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Despite the recent affinity for calls on Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK), the natural gas concern has attracted a slew of put traders today. Heading into the close, CHK has seen roughly 28,000 puts cross the tape – about 25% more than the number of CHK calls traded, and more than double its expected daily volume of fewer than 10,000 puts.
With May-dated options set to expire after the closing bell today, traders have turned their attention to longer-term put strikes. Most popular have been the equity's June 20 and October 20 puts, which have seen about 3,100 and 3,600 contracts exchanged, respectively. However, with open interest exceeding volume at both strikes, and most of the puts trading between the bid and ask prices, it's difficult to discern how much of today's action will translate into fresh bearish bets.
Elsewhere on the Street, one group that we know is initiating pessimistic positions is the short-selling crowd. Short interest on the stock edged 0.8% higher during the most recent reporting period, and now represents about 33 million CHK shares, or 5.1% of the security's total float. In fact, at the stock's average pace of trading, it would take about three sessions for these bearish bets to unwind.
However, looking at CHK's technical backdrop, it's doubtful the shorts will begin unwinding their winning positions anytime soon. The shares have given up more than 18% since the start of 2010, and are poised to finish the month south of both their 10-month and 20-month moving averages for the first time since April 2009. At last check, CHK has backpedaled 2.2% to explore the $20.55 neighborhood.
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