A three-way combination trade today's option activity Petrobras as shares fall back toward lows. optionMONSTER systems shows that a trader sold 9,950 June 15 calls for the bid price of $0.56 in volume ...

Someone wants to protect a long position in bank loans using options. Our Depth Charge monitoring program detected the purchase of 6,000 January 23 puts on the PowerShares Senior Loan exchange-traded fund, ...

A large trade is looking for higher volatility in the U.S. Oil Fund in coming months. More than 4,500 each of the August 34.50 puts and 35.50 calls traded this morning, according to optionMONSTER systems. ...

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. Merck (MRK): Some 100,000 October 45 calls ...

The option market appears to be in "hurry up and wait" mode before tomorrow's Fed announcement as just 4.8 million contracts have changed hands so far today, optionMONSTER data systems show. ...

For the second time in as many days, traders are calling a bottom for Infinity Pharmaceuticals. optionMONSTER's tracking programs detected the sale of 2,000 July 16 puts for $0.60 against previous open ...

One trader is betting on a big short-term drop in the VXX volatility exchange-traded note. optionMONSTER systems show that the biggest print in the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Note this morning ...

Third Point Seeks Entertainment Spinoff Hedge fund Third Point, run by Daniel Loeb, increased its stake in Sony and is now urging the board to spinoff the company's entertainment business. That is pushing ...

Stocks are trying to advance this morning after holding key levels yesterday. S&P 500 futures are fractionally higher, while most overseas markets have posted small gains. Perhaps most importantly, the ...

Cemex has pulled back after a big run, and the bulls are noticing. optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker program detected the purchase of 6,800 October 10 calls for $1.24. Volume was almost twice previous open interest ...

Dollar Tree has been climbing, and one trader thinks the trend will continue. optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker monitoring system detected the purchase of 1,970 July 52.50 calls for $0.65 and the sale of an ...

The bulls simply can't get enough of Spectra Energy. On May 30 , optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker monitoring system detected buying in the September 33 calls for $0.40 and $0.45. Less than two weeks later, ...

A long-term trader apparently believes that any downside will be limited in Time Warner Cable, which came off Friday's highs yesterday. optionMONSTER systems show that a big block of 9,250 January 2015 ...

Today's calendar focuses on housing and inflation, but the Federal Reserve remains a dominant theme. The consumer price index and housing starts for May will both be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists ...

Equity indexes were higher yesterday but off the best levels of the morning. The CBOE Volatility Index and its futures were lower. The S&P 500 was up 12.31 points at the end of the day, closing at 1639.04. ...

Abercrombie & Fitch is sitting at support, and the bulls are getting long. optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker monitoring system detected the purchase of 2,500 November 60 calls, most of which priced for $1.41, ...

A trader is apparently looking for lower volatility in natural-gas company Williams as shares near multi-month lows. optionMONSTER systems show that 22,000 WMB options have changed hands already today, ...

Mondelez International is drawing a big upside trade as the food stock consolidates at key support. optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker monitoring program detected the purchase of some 10,200 December 32 calls ...

One trader apparently believes that Infinity Pharmaceuticals will see limited downside this week.   optionMONSTER systems show that today's activity is focused on the June 16.50 puts, which expire at the ...

A large bullish trade in the iShares China 25 Fund is looking for today's bounce to continue. More than 107,000 FXI options have already changed hands this morning, about 3 times its daily average in the ...

Stocks are gaining this morning after making a higher low on Friday. S&P 500 futures are up more than half a percent but have retreated from earlier levels, while European indexes are gaining more than ...

Traders want to generate some profits with electricity producer Calpine. optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker program detected the purchase of some 1,600 June 21 calls for $0.55 to $0.70. Volume was more than 10 ...

A long-term investor apparently thinks that Acadia Pharmaceuticals may keep on running after a giant move. optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker monitoring program detected the purchase of 10,000 January 2015 20 ...

