Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (PBR) Traders Eye a Rebound

Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR) is getting hammered this afternoon, down 9.4% to trade at $6.44 amid a major management shake-up. The stock has also found a place on the short-sale restricted list. However, that isn't stopping options traders from scooping up upside bets, as calls are crossing at 1.4 times the usual intraday rate.

Digging deeper, last-minute bulls are buying to open weekly 2/6 6.50-strike calls, while longer-term bettors are initiating long positions at the January 2017 5-strike call, per data from Trade-Alert. In so doing, the respective groups of traders are anticipating additional upside through tonight's close (when the weekly series expires) and January 2017 options expiration (when the LEAPS expire).

Today's call-buying activity marks a change of pace in PBR's options pits. Over the last 10 weeks, the stock has racked up a put/call volume ratio of 0.56 across the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) -- a reading that ranks in the 94th percentile of its annual range.

As alluded to earlier, Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA's (NYSE:PBR) intraday swoon -- which is more of the same for a stock that's lost 69% since hitting a two-year high of $20.94 in early September -- was sparked by the appointment of a new CEO. Specifically, Aldemir Bendine, who currently heads Banco do Brasil SA, was tapped for the post by Brazil President Dilma Rousseff.