Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (QIHU) Pre-Earnings Call Volume Swells

Ahead of next Monday's earnings report, Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd (NYSE:QIHU) is flying up the charts. At last check, shares of the cybersecurity firm have soared 6.5% to hover near $50.47 -- putting them on track for their first daily close north of the half-century mark since Feb. 24. Meanwhile, this price action is luring option traders to the table.

Specifically, calls are crossing at five times the expected intraday rate, and more than triple the number of puts on the tape. New positions are being purchased at the weekly 3/6 50 and 51 strikes, as speculators gamble on QIHU settling above the strikes at tonight's close, when the weekly series expires. Meanwhile, the most active option is the slightly longer-term March 50 call, which is also seeing some buy-to-open activity, with these players banking on post-earnings upside.

Technically speaking, QIHU hasn't been anything to write home about. Even after factoring in today's rally, the equity is still sitting at a roughly 58% year-over-year deficit. Similarly, the shares have underperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by 24 percentage points over the last month.

Not surprisingly, option bears have taken control of Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd's (NYSE:QIHU) options pits -- today's action notwithstanding. The stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio across the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands at an annual peak of 0.93.