Industrial machinery stock Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ:NDSN) has rallied 8.8% today to trade at $113.47 -- and earlier hit an all-time high of $113.90 -- after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and offered up an encouraging forecast. This post-earnings surge is nothing new for NDSN stock, though. Prior to today, the shares had enjoyed gains of 10.5%, 15%, and 7.6% in the sessions following the firm's past three earnings releases. Moves like this have helped Nordson rally an astonishing 1,000% since its 2009 bottom near $10. Despite this impressive fundamental and technical performance, NDSN shares remain surrounded by pessimism. 

For starters, it looks as if NDSN stock is long overdue for another round of bullish analyst attention. At the moment, 60% of covering brokerage firms rate the stock a tepid "hold," and today's move puts the shares above their average 12-month price target of $109.38. Price-target hikes and/or upgrades could send NDSN further into all-time-high territory. 

While options volume on NDSN has been somewhat light on an absolute basis, traders have frequently targeted puts over calls. Data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) shows put buying roughly doubling call buying over the past 10 weeks. Plus, Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) for Nordson stands at 1.34, meaning put open interest outweighs call open interest among options expiring within three months. An unwinding of these positions could also lift NDSN. 

If that wasn't enough, short interest remains elevated on the outperformer. By the numbers, Nordson Corporation's short-interest ratio is 10.7, suggesting it would take these bearish traders more than two weeks to cover their positions, based on the security's average daily volume. Sure enough, NDSN's sharp rise on the charts over the past year has coincided with a roughly 30% decrease in short interest, so further gains are likely if this trend continues. On the whole, the stock seems like a prime target for bullish contrarian traders. 

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Bank stocks have been among the biggest winners during the post-election Trump rally, amid hopes the president-elect will loosen financial regulations and lower corporate taxes. In fact, since its Nov. 8 close at $19.99, the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) has surged almost 18%, taking out long-term resistance at the round $20 mark, and hitting a Dec. 8 pre-2008 financial crisis peak of $23.84 in the process. Although the shares of XLF are down 0.2% at $23.53 ahead of this afternoon's policy announcement from the Fed -- with near-unanimous expectations for an interest rate hike -- a short-term breather may have been in the cards. Specifically, XLF's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) closed last night at 74, comfortably in oversold territory.

Nevertheless, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) remains more than 21% higher year-to-date -- and is docked near the top of our internal Sector Scorecard. In fact, per data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, 92% of the 39 stocks we track under the "banking" umbrella are currently north of their 80-day moving average. And while there's plenty of skepticism to be found among individual bank stocks -- which could create tailwinds for the specific equities going forward -- optimism toward the sector (and stocks in general) has been growing of late.

For starters, fund managers have increased their "overweight" positions on bank stocks to the most on record -- according to the latest BofA-Merrill Lynch monthly fund manager survey. Additionally, call open interest continues to outweigh put open interest among XLF options, with the former overtaking the latter for the first time in over a year shortly after the U.S. presidential election.

Drilling down on the numbers, 3.1 million calls are currently open on XLF -- just off the 12-month high of 3.3 million XLF calls outstanding tagged just two days ago, and in the 99th percentile of its annual range. By contrast, 2.6 million XLF puts are in open interest, well off the 12-month peak of 3.5 million open puts hit on Sept. 16, although still in the elevated 95th annual percentile.

Echoing this demand for XLF calls over puts is the exchange-traded fund's (ETF) 30-day implied volatility skew of 2.1% -- below 99% of all comparable readings taken in the past year. In fact, this metric hit a 52-week low of 1.8% yesterday. Simply stated, XLF calls have become more expensive than puts. For example, the at-the-money January 2017 23-strike call was last seen asked at $0.83, while its put counterpart was asked at $0.42.

January 2017 calls are among the most popular XLF options, too, accounting for four of the ETF's top five open interest positions. The January 2017 25-strike call holds the top spot, with 371,891 contracts currently outstanding. Rounding out the list are XLF's January 2017 21-, 22-, and 23-strike calls, where a collective 582,776 positions reside.

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Our recommended General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) March 17, 2017 32-strike call just delivered a 100% winner for subscribers of our Weekend Trader service. Below, we'll look back at what made the trade so attractive, and how GM stock performed following our recommendation.

General Motors shares were in an excellent position in late November, when we made the recommendation. The stock had just broken through the $33 level, which coincided with its post-bankruptcy initial public offering (IPO) price, and had served as resistance on numerous occasions, confirming the area's significance. In addition, GM was a hair above its year-to-date breakeven mark -- not to mention the $32.89 level, which translated into a round-number market capitalization of $50 billion -- and had also taken out a trendline connecting a series of lower highs since the first quarter of 2015.

