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Morning Update

Yahoo shares jumped 3% on Friday as trader responded to news that Yahoo’s Marrisa Meyer is pulling a play out of Google’s book and eliminating unsuccessful products en-masse. Yahoo announced that it would eliminate its BlackBerry app, along with Yahoo App Search, Yahoo Sports IQ, Yahoo Clues, and Yahoo Message Boards. This new policy comes in conjunction with a change in Yahoo’s description of itself in its 10-K. The old description as a ”premier digital media company” has been replaced with “a global technology company focused on making the world’s daily habits inspiring and entertaining.” Traders liked the new “less is more” policy out of Yahoo and the bullish stock trading spilled over into the options market, with over 5 calls trading for every put. One of the biggest trades of the day was the purchase of 2500 July 24/26 call spreads for $0.45 with the stock at 22.00.

This is a bullish bet that Yahoo will be above 24 .45 at July expiration, a 11% increase. The risk in this trade is limited to $0.45, but the reward is also limited to 1.55 for a maximum 344% return on risk should Yahoo close above 26 on expiration Friday. This morning shares are trading higher pre-market on news of an upgrade to Overweight at Barclay’s, which says that the company’s interests in yahoo Japan and Alibaba are undervalued.

Since Marrisa Meyer took the helm at Yahoo the company has been seen in a new light by investors, traders, and analysts. Although some of Meyer’s moves have been controversial, she is taking action and making the hard decisions that she thinks positions the company to get back on track for long term growth. This trade is a bet that the stock’s recent momentum will continue through the company’s next 2 earnings announcements. These should give traders an indication as the weather Meyer’s new policies are working, and whether value at Yahoo Japan and Alibaba is being unlocked and properly valued.

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