWR. With shares of PWR trading well above the Ichimoku Cloud it is likely that this trader is speculating on further upside in the stock rather than hedging a short stock position. We believe that the chart and the order flow in PWR is strong enough to justify a long position in PWR.

Trade: Buying the PWR Apr 36 Calls for $1.35
Risk: $135 per 1 lot
Reward: Unlimited
Breakeven: $37.35

FirstMerit Corporation (FMER) operates as a bank holding company for FirstMerit Bank, N.A. that provides various banking services to its customers.  We run a proprietary scan of all stocks that break the Ichimoku Cloud to the upside and downside on the daily chart every single day.  Yesterday, out of 30 stocks this was the best signal we saw.  So, based on the downside break of the cloud I got short FMER.

The Trade: Sell FMER Stock at $20.33
STOP LOSS: $22.33
Target #1: $19.83
Target #2: $19.33
Target #3: $18.83
Target #4: $18.33