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Micron Technology, Inc. LEAPS trader rolled her bullish bet up
The 20 stocks listed in the table below have attracted the highest total 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 semiconductor specialist Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), where one long-term optimist is upping the bullish ante.
Micron Technology, Inc. has had a standout year, with the shares up around 65% to trade at $35.98. This technical tenacity was in full force earlier today, when the stock hit the $36.50 mark -- its loftiest perch in more than 12 years. Against this backdrop, one optimistic options player is hoping for another strong showing in 2015 by rolling up her LEAPS position.
Taking a quick step back, MU calls are trading at 1.3 times the intraday average, and are outpacing puts by a more than 2-to-1 margin. A healthy portion of this activity has centered at two strikes -- the January 2016 25- and 37-strike calls, where a collective 19,482 contracts have changed hands.
According to Trade-Alert, the lower-strike calls were sold to close, while the higher-strike calls were bought to open. In other words, it appears this trader upwardly revised her bullish bet, eyeing a move over the next 13 months to levels not seen since March 2002.
Widening the sentiment scope reveals sentiment is skewed toward the skeptical side. For starters, MU's 50-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio of 0.33 ranks in the bearishly skewed 79th annual percentile. Plus, it would take nearly six sessions to cover all of Micron Technology, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:MU) shorted shares, at average daily trading volumes. Going forward, a capitulation from these bears in the face of the stock's uptrend could create a fresh wave of buying power.