Stryker pulled back after running hard in January, and now the bulls are looking for more upside.
optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker tracking system showed the purchase of some 2,100 March 65 calls for $0.60. Volume was more than triple previous open interest at the strike, clearly indicating new positions.
Long calls lock in the price where investors can buy shares, so they have the potential to generate significant leverage in the event of a rally. But these options also will become worthless if the stock doesn't move by the mid-March expiration. (See our Education section)
SYK rose 0.19 percent to $63.90 yesterday and is up 17 percent so far in 2013. The maker of replacement joints issued a strong preliminary earnings report on Jan. 9, then beat those estimates when final numbers were released two weeks later.
Total option volume was twice the daily average in the session, with calls outnumbering puts by a bullish 31-to-1 ratio.
(A version of this post appeared on InsideOptions Pro yesterday.)
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