Amid a technical breakout that we deemed important and likely not on the radar of many chart-based traders, we observed sentiment on the stock that led us to believe there was still a decent amount of caution that could translate into buying power. For example, options traders had been buying GM puts over calls at a near-extreme rate, analysts were largely skeptical, and short interest was considerable. In other words, there was a contrarian opportunity, in that a move higher in the shares could trigger a capitulation among the skeptics, potentially resulting in tailwinds.

After our subscribers received the trade recommendation on Nov. 27 and entered the position on the morning of Nov. 28, GM wasted no time in rallying. In fact, the stock soared 5.5% on Dec. 1, after the automaker reported a 10.2% increase in U.S. vehicle sales for November, bolstered by a bullish "outperform" initiation at Macquarie. What's more, the shares hit an annual high on that day, and continued to do so in ensuing sessions.

Last Friday, less than two full weeks after Weekend Trader subscribers entered the position, our recommended call reached its target profit of 100%. Below is a chart showing General Motors Company's (NYSE:GM) performance in the months leading up to our recommendation, and its meteoric rise in the days that followed.

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Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) put options are popping amid a trio of negative catalysts. First, Wells Fargo cited the recently announced departure of three top executives as evidence of the drugmaker's "instability." Second, Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management trimmed its stake in VRX for tax purposes. 

Third, the Justice Department's probe into generic drug pricing has resulted in its first criminal charges. While not directly impacting VRX, the news is weighing on drug stocks more generally. At last check, Valeant shares had surrendered 4.2% to trade at $14.16, and earlier came within a chip-shot of a new six-year low.

As alluded to, activity has picked up on VRX put options today, at 1.5 times the normal amount for this point in the session. The out-of-the-money January 2017 12.50 strike has seen the most intraday volume, with nearly 2,700 contracts on the tape -- some of which were likely bought to open. For buyers, the goal is for the stock to tumble south of $12.50 by the close on Friday, Jan. 20, when the soon-to-be front-month option expires. The shares haven't explored territory that far south since early 2010.

Longer term, however, call traders have dominated VRX's options pits. The stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) is 2.07, with long calls doubling puts. Moreover, this ratio ranks in the bullishly skewed 84th annual percentile.

The prevailing call-skew is reinforced by looking at short-term open interest levels. Valeant sports a Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.59, which sits lower than all readings taken in the past year. In short, among options in the front three-months' series, open interest has never been so call-focused in the last 12 months.

But call traders aren't necessarily bulls. Nearly 11% of VRX's float is sold short, after the bearish bets jumped 12.5% in the most recent reporting period. So, short sellers may actually be behind the call buying, hedging their skeptical stock positions against an unforeseen breakout.

Finally, like Wells Fargo, the brokerage bunch in general is quite bearish toward Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX). The underperformer has received just three "buy" or better ratings, compared to eight tepid "holds" and three "strong sells."

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Shares of Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) are trading up 3.3% at $67.26, after Oppenheimer upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "perform." The brokerage firm said it expects AKAM growth to accelerate in the second half of 2017, and called it a "viable acquisition target" for cloud companies. This positive price action is nothing new for AKAM stock, which is boasting a nearly 28% year-to-date lead, and is within a chip-shot of taking out its Oct. 31 annual high of $71.04. And while options traders have been busy betting on more upside -- with those currently purchasing near-term premium getting a relatively good deal -- skepticism from other corners of the Street may be enough to boost the tech stock higher.

Drilling down on AKAM's options activity for a moment reveals calls have been bought to open over puts at a faster-than-usual clip of late. Specifically, the stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 3.36 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks in the elevated 80th annual percentile. Echoing this is AKAM's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.67, which rests below 85% of all comparable readings taken in the past year. Simply stated, short-term speculators are more call-heavy than usual toward the security.

This accelerated call activity is continuing today, with more than 7,100 AKAM calls on the tape -- three times what's typically seen at this point in the session. Most active is the January 2017 70-strike call, where it seems safe to assume new positions are being purchased. In other words, call buyers expect AKAM to rally north of $70 by the close on Friday, Jan. 20 -- when the back-month options expire.

Should these calls expire out of the money, the most the options buyers stand to lose is the initial premium paid. And with low volatility expectations currently priced into the stock's near-term options, premium is relatively inexpensive at the moment. In fact, AKAM's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 23% ranks in just the 2nd percentile of its annual range, while the equity's 30-day at-the-money implied volatility of 24.8% is docked below 85% of all similar readings taken in the past 12 months.

