The bears edged out the bulls yesterday in Chesapeake Energy Corporation's (NYSE:CHK) options pits, on the news that the company had chosen a new CEO. The two most active options were the June 20 and July 20 puts, which saw 6,874 and 9,645 contracts change hands, respectively. Both trades came in mostly at the ask price, and open interest soared at both positions overnight, pointing to buy-to-open activity.

The volume-weighted average price (VWAP) for the front-month puts was $0.44, so traders will need CHK shares to drop below $19.56 (strike price minus VWAP) prior to June expiration in order to profit. Meanwhile, traders of the back-month options need the stock to fall even further -- specifically, to $19.15 (strike price less $0.85 VWAP) -- prior to their July 19 expiration date. In other words, yesterday's bears are hoping to see Chesapeake Energy drop 6% and 7.9%, respectively, from Monday's closing price of $20.80. Should Chesapeake Energy not reach the strike price in time, however, losses would be capped at the premium paid.

This is a marked change of pace for a company that has fared well in the options pits of late. CHK's 10-day call/put volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) is 1.52, meaning that calls bought to open have outpaced puts by roughly 50%. The ratio ranks in the 76th annual percentile, too, meaning that calls are preferred at a faster-than-usual pace, relative to the past year's worth of data.

Sentiment outside of options land is considerably more negative. Despite last week's price-target hikes, Chesapeake Energy has "buy" or better endorsements from just 10 of 27 analysts. Plus, nearly 11% of the stock's available float is being shorted, which would take more than seven days to cover at CHK's average daily trading volume.

That ambivalence is mirrored by Chesapeake Energy Corporation's (NYSE:CHK) technical performance. The natural gas and oil producer has added an impressive 27.2% year-to-date, but has trailed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by nearly 5 percentage points over the past two months.

Options traders set their sights on Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) calls on Monday. Roughly 78,000 call contracts crossed the tape during the course of the session, easily outnumbering the approximately 34,000 puts that changed hands.

The most active strike was the newly front-month June 25 call, where 10,356 contracts were traded. Not far behind was the August 27 call, with volume of 7,188 contracts crossing the tape. Most of these calls traded closer to the ask price, suggesting they were bought. The June 25 call gained 9,994 contracts in open interest overnight, while 7,055 contracts were added at the August 27 call. Based on this evidence, it looks like option bulls were buying to open new calls on CSCO during Monday's session.

This optimistically skewed activity is just more of the same for Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), which has become a favorite target of call buyers lately. During the past 10 sessions, speculators have bought to open 3.41 calls for every put on CSCO, according to the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio ranks higher than 80% of other such readings taken during the last 52 weeks, indicating an accelerated pace of call buying relative to puts in recent weeks.

In fact, optimism toward the blue-chip tech stock is widespread. Currently, 21 analysts out of 30 rate CSCO a "strong buy" or "buy," and only 1.1% of the equity's float is sold short.

Cisco shares have gained more than 21% year-to-date, so it's not too surprising that the stock has attracted some positive attention. However, the Dow component's lofty Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 75 suggests CSCO could be due to consolidate some gains during the short term. The equity is currently trading at $23.84, below both of Monday's most active call strikes.

A recent crop of Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co. Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:YGE) option traders are likely in celebration-mode this morning, with the stock soaring more than 50% to tag a new annual high of $4.83. During the course of Monday's session, YGE saw more than 8,000 call options change hands -- about 13 times the norm. Meanwhile, just over 400 YGE puts were exchanged.

More than half of the action transpired at the June 3 call, where nearly 4,700 contracts crossed at a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of $0.40. The majority of the calls traded on the ask side, and call open interest soared at the front-month strike overnight, pointing to newly bought bullish bets.

By purchasing the calls to open, the buyers were betting on YGE to muscle atop $3.40 (strike price plus VWAP) within the next few weeks. With YGE flirting with new highs amid reports that the U.S. and the European Union will negotiate settlements with China regarding antidumping and antisubsidy trade cases, yesterday's timely YGE call purchases are profitable today.

Meanwhile, a few short sellers could hit the exits. Short interest on Yingli Green Energy skyrocketed by 50.5% during the past two reporting periods, and now accounts for a healthy 7.3% of the stock's total available float.

Last Tuesday, we looked at a bunch of weekly put option traders hoping for Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) to fall south of $23.38 by Friday -- a move that never materialized. The tenor toward INTC is significantly different in today's options pits, with the bulk of the trading revolving around out-of-the-money July and August 25 calls.

In the July series, more than 22,400 contracts have been traded, 99% of which went off at the ask price (including one block of 15,000 that changed hands around 1:00 p.m. for the ask price of $0.43 apiece). Implied volatility has inched higher, suggesting Intel bulls are buying these calls to open in the hopes that the semiconductor name will top $25.43 (the strike plus the premium paid) by the time July options expire.

Turning to the later-dated calls, of the 18,782 options traded at that strike so far, 17,000 changed hands in a single block trade around noon. The transaction went off at the ask price of $0.54 per contract. Again, with implied volatility shifting a couple notches higher, it appears that the trade was of the buy-to-open variety. Hence, the bullish bettor is anticipating that the shares of Intel Corporation will exceed $25.54 (strike plus net debit) prior to August options expiration. This represents a move of 6.4% from the equity's present position of $24.00.

The sizeable transaction flies in the face of the prevailing bearishness that surrounds INTC. Twenty-six of 36 analysts evaluating the stock slap it with a "hold" or worse rating. Meanwhile, the Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) on the microchip maker is 1.33, which registers in the 99th annual percentile. This translates to the fact that open interest on options expiring within the next three months has rarely been as put-slanted during the past year as it is currently.

It's no wonder, either. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) has lost nearly 2% in the past week, and close to 8% over the past 52 weeks. Plus, the shares -- which haven't traded above $25 since last August -- are now facing resistance at their 10-day moving average, which previously served as a level of support.

Statistically, based on the calls' respective deltas of 0.34 (34%) and 0.36 (36%), their chances of finishing in the money are slightly higher than 1-in-3. Yet, no matter what happens, the most today's bullish traders have to lose is the premium they paid at initiation.

Internet issue Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has erased early losses to trade 0.7% higher, with the stock last seen at $26.70. Options traders are responding to today's M&A news in a bullish manner, picking up calls to bet on additional upside for YHOO in the short term. So far today, the stock has seen around 47,000 calls cross the tape -- a 51% mark-up to its average intraday call volume, and more than three times the number of YHOO puts exchanged.

Most popular is the July 28 call, which has seen close to 6,300 contracts change hands at a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of $0.78. Most of the calls have crossed on the ask side, and volume has exceeded open interest at the strike, pointing to newly bought bullish bets.

The buyers will begin to reap a reward if Yahoo! Inc. travels north of $28.78 (strike price plus VWAP) by July 19, when the back-month options expire. From current levels, it would take a rally of 7.8% in order for YHOO to hit breakeven -- which stands in five-year-high territory. Risk, meanwhile, is capped at the initial premium paid for the calls, should the stock remain beneath the strike through the next couple of months.

Prior to today's announcement that Yahoo will acquire Tumblr for $1.1 billion, the options crowd was singing a more bearish tune. On the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the stock's 10-day put/call open interest ratio of 0.32 ranks in the 73rd percentile of its annual range, implying that option buyers have picked up YHOO puts over calls at an accelerated clip during the past couple of weeks.

What's more, the consensus 12-month price target on the security stands at $26.72, just a stone's throw from YHOO's current perch. Should more analysts follow the lead of Topeka Capital, which today hiked its price target on the stock to $31 from $29, YHOO could enjoy contrarian tailwinds.