Most Active Weekly Options: General Motors Company (GM)

The 20 stocks listed in the table below are the S&P 500 Index (SPX) components that have attracted the highest weekly options volume during the past 10 trading days. Names highlighted are new to the list since the last time the study was run, and data is courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. One name of notable interest today is General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), where short-term option bulls have been busy .

General Motors Company is following the broader market higher, so far adding 2.2% to trade at $31.45. Year-to-date, however, the shares are sitting on a 23% deficit, and have underperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by nearly 11 percentage points during the past three months.

In the options pits, GM calls are crossing the tape at their usual intraday rate, yet roughly triple the number of puts traded. Most active is the weekly 11/7 32-strike call, where just over 5,900 contracts have changed hands. The vast majority have done so at the ask price, implied volatility (IV) has edged higher, and volume outstrips open interest -- collectively hinting at buy-to-open activity.

In short, these short-term call buyers expect General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) to topple $32 by next Friday's closing bell, when the weekly series expires. However, this strike -- which corresponds with the stock's descending 40-day moving average, as well as peak call open interest for the 11/7 series -- has presented a stubborn layer of technical resistance this month, stopping multiple rally attempts.