Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSEARCA:XOP)

SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSEARCA:XOP) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 82,659 put options on the company. This is an increase of 191% compared to the typical daily volume of 28,452 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in XOP. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF by 6.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF by 21.0% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF by 24.2% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after buying an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF by 1,641.6% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 7,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 6,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caption Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF during the second quarter valued at $1,642,000.

SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF Trading Down 4.2%

Shares of XOP stock traded down $6.98 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $158.36. 6,630,789 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,708,497. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $169.67 and its 200-day moving average is $153.29. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.52. SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF has a fifty-two week low of $121.46 and a fifty-two week high of $190.36.

Key SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF News

Here are the key news stories impacting SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Oil prices fell after the U.S. and Iran agreed to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, easing fears of a supply disruption that had supported energy stocks. Iran, US agree to halt war and reopen Hormuz, sending oil prices tumbling
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. energy shares fell in premarket trading as the Iran deal lowered the risk of a Hormuz disruption, directly hurting the outlook for oil producers held in XOP. Energy shares fall as Iran deal lowers Hormuz disruption risk
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts say the oil shock is “far from over,” but the immediate market reaction has been a sharp drop in crude prices, which is weighing on energy ETFs. Oil shock ‘far from over’ as analysts warn of new Middle East risk premium
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed a large increase in put buying on XOP, suggesting some traders are positioning for further downside or hedging against more weakness.
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the peace deal, oil inventories are being closely watched, with the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve at its lowest level since 1983, which could matter if supply disruptions return. The Iran deal came just in time as Strategic Petroleum Reserve hits lowest level since 1983

About SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF

SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (the Fund) seeks to replicate as closely as possible the total return performance of the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index. The S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index represents the oil and gas exploration and production sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Markets Index. The S&P TMI tracks all the United States common stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (NASDAQ) National Market and NASDAQ Small Cap exchanges.