Noble Energy, Inc. (NBL) options are hot after the firm's Rosetta Resources Inc. (ROSE) purchase
Oil-and-gas concern Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL) is down 5.5% at $46.44, as traders pan the company's $2 billion purchase of Rosetta Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:ROSE). In fact, NBL is the top percentage loser on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), at last check. Against this backdrop, NBL's 30-day at-the-money implied volatility (IV) has jumped 21.7% to 37.2%, with options trading at four times the average intraday pace.
NBL has seen roughly 4,400 calls and 3,300 puts change hands so far. Garnering the most attention on both sides of the coin is the equity's June 47.50 strike, where about 1,100 calls and 1,300 puts have traded. It looks like speculators are buying the options to open, with the call buyers expecting a rebound north of $47.50, and the put buyers betting on more downside south of the strike through the close on Friday, June 19, when back-month options expire.
Prior to today, Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL) option players were betting bullishly. On the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the security's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 10.98 stands higher than 85% of all other readings from the past year, pointing to a healthier-than-usual appetite for long calls over puts during the past two weeks.