Home Site Map About Us My Account Shopping Cart Help Sign In

Option Activity Alert: Marathon Oil Corporation Pummeled by Put Buyers

Pessimistic speculation ramps up ahead of the company's quarterly report

by Elizabeth Harrow (eharrow@sir-inc.com) 10/29/2009 2:30 PM

Text Size |

Email a friend |

Print |

Keywords:

Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO: sentiment, chart, options) has been attracting the attention of pessimistic option players lately. During the past five days, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 2,644 puts on the oil issue, compared to just 148 calls. The stock's five-day ISE put/call volume ratio of 17.86 highlights the current popularity of bearish bets over their bullish counterparts.

MRO SOIR In fact, on Wednesday alone, put volume on MRO surged to 176% the usual level. The day's most active strike was the November 30 put, where 2,064 contracts crossed the tape. About 68% of these puts traded at the ask price, pointing to buying activity, and implied volatility rose 2.1% as a result. Open interest on the November 30 put rose overnight from 1,153 contracts to 2,135 contracts, confirming that new pessimistic positions were added here yesterday.

Taking a slightly longer-term look at MRO's option volume, it turns out that puts have rarely been in greater demand. The equity sports a 10-day ISE put/call volume ratio of 3.06, with puts bought to open more than tripling calls during the past two weeks. This reading ranks higher than 99.2% of comparable readings taken within the previous year, suggesting a near-peak of bearishly skewed speculation.

This negative attitude is also reflected in MRO's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR), which arrived today at 0.68. This marks the SOIR's highest perch since late August, which means that short-term option traders are more pessimistically aligned toward the shares now than at any other time during the past couple of months.

MRO short interest In the front-month series, peak put open interest of 4,312 contracts lies at the 33 strike. MRO is trading narrowly above $33 at last check, indicating that front-month put players aren't expecting too drastic a decline during the short term. However, the sudden surge in volume at the November 30 put on Wednesday could suggest that a few bolder bears are making their way into MRO's option pits.

Meanwhile, the most popular call in the November series is the 37 strike, with 7,504 contracts in residence. With the equity's annual high docked at $35.71, it seems that some speculators are still harboring high hopes for the shares. On the other hand, it's possible that some of this open interest was seller-initiated, with call writers wagering that MRO will remain stuck beneath long-term resistance in the mid-30s.

Discuss this article:

Post your own comment

Option Activity Alert: Skepticism Builds Toward Chevron Corporation

(11/20/2009 2:05:53 PM)

Puts are quickly becoming the options of choice on Chevron Corporation (CVX: sentiment, chart, options). On Thursday, speculators on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 3,102 puts on the oil major, compared to just 400 calls. The stock's single-day put/call volume ratio arrived at 7.76, as traders snapped up nearly eight times more puts than calls.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Pessimistic Players Pummel Warner Chilcott Plc

(11/20/2009 11:32:34 AM)

Warner Chilcott Plc (WCRX: sentiment, chart, options) has become a favorite target of put players. During the past 10 days, speculators on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) have bought to open 2.90 puts for every call on WCRX. In other words, bearish bets have nearly tripled their bullish counterparts during the past two weeks. This reading ranks in the 100th annual percentile, revealing that traders are purchasing puts over calls at a more rapid pace than any other time during the past year.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Skepticism Creeps In on Peabody Energy Corporation

(11/18/2009 11:43:05 AM)

Put options have rarely been more popular on Peabody Energy Corporation (BTU: sentiment, chart, options). On Tuesday, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 1,970 puts on BTU, compared to just 162 calls. The stock's single-day put/call volume ratio of 12.16 reveals that speculative investors scooped up more than a dozen bearish bets for every bullish contract.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Call Volume Rises on United States Natural Gas Fund, LP

(11/17/2009 2:45:59 PM)

Call options are steadily gaining popularity on United States Natural Gas Fund, LP (UNG: sentiment, chart, options). On Monday, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 4,252 calls on the exchange-traded fund (ETF), compared to 1,557 puts. In short, nearly three times more calls than puts were purchased.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Bulls Bombard Apple Inc.

(11/17/2009 11:50:07 AM)

Apple Inc. (AAPL: sentiment, chart, options) is becoming a favorite target of call players. On Monday, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 17,088 calls on the iPhone parent, compared to just 4,079 puts. In other words, speculators snapped up 4.19 times more bullish bets than bearish.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Rising Bullish Speculation on Rosetta Resources Inc.

(11/16/2009 1:00:45 PM)

Buy-to-open call volume has been steadily building on Rosetta Resources Inc. (ROSE: sentiment, chart, options). During the past 10 days, speculators on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) have bought to open 163.46 calls for every put on the equity, revealing a hefty skew toward bullish bets over their bearish counterparts. This ratio ranks higher than all other such readings taken during the past year, indicating that traders have attained an annual optimistic peak.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Traders Have Their Doubts About VMware, Inc.

