Ford Motor (F) shares were unchanged at $6.07, even as the automaker “surprised” the Street with better-than-expected monthly sales numbers. Ford auto sales fell 10.9 percent in June, which was significantly better than the -17 percent analysts had predicted.
However, the “whisper” number was probably higher, as sentiment in the options market seemed to reflect increasing levels of bullishness in the days heading into the news (see Monday and Tuesday color on F).
click to enlarge
Interestingly, it appears that some investors are still opening bullish positions, even as the news has passed. Since the numbers were released, ISEE sentiment data indicate that the number of opening call buyers on the ISE has increased by another 1,000 contracts to almost 10,000 on the session.
In addition, contrary to what one might expect, implied volatility is up, not down, since the news. Ford vols up to 64, from about 62 Tuesday. So, there might be more to this Ford story.
