There’s never a dull moment in this stock market.

Although I expected some big moves in Kroger (NYSE: KR) when it reported earnings last Thursday, I did not foresee the fireworks from Amazon’s explosive acquisition of Whole Foods the following day.

For those of you who may have been on a deserted island last week, Amazon shocked the market with its purchase of Whole Foods. There has been rampant speculation that food companies might be acquired but the purchase of a chain of grocery stores by a technology giant was not on investors’ radar.

(Stock position Impinj (NSDQ: PI) was also a benefactor of the Amazon news- more details below)

Kroger dropped 19% Thursday when it lowered estimates for the year. Our puts, which had a $27.50 strike price, doubled as the stock price dropped below that strike. I happily booked an 110% gain in the options at a price of $2.20.

Those who hesitated and sold later made an even bigger score. Kroger plummeted another 9% Friday on the Whole Foods news. Those puts are now trading at $5.20 and traded as high as $9.00 on Friday morning. The value of the puts increased nine times in less than two days!

Such is the nature of options. It is imperative to acknowledge the volatility inherent in options trading. The thrill of such huge gains is fabulous, but the volatility cuts both ways.

Our McCormick puts expired worthless despite the stock dropping on the Whole Foods acquisition. When a stock moves in the wrong direction soon after an option purchase, as it did with McCormick, the option price crumbles. I considered selling the McCormick puts before the expiration, but the price was so low it made more sense to me to hold on for the chance that the stock would drop significantly.

Obviously, I’m always looking for options trades that result in the former more often than the latter. The good news is that the market volatility offers us some excellent entry prices. Case in point is portfolio favorite Ichor Holdings (NSDQ: ICHR), which I added back in after it sold off during the mini tech selling tornado the prior week.

Around the Portfolio…

Integrated Device Technology (NSDQ: IDTI) had its price target increased to $32 from $28 at Needham. Needham Analyst N. Quinn Bolton said he has increased confidence in second half revenue growth after meetings with Integrated Device’s CEO. Integrated has been a frustrating stock. It is flat since my recommendation last November due to weakness in its communications infrastructure business.

As demand from its industrial and automotive customers increases, those faster-growing portions of its revenue will outweigh the softer demand from communication customers.

Masonite (NSDQ: DOOR) was started with an $85 price target and an Outperform rating by Wedbush analyst Jay McCanless. The analyst believes that it can meet the midpoints of its EBITDA and EPS guidance ranges by focusing exclusively on the door market.

Impinj (NSDQ: PI) rushed up 31% on the Amazon news. The stock, which I recommended in December on the news that Amazon was investigating using Impinj’s inventory tagging sensors, is now $14.00 above my price target.

I will be making a decision soon about whether I can justify a higher price target. The stock has moved higher on speculation that Amazon would use its technology in its check-out less grocery store. Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods cements its commitment to grocery distribution and would make it an even bigger customer for Impinj.

Analysts seem equally perplexed on what to do with the stock at this juncture. Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight but raised its price target to $50. Piper Jaffray also raised its price target to $50 but kept his Overweight rating.

As I work through the information I can find regarding possible outcomes for Impinj; I suggest holders place a $52 stop loss on positions.