Outside of the options pits, meanwhile, there's plenty of skepticism to be found toward the booming tech stock. Although short interest fell 21.1% in the most recent reporting period, there are still 8.3 million AKAM shares sold short -- and it would take nearly a week to cover these bearish bets, at the stock's average pace of trading. Plus, the majority of analysts covering the shares maintain a "hold" or "strong sell" rating. Should Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) maintain its upward trajectory, a continued round of short covering or a fresh batch of bullish brokerage notes could translate into an additional burst of buying power for AKAM stock.

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Finance has arguably been the hottest sector since the election, with stocks like Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) finally back in pre-financial-crisis territory. However, while big-cap banks have been garnering most of the attention, several financial stocks are flying under the radar. Among the Wall Street stocks that could have room to run are Puerto Rico-based banking concern OFG Bancorp (NYSE:OFG), specialty finance issue Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC), and Dallas-based wealth-management stock Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA).

Of the dozens of financial stocks that we track, OFG is the only one that's more than doubled in the past year, up 110%. What's more, the stock sports one of the best year-to-date return, up a whopping 85.5%. The shares are now facing off with the $14-$15 area, which acted as support from early 2013 into early 2015. OFG was last seen 0.4% lower on the day -- well off its intraday lows -- at $13.80, as traders digest hawkish Fed commentary. 

Despite the stock's prowess on the charts, you'd be hard-pressed to find bulls. Just two analysts offer up coverage, and both maintain a tepid "hold" opinion -- leaving the door wide open for bullish initiations or upgrades to lure more buyers to the table. Likewise, short interest jumped 13.6% during the past two reporting periods, and now represents two weeks' worth of pent-up buying demand, at OFG Bancorp's (NYSE:OFG) average daily trading volume -- lots of fuel for a potential short squeeze.

ARCC has stair-stepped more than 30% higher since February, touching a fresh annual high of $16.91 on Monday. The stock sports a year-to-date gain of nearly 13%, yet short sellers remain almost fixated. Short interest has nearly quadrupled on Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the past year, and it would take nearly 14 sessions to buy back these bearish bets, at the equity's average pace of trading -- hands-down the highest short-interest ratio of bank stocks we follow. Should these skeptics finally get spooked, a short-covering rally could help ARCC to higher highs. At last check, ARCC was down 1.5% at $16.10.

CMA is among the best-performing bank stocks in 2016, boasting a year-to-date gain of nearly 64%. The shares were last seen 0.6% higher at $68.47, and on Monday capped off a nine-month, 80% rally by notching an 18-year high north of $70. However, you wouldn't know it by CMA's sentiment backdrop.

The equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.81 is higher than 80% of all other readings from the past year, implying that near-term option players are more put-biased than usual right now. Likewise, short interest swelled 26.2% during the past month, and just five out of 21 analysts deem CMA worthy of a "buy" or better rating. An unwinding of pessimism in the options pits, a short squeeze, or a flood of upbeat analyst notes could propel outperforming Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) shares even higher.

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U.S. stocks are lower after the Fed announced a highly anticipated rate hike, and provided additional hawkish commentary. Among specific equities in focus today are EpiPen maker Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL), car rental specialist Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HTZ), and airline tech stock Global Eagle Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:ENT). Here's a look at what's moving MYL, HTZ, and ENT today.

• MYL is down 2.4% at $37.39, after the Justice Department filed its first charges in a generic-drug price-fixing probe. MYL has given up more than 30% since the beginning of 2016, and has dropped sharply since accusations of price-gouging emerged in August. Option bulls may be sweating today; Mylan NV currently sports a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 4.15 on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), indicating more than four calls have been bought to open for every put over the last two weeks. What's more, this reading sits higher than 97% of all others from the past year, pointing to a healthier-than-usual appetite for bullish bets of late. 
  
  
• HTZ is down 7.2% at $23.32, as traders react to a corporate shakeup. Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. CEO John Tague will retire on Jan. 2, and three HTZ board members will step down. Tague will be replaced by Kathryn Marinello, a pick that reportedly has activist investor Carl Icahn's approval. Today's drop puts HTZ down 58.7% so far this year. Short sellers may be cheering today's price action, though. Shorted shares account for 12.4% of the stock's float, which would take over a week of trading to cover, at the stock's average daily volume.  

