Call Volume Continues to Grow on Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (IVN) has been the subject of some unusually heavy call volume during the past week. The International Securities Exchange (ISE) reports that IVN has racked up a five-day call/put volume ratio of 39.13, revealing a distinct bias toward bullish bets. Specifically, option traders on the ISE have bought to open 12,013 calls and 307 puts on IVN during the past week.

As Andrea Kramer noted last week, much of the recent speculation surrounding IVN is linked to the potential approval of its Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project by the Mongolian government. While there's no clear timeline for the venture to be rubber-stamped, option traders are playing it safe by purchasing plenty of time premium: IVN's most popular call option is the December 7.50 strike, with 24,852 contracts in residence.

However, it seems that shorter-term traders have even higher hopes for IVN. With 22,049 out-of-the-money contracts located at the stock's July 10 call, IVN could struggle this week as options-related resistance begins to take effect.

Despite this short-term headwind, the security's technical performance has been impressive. IVN is up 201.1% year-to-date, boosted by support at its 10-week and 20-week moving averages, and the shares recently muscled atop resistance in the $7.50 region. Even more compelling, the stock is trading above its 20-month trendline for the first time since July 2008.

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