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals continued to rally on Friday even as the broader market fell, but option traders remain cautious. optionMONSTER's Depth Charge system shows that 2,000 September 15 puts were bought ...

A near-term put trade is positioning for a possible drop in American International Group by the end of this week. optionMONSTER's Depth Charge system shows that a trader sold 7,500 June 44 puts for the ...

DCP Midstream hit an all-time high on Friday, but one trader is positioning for a possible drop in the next five weeks. optionMONSTER's Depth Charge system detected the purchase of 1,500 July 50 puts in ...

One investor is hedging a bet on chemical producer W.R. Grace. optionMONSTER's Depth Charge monitoring system detected the purchase of 1,750 January 77.50 puts for $4.50 and the sale of an equal number ...

This week's calendar focuses on the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision on Wednesday afternoon. While economists expect the central bank to leave the benchmark overnight rate unchanged, attention ...

Equity indexes slipped on Friday and closed negative on the week, pushing the CBOE Volatility Index back above the 17 level.   The S&P 500 lost 9.63 points on Friday to close at 1626.73. It surged at the ...

Magnum Hunter is off its recent highs, but one investor is confident that it won't go much lower in the long term. optionMONSTER's trade scanners detected the sale of 5,000 January 2015 4 puts for $1.15. ...

J.C. Penney continues to pull back today, and one large trade is positioning for further downside in the stock. optionMONSTER systems show that a trader has sold more than 8,000 June 17 puts for $0.13 ...

The iShares iBoxx High-Yield Corporate Bond Fund is seeing call buying for the second session in a row, but today's trade appears to be focused on volatility rather than a particular direction. optionMONSTER's ...

Ocwen Financial doesn't a pay a dividend, but one investor is using options to earn income from the stock. optionMONSTER's tracking programs detected the purchase of 2,525 October 40 calls for $8.50 and ...

A large trader apparently believes that upside will be limited in semiconductor company LSI. optionMONSTER systems show that more than 10,000 LSI options have traded, compared to the daily average of just ...

Earnings, Sales, Guidance All Beat Restoration Hardware reported first-quarter profit of $0.06 a share on sales of $301 million. Analysts had only expected $0.04 and $299 million, respectively. Guidance ...

Stocks are little-changed this morning after a big rally yesterday. S&P 500 futures are fractionally lower and European indexes are seesawing in a range, though mostly positive. Asia gained in the overnight ...

Intel options were active earlier in the week, and yesterday the buying hit right at the top of CNBC's "Fast Money Halftime Report." optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker scanners detected heavy volume ...

Yesterday's market rally sent investors scrambling for exposure to junk bonds, which had fallen all the way back to levels last seen in November. optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker monitoring system detected ...

As Two Harbors tries to recover from a steep decline last month, traders are betting that the real-estate investment trust will rally by the end of next week. More than 6,100 June 11 calls traded in a ...

Traders are banking on second-half strength in Citrix Systems. The maker of cloud-computing software has been clinging to the $62 level since cratering on a poor earnings report in late April. Management ...

A downside position topped yesterday's option activity in General Motors even as the stock jumped. The biggest GM trade came in the June 33.50 puts when 10,000 contracts were bought for the ask price or ...

Dutch financial giant ING is up about 40 percent since its U.S. initial public offering in early May, and one trader is looking for the stock to hold current levels for the next five months. optionMONSTER's ...

Today's calendar features three relatively minor economic reports: producer prices, industrial production, and consumer sentiment. The Labor Department will announce the producer-price index at 8:30 a.m. ...

Equity indexes rebounded strongly yesterday, more than making up for Wednesday's losses as the market continues to see volatile swings. The S&P 500 gained 23.84 points, or 1.48 percent, to close at 1636.36. ...

For the second time in less than a month, the bulls are getting long Medivation. optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker monitoring system detected the purchase of almost 2,200 September 60 calls, most of which priced ...