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Speculators expect Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (ABX) to resume its long-term downtrend
Puts are crossing at nearly twice the expected intraday clip in Barrick Gold Corporation's (USA) (NYSE:ABX) options pits. It appears traders are buying to open the in-the-money May 13 put, expecting the shares to move further below $13 through the close on Friday, May 15, when the soon-to-be front-month options expire.
Put buying has picked up recently in ABX's options pits. The equity's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 0.52 ranks higher than 84% of readings from the past year. Not only that, but the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) comes in at 0.96 -- ranking in the 90th annual percentile, revealing short-term speculators are more put-skewed than normal. 
This skeptical view can also be seen on the Street, where 15 of 17 covering brokerage firms have "hold" or worse ratings on ABX. This likely has something to do with Barrick Gold Corporation's (NYSE:ABX) technical history. During the past 12 month, the shares have lost nearly 33%. At last check, however, ABX was trading at $12.49, a 1% intraday gain.