Buyers speeding back into Expeditors

For a second day in a row, the bulls like Expeditors International of Washington.

optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker monitoring system detected the purchase of 2,000 January 2013 47.50 calls for $3.30 and the sale of an equal number of January 2013 40 puts for $3.40. It was an exact copy of a similar transaction yesterday.

The strategy resulted in a credit of $0.10 and is highly leveraged to upside in the shipping stock. If EXPD pushes higher, the calls will appreciate and the puts will lose value, while the opposite will happen to the downside. It's essentially a long-term bet that lets the investor control a large number of shares without expending a single dollar upfront.

EXPD is up 0.34 percent to $44.01 in early afternoon trading. It drifted lower during the first nine months of 2011 but then found support at $40 and has been working its way higher since.

The next scheduled event that could serve as a potential catalyst for the company is the release of fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 21. Its last report was mixed, with profit better than consensus but revenue less than expected.

Overall option volume in the name is 5 times greater than average so far today, according to the Heat Seeker.

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