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Developments across the border have Best Buy Co Inc (BBY) calls in high demand
Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) is up 0.8% today at $38.80, after the company announced it will shut down 66 of its Canadian Future Shop stores, and the remaining locations will now operate under the Best Buy brand. In response, call buying has picked up. The contracts are changing hands at twice the normal intraday rate, more than doubling today's put volume.
The most popular option is the weekly 4/2 39-strike call. Signs point to buy-to-open activity, with traders looking for the shares to extend gains above $39 by the close this Thursday, when the weekly series expires.
According to the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR), it's not rare for short-term speculators to prefer BBY calls over puts. The reading of 0.53 reveals that call open interest largely outweighs put open interest among options expiring within the next three months. Looking back at the past year, near-term options traders have been more call-skewed only 6% of the time. 
If Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) continues to struggle beneath its year-to-date breakeven mark, though, puts may see more action. Additionally, the shares have underperformed the S&P 500 Index (SPX) during the past three months.