• ENT is soaring today, up 11.7% at $7.19, following news that the company inked an extended contract  with Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV) through 2025. This is a much-needed boost for ENT, which touched a record low of $6.06 earlier this month, but is now on pace to top its 20-day moving average for just the second time since October. Near-term option players have been especially put-skewed lately, with Global Eagle Entertainment Inc's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.27 sitting in the top quartile of its annual range.

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Bernstein weighed in on a number of bank stocks ahead of tomorrow's policy announcement from the Fed, with the central bank largely expected to raise interest rates -- typically a boon for the financial sector. Included in the bunch of financial firms were Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), and Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on BAC, JPM, and WFC.

• BAC received a price-target hike to $26 from $22 at Bernstein, representing an expected move into territory the shares haven't seen since 2008. Bank of America Corp shares are up 0.5% in pre-market trading, and could make yet another run at higher highs after tapping an eight-year peak of $23.25 on Monday, before closing a $22.61. The shares are already up 34% in 2016, but with a 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 75 -- in overbought territory -- the stock could be due for a near-term breather.
  
  
• JPM saw its price target hiked to $92 from $75 at Bernstein. Up more than 28% year-to-date at $84.73, the stock notched an all-time high of $85.79 yesterday. But even after more than a month of post-election rallying for the shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co., the majority of analysts tracking the stock rate it a "hold" or worse. Should the shares extend their run into record-high territory, a continued round of bullish brokerage notes could help boost the bank stock.
  
  
• WFC is set to open 0.3% lower, even after Bernstein raised its price target on the stock to $60 from $54 -- in never-before-seen territory. Technically, Wells Fargo & Co is up 2.6% year-to-date at $55.78, and is fresh off a Dec. 8 annual high of $58.02. It seems options traders have been betting on even more gains in recent weeks. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), WFC's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 1.61 ranks higher than 82% of all readings from the past 12 months, indicating calls have been bought to open over puts at a faster-than-usual clip. 

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U.S. stock futures are on the rise this morning, ahead of today's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Among specific equities in focus today are Dow stock Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), tech firm Inovalon Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:INOV), and biotech Proteon Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:PRTO). Here's a quick look at what's driving XOM, INOV, and PRTO.

• XOM is in focus this morning, amid news the company's CEO Rex Tillerson has been selected to serve as Donald Trump's secretary of state. In the meantime, the shares are trading higher in pre-market action, after yesterday's oil surge helped the stock jump up to $90.98 -- its best close since late July. Short-term Exxon Mobil Corporation option traders have taken a call-skewed approach, too. Specifically, XOM's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.87 ranks below 78% of the past year's readings, meaning call open interest among options expiring within three months outweighs put open interest by a wider margin than what's typically seen. 

• INOV is on pace to shed 37.7% at the open -- and touch an all-time low -- after the company announced ugly guidance. At $14.85, the stock was already down 12.6% year-to-date, and Morgan Stanley sees further downside, lowering its price target to $9 from $14 -- record-low territory. The brokerage firm noted uncertainty surrounding Obamacare's future could weigh on healthcare technology spending and slower revenue growth. Extended losses would be a welcome sight for Inovalon Holdings Inc short sellers. At the moment, 18% of the stock's float is sold short, translating into roughly 24 days' worth of buying power, at average daily volumes. 

• PRTO is down over 70% ahead of the open, after the company's treatment for chronic kidney disease, vonapanitase, failed a Phase 3 trial. The pending sell-off would put Proteon Therapeutics Inc at all-time lows, after the shares closed Monday at $9.90, 36.2% below breakeven for the year. Now, the stock is vulnerable to a round of bearish analyst attention.  All seven brokerage firms covering PRTO rate it a "strong buy," and its average 12-month price target stands at $20.43 -- in record-high territory.

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Analysts are weighing in on entertainment interest Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB), gold stock Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY), and payment processor VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE:PAY). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on VIAB, AUY, and PAY.

• VIAB received downgrades to "neutral" from "outperform" at Wedbush, and to "underperform" from "sector perform" at RBC, sending the shares sliding 1.5% to $34.26. The two brokerage firms also lowered their price targets on the stock, to $39 and $30, respectively. Meanwhile, traders are still responding to yesterday's news that Shari Redstone, vice chair of both Viacom, Inc. and CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS), has withdrawn a proposal to merge the two companies. Acting CEO Bob Bakish was also officially appointed as president, CEO, and board member. VIAB has given up nearly 17% of its value so far this year, and could be in more trouble after giving up support at the $35-$36 area, which acted as support since September. 
  
