Option Bulls Active as Sunedison Inc (SUNE) Gets Stomped

Solar issue Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE) is getting toasted at midday, after the company announced plans to slow sales of renewable energy assets to its "yieldcos," citing unfavorable market conditions. At last check, the stock has plummeted 22% to its perch at $5.77, and is fresh off a two-year low of $5.59. Year-to-date, the shares have shed over 70% of their value, as well -- though option bulls have seemingly been unfazed.

Looking at the past 10 days' worth of data at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), SUNE has racked up a call/put volume ratio of 5.22 -- with five times as many calls bought to open as puts. More significantly, this ratio ranks in the high 83rd percentile of its annual range, demonstrating the bullish bias among speculators.

In today's option pits, volume is running at seven times the intraday norm, with calls more than doubling puts. One of the most popular options is the weekly 11/13 6-strike call, which traders are buying to open in the hopes of an end-of-week rebound, when the series expires.

The brokerage bunch has also been extremely optimistic toward SUNE. Nearly four-fifths of covering analysts have dubbed the shares a "buy" or better, with not a single "sell" opinion in sight. Additionally, the stock's consensus 12-month price target of $20.47 more than triples current trading levels.

Not everyone's a fan of Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE), though. In fact, over one-third of the equity's float is sold short (though it's currently on the short-sale restricted list). Given this fact, it's possible some of the recent call buying we've seen could have come at the hands of short sellers hedging their downside bets.