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Eleventh-hour traders are wagering on Twitter Inc
The 20 stocks listed in the table below are the names that have attracted the highest weekly options volume during the past 10 trading days. Those 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 Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), where eleventh-hour option traders are rolling the dice on the equity's end-of-day trajectory.
So far today, Twitter Inc calls are running at more than double the pace of puts -- despite the shares giving back 0.5% to hover near $38.60. Digging deeper, a number of traders are honing in on the weekly 12/5 39-strike call, where more than 3,500 contracts are on the tape.
Activity at this near-the-money strike is close to even between the bid and ask sides, signaling selling and buying, respectively. What's more, volume outstrips open interest, making it safe to assume fresh bets are being placed.
In a nutshell, today's call writers anticipate TWTR will spend the next few hours below the strike and expire worthless at 4 p.m. ET. By contrast, the buyers are hoping for a last-minute rally in the shares, and an end-of-week settlement atop $39.
Looking at the charts, Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) hasn't closed a week below the aforementioned strike since late July. However, the shares have been in freefall mode since their most recent high of $55.99 in early October, shedding 31% in less than two months.