Short-Term Traders Raid Mondelez International Inc (MDLZ)

Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ) is up 1.2% this afternoon at $39.15, bringing its year-to-date advance close to 11%. Meanwhile, options activity is sizzling, with calls trading at more than five times the usual intraday clip. What's more, the stock's 30-day at-the-money implied volatility has jumped 23.8% to 19.9%, signaling elevated demand for short-term contracts.

Diving right in, the most active MDLZ strike is the near-the-money December 40 call, where, more than 11,800 contracts have changed hands. Roughly 70% have done so at the ask price, and volume outweighs open interest, pointing to buy-to-open activity. Data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE) and Trade-Alert confirms this theory.

In other words, the buyers expect MDLZ to topple $40 by the close on Friday, Dec. 19, when the soon-to-be front-month options expire. This would put the shares in all-time-high territory.

Today's preference for long Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ) calls over puts is business as usual, according to information from the ISE, Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). Over the past 10 days, the stock has racked up a call/put volume ratio of 4.27 across these three exchanges -- outstripping more than three-quarters of comparable readings from the last year.