  
• AUY is lower after a price-target cut to $5.10 from $7.10 at HSBC, with the shares down 1% at $2.94. While the stock is up 58% in 2016, it has cooled significantly since peaking at $5.99 in July. Short sellers have been piling on in recent weeks, too. These pessimistic positions surged by about 43% during the two most recent reporting periods. But with just 1.5% of the stock's available float sold short, there is still plenty of room for bears to put further selling pressure on Yamana Gold Inc. 
  
  
• PAY is rallying 8.5% to trade at $17.84, after the company reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations, overshadowing a disappointing current-quarter outlook. So far no fewer than five brokerage firms have lowered their price targets on the stock, including Compass Point, which cut its target to $16 from $17.50. Meanwhile, Craig Hallum diverged from the pack, raising its price target to $22 from 20. VeriFone Systems Inc has had a rough year so far, dropping 36%. As such, today's post-earnings boost may catching bearish options traders by surprise.

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Amid the launch of Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) AirPod headphones and a raft of new iOS emojis, Citi Research waxed optimistic on the Dow stock. Specifically, the brokerage firm offered five reason AAPL will soar in 2017, including its "attractive valuation" and the "iPhone 8 Super Upgrade Cycle." While it's not yet 2017, the shares are up 1.6% at $115.07.

That said, things haven't been especially pretty for AAPL. On a year-to-date basis, the stock has underperformed the Dow by about 5 percentage points. Not to mention, the shares are well below their 2015 highs in the $130 neighborhood.

Yet, hopes are fairly lofty on Wall Street. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), speculators have bought to open nearly twice as many calls as puts during the past 10 weeks. The resultant call/put volume ratio of 1.93 ranks in the bullishly skewed 84th annual percentile.

Beyond that, 28 of 34 analysts rate Apple stock a "buy" or better, and its consensus 12-month price target of $131.84 floats in waters not charted since July 2015. Plus, a slim 1.1% of the equity's total float is sold short. From a contrarian perspective, this collective optimism -- against a less-than-stellar technical backdrop -- could spell trouble for AAPL. 

Regardless, those looking to place short-term options bets on the stock could score a bargain at the moment. Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 18% sits below 93% of readings from the past year, suggesting low volatility expectations are being priced in. Not to mention, the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 99 indicates the underlying has tended to make bigger-than-expected swings in the prior year, relative to what the options market has priced in.

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Bank stocks are in the bullish limelight today, after Bernstein chimed in on a number of names in the financial sector. Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), for instance, saw its price target raised to $68 from $64, territory the financial shares haven't traded in since January 2009. Nevertheless, C stock is down 0.8% at $59.07 ahead of tomorrow's policy decision from the Fed, with expectations near-unanimous that the central bank will raise interest rates. And while C stock is still up more than 24% since bouncing off its 50-day moving average on Nov. 4 -- days before bank stocks began their post-election rally -- options traders have been bracing for a quick retreat.

According to Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, C has been heavily targeted by weekly options traders in recent weeks -- with puts seeing more action than calls. Specifically, in the last two weeks, nearly 87,000 weekly puts have been traded on C, compared to 78,269 weekly calls. Drilling down, C's weekly 1/6 51-strike put has seen the biggest rise in open interest of any weekly option over this time frame, with 9,300 contracts added. It looks like the bulk of this activity was of the buy-to-open kind, as traders eye a move south of $51 by expiration at the close on Friday, Jan. 6.

More broadly, though, C sports a top-heavy Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.23 -- higher than all comparable readings taken in the past year. Simply stated, short-term speculators are more put-heavy now toward C stock than they've been at any other point during the past year. In fact, while both put and call open interest are at the top of their respective annual ranges, Citigroup put open interest just surpassed call open interest for the first time this year. By the numbers, there were roughly 1.34 million open puts on C at last night's close, compared to 1.25 million calls. C's January 2017 55-strike put is the stock's top open interest position, with 440,226 contracts outstanding.

Given C's impressive technical showing, it's likely many of those buying to open puts are shareholders protecting paper profits against an unexpected pullback. However, skepticism is on the rise outside of the options pits, as well. In fact, short interest jumped 39.2% in the most recent reporting period to 40.3 million shares -- the highest amount since mid-October 2015. However, C's bearish bandwagon is far from full, considering just 1.4% of the stock's outstanding float is currently sold short.

Additionally, it appears the shares of Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) may have been due for a near-term breather, as well. Heading into today's trading, the stock's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) was docked at an oversold 71. Plus, the shares continue to struggle beneath the round $60 region -- an area that has served as resistance since the 2008 financial crisis. In fact, with more than 30,000 contracts currently housed at C's December 60 call, this area could continue to serve as a ceiling ahead of front-month options expiration at this Friday's close.

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