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) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 82,659 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 191% compared to the typical daily volume of 28,452 put options.

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

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

SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF Price Performance

NYSEARCA:XOP traded down $6.98 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $158.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,630,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,708,497. SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF has a 1 year low of $121.46 and a 1 year high of $190.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $169.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.29.

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

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 3,099,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,343,000 after purchasing an additional 50,500 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF by 2.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,054,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,834,000 after purchasing an additional 79,498 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF by 28.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 629,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,399,000 after purchasing an additional 137,737 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF by 241.9% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 383,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,399,000 after acquiring an additional 271,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanderbilt University boosted its stake in shares of SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanderbilt University now owns 362,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,710,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter.

SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF Company Profile

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.