Nearing the halfway mark in today's session, here are the individual equity names with the most call and put buying on optionMONSTER's ActionTracker data system.
J.C. Penney (JCP): An investor sold the August 33 calls and bought the August 39s against open interest. More than 9,000 May 39 calls were bought minutes later for $0.36 and $0.37. It appears that a bullish ratio spread was closed in August and rolled forward to May. The trade reflects a belief that the stock could have significant upside in the near term. JCP fell 0.19 percent to $35.99.
E*Trade Financial (ETFC): More than 12,000 July 9 puts were bought, mostly for $0.18 to $0.20, but volume was below open interest in the strike. ETFC rose 1.79 percent to $10.82.
Seagate Technology (STX): Some 10,000 May 34 calls were bought, mostly for $0.29 to $0.39, as investors look for the stock to rally. Some 5,000 June 29 puts were sold less than 10 minutes later, which reflects a belief that downside is limited. STX rose 4.62 percent to $32.18.
U.S. Natural Gas Fund (UNG): About 21,000 May 16 puts were sold for $0.49 and an equal number of May 15 puts were bought for $0.21. Volume was below open interest in both strikes, indicating that a bearish put spread was closed. UNG rose 1.10 percent to $16.59.
More From optionMONSTER
The U.S. Federal Reserve's explicit signal it will stop pumping money into the world economy and data showing China's …