FXCM Inc (NYSE:FXCM) is sitting on a rare post-earnings lead this afternoon -- and that's an understatement. At last check, the stock was nearly 18% higher at $2.54, after last night announcing a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit. Option traders are responding -- especially on the call side, where contracts are running at 13 times the usual intraday pace.
Diving into the details, FXCM's April 3 call is see notable buy-to-open activity. By initiating these positions, speculators anticipate the forex stock will topple $3 by the close on Friday, April 17, when the back-month options expire. However, the shares haven't navigated these waters much since the Swiss National Bank's decision to unpeg the Swiss franc from the euro leveled FXCM earlier this year.
While that mid-January decision was good for short sellers, today's pop is not. There's no shortage of shorts getting burned, either -- a lofty 29% of FXCM Inc's (NYSE:FXCM) float is dedicated to short interest, which represents nearly a week's worth of trading activity, at typical volumes.