QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) stock opened lower this morning after a federal judge in California ruled on Monday that the company must immediately halt selling third-generation (3G) WCDMA cellular chips, as they seem to infringe on patents held by rival Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM). According to analysts, QCOM may eventually have to pay royalties to BRCM due to the ruling, which would negatively affect its guidance, though the ruling allows QCOM time to implement a workaround solutions before any royalties can be imposed. Shortly after the open, QCOM announced the launch of new chips it says will comply with the ruling. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on QCOM, since options prices could be high at this time.After hitting a one-year high of $47.72 in May, the stock hit a one-year low of $35.23 in August. This morning, QCOM opened at $38.23. So far today the stock has hit a low of $38.12 and a high of $39.80. As of 11:15, QCOM is trading at $38.92, down $0.42 (-1.1%). The chart for QCOM looks bearish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.
For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a February bear-call credit spread above the $45 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. This particular trade will make a 9.6% return in 7 weeks as long as QCOM is below $45 at February expiration. Qualcomm would have to rise by more than 15% before we would start to lose money.
QCOM hasn't been above $45 since July and has shown resistance around $43 recently. This trade could be risky if the overall economy does not fall into recession, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by resistance QCOM might find at its 200 day moving average, which is currently at $42 and falling.
Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in QCOM or BRCM.
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