(11/16/2009 12:30:29 PM)

Bearish sentiment appears to be rising toward VMware, Inc. (VMW: sentiment, chart, options). On Friday, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 1,551 puts on VMW, compared to just 165 calls. The stock's single-day put/call volume ratio of 9.40 reveals that bearish option buys easily outpaced their bullish counterparts.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Put Volume Picks Up on Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.

(11/13/2009 2:00:09 PM)

Put volume has been accelerating lately on Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX: sentiment, chart, options). During the past 10 days, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) have bought to open 0.94 put for every call on FCX. While calls purchased have narrowly outnumbered puts during the past two weeks, this ratio actually ranks higher than 81.1% of other such readings taken during the previous year. In other words, option traders have snapped up puts over calls at a faster pace only about 19% of the time.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Garners Bullish Attention

(11/13/2009 12:08:18 PM)

Calls have been the options of choice lately on Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS: sentiment, chart, options). On Thursday, Nov. 12, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) bought to open 4,113 calls on GS, compared to 3,829 puts. The equity's single-day call/put volume ratio of 1.07 indicates that bullishly oriented options were in slightly greater demand than their bearish counterparts.

read more...

Option Activity Alert: Call Buying Spikes on Assured Guaranty Ltd.

(11/12/2009 1:15:19 PM)

Call volume has been unusually heavy lately on Assured Guaranty Ltd. (AGO: sentiment, chart, options). In fact, on Wednesday alone, call activity surged to 37 times the usual levels, with 27,000 contracts crossing the tape. Yesterday's activity was no anomaly, though -- the International Securities Exchange (ISE) reports that traders have bought to open 19,953 calls on AGO during the past five days, compared to just four puts.

read more...

SchaeffersResearch.com can alert you to new articles containing your favorite authors, ticker symbols or keywords. Enter your favorite authors, ticker symbol or keyword and click go.

Today's Most Popular Stories

Read

Emailed

Editor's Pick

Schaeffer's Media Outtake: Thoughts on Hedging, Volatility 11/19/2009 4:15 PM

Options Edge: Goldman Sachs, Nokia, DryShips, and NIKE 11/20/2009 9:29 AM

The Option Coach: Strategies in Review 11/20/2009 1:25 PM

Trading Tools to Build Your Portfolio: A Bearish Bet on Best Buy Co., Inc. 11/20/2009 3:00 PM

Featured Companies

Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO)

Add to Watchlist

Add Alert

Receive FREE access to Schaeffer�s

premier online options magazine!

Podcasting

Videocasting

	Schaeffer's Daily Q&A: What Is Put Selling Nov 20 2009 4:12 PM
Options Stew: A Taste of the Week's Spiciest Pl... View More...

Partner Center

<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/ff2.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=166;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=166;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/ff2.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=167;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=167;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/ff2.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=168;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=168;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/ff2.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=169;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=169;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>
<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/ff2.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=174;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=174;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/fo.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=171;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=171;s=0;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/ff2.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=172;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=172;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>	<script language="JavaScript" src="http://c5.zedo.com/jsc/c5/fo.js"></script><noscript> <a href="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/r?n=457;c=173;s=1;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" target="_blank"><img border="0" width="120" height="60" src="http://xads.zedo.com/ads2/x?n=457;c=173;s=0;x=1024;u=j;z=[timestamp]" alt="Click here"></a> </noscript>

Monday Morning Outlook:
Prepare for the investing week ahead. Every week, Bernie and his staff provide you with their insight about what has happened and, more importantly, what will happen in the market. We dig deep and show you what's happening behind the scenes, and tell you which indicators are predicting major market moves.

Market Recap:
At the end of every market day, we review the trading day in detail, covering major events and key market developments. Don't miss this critical, timely and insightful report.

Opening View:
Every morning, our research staff analyzes the prior day and the overnight markets, and monitors the morning wires to give you an accurate preview of the day to come. delivered to your inbox before the opening bell.

First Name Add your first name Last Name Add your last name Email Add a valid address Password Min. size 4 chars

I would like to be contacted periodically by Schaeffer's Investment Research concerning its own products and services, and those of carefully selected advertisers. I understand that I can opt-out of further messages at any time.

� 2009 Schaeffer's Investment Research, Inc. 5151 Pfeiffer Road, Suite 250, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
Phone: (800) 448-2080 FAX: (513) 589-3810 Int'l Callers: (513) 589-3800 Email: service@sir-inc.com

Option Activity Alert: Marathon Oil Corporation Pummeled by Put Buyers

Pessimistic speculation ramps up ahead of the company's quarterly report

by Elizabeth Harrow (eharrow@sir-inc.com) 10/29/2009 2:30 PM

MRO

stocks

options