Subscribe Feed (RSS)EMC to Spin Off Its VMware Stake? Aggressive Call Buyers Certainly Think So
July 31st, 2008 by Mark | Filed under Equities.Yes, it looks like option traders are betting on a jump in EMC shares during the next two weeks. Aggressive call-buyers traded over 113,000 of the $15-stirke calls, three times the open interest, pushing the contract up 72 cents or up 380%.
The contracts closed at 89 cents, meaning the EMC shares would need to surpass $15.89 for the call buyers to be profitable. One can only hypothesize the motivation, but the WSJ’s Tennile Tracy quoted rumors that Cisco Systems might make an offer for EMC, or that EMC possibly will divests its 85% stake in VMWare.
EMC’s Chairman and CEO Joe Tucci did not deny this proposition in EMC’s Q2 earnings call saying “I kind of know a lot more of what’s going on than anybody else and we will do the right thing for the shareholder when and if the time is right.”
Additionally, the opportunity to announce this divestiture may come at be Pacific Crest Securities technology conference on August 4.
