General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) is trending higher today, touching a new multi-year high of $24.13 within the first hour of the session. This positive price action has garnered the attention of quite a few bullish bettors, as roughly 81,000 calls have crossed the tape so far, versus its expected intraday volume of 28,000 calls. This is also almost triple the number of puts exchanged. A closer look at the data shows that a number of these traders are expecting the stock to continue its quest for new highs throughout the rest of the week.

One of the more popular options today is the weekly 5/24 24.50-strike call, where more than 14,300 contracts have changed hands -- 70% of them at the ask price, suggesting they were bought. These near-the-money calls traded at a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of $0.04. Since this strike presently holds open interest of just 414 contracts, it's probable that new positions are being initiated here.

By purchasing these calls to open, traders are counting on GE to rise north of breakeven at $24.54 (strike price plus the VWAP) by this Friday's closing bell, when these weekly options expire. This denotes a premium of 2.3% to the stock's current price of $23.99, and stands in territory not charted since October 2008. However, it's worth noting that the delta for these options sits at 0.12, meaning they have just over a 1-in-10 chance of finishing in the money.

This penchant for near-term calls over puts isn't exactly headline-grabbing news for General Electric Company. The equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) checks in at 0.82, with calls outweighing puts among the front three-months' series of options. This ratio resides in the 34th percentile of its annual range, reflecting a stronger-than-typical preference for short-term calls over puts lately.

The diversified tech concern has put forth a solid performance on the technical front, gaining more than 14% in 2013, and advancing about 25% on a year-over-year basis. On the charts, GE is on pace to finish May atop its 10-month moving average, which has served as firm support since December 2011. However, even if the shares don't end up surmounting the $24.50 mark by week's end, the most today's bulls will be forced to fork over is the initial premium paid for their long call positions.

Some of the heaviest options trading on J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) is taking place on the June 15 put, where 5,111 contracts have been exchanged. Of course, most of this is due to the fact that a block of 5,000 puts traded at the aforementioned strike earlier this morning.

That sizeable transaction occurred at the ask price of $0.11, meaning that the puts were likely purchased. At the same time, implied volatility shot up 3.4 percentage points, which suggests the positions were being initiated on the opening side. Under the terms of these put options, the trader needs JCP -- currently notched at $19.19 to descend below $14.89 (strike less premium) prior to June expiration. Whether it does or doesn't, however, the most he has at stake is the net debit incurred at initiation. Given the steep decline required by the shares, it is possible these are protective puts initiated by JCP shareholders as a hedge against their stock holding.

Today's action is right in line with the overriding sentiment toward the retail name. Fifteen of 16 analysts slap J.C. Penney with a rating of "hold" or worse, compared to a single "strong buy." Likewise, an astounding 49.8% of the stock's outstanding float has been shorted. (Though, admittedly, it would take just over two sessions to cover the shorted shares, at JCP's average daily trading volume.)

What's the object of all this negativity? Strangely, a stock that's bested the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by more than 18 percentage points over the past 20 and 40 days, respectively.

All that to say: J.C. Penney Company, Inc.'s (NYSE:JCP) recent technical strength could provoke the bearish brokerages to follow the lead of Maxim in upgrading the stock. Should they do so, it would be last week's bullish bettors, rather than today's big put trader, who would stand to gain.

American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) is trading roughly 0.9% higher today, extending its lead north of the $44 mark. This underfoot layer emerged as support since early May, and one group of speculators is betting on the level to continue to serve as a foothold through week's end.

Jumping right in... Roughly 2,100 contracts have traded at the weekly 5/24 44-strike put for a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of $0.15. Almost all of these out-of-the-money puts have gone off at the bid price, and volume is outstripping open interest -- pointing to sell-to-open activity. Ideally, AIG will remain north of $44 by the close on Friday -- the stock is currently trading at $45.38 --allowing the options to expire worthless, and the speculators to keep the initial net credit, which is also the maximum reward on the play.

This tendency to bet neutral-to-bullishly on AIG isn't a new concept, per data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). During the past 10 sessions, traders on these exchanges have sold to open 32,685 puts. By comparison, 21,822 puts have been bought to open.

Option traders have been increasing their bullish presence toward American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG) in the traditional sense, as well. Specifically, the stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX sits at 2.86, versus its month-ago reading of 2.17. What's more, the current ratio ranks in the 74th percentile of its annual range, indicating calls have been bought to open over puts at an accelerated clip in recent months.

This bullishly skewed bias is understandable when looking at AIG's technical backdrop. For starters, the stock has outperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by nearly 10 percentage points throughout the past 40 sessions, and has tacked on an impressive 28.4% year-to-date. Plus, in addition to the aforementioned $44 mark, the equity's 10-day moving average has provided a floor for the most recent string of consolidation attempts. This longer-term layer of support has given American International Group a lift higher since late April.

The solar sector continued its tear yesterday, as the shares of Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:STP) gained 52.4% to close at $1.28. The bullish price action had speculators lining up in the hopes of cashing in on the momentum, as call trading on STP spiked to 28 times its typical daily volume.

The most-targeted call was the June 1 strike, where nearly 10,200 options changed hands -- a majority at the ask price, suggesting they were bought. An overnight eruption in open interest indicates that new positions were being taken up, as well.

The volume-weighted average price (VWAP) for the calls was $0.22, for a breakeven price of $1.22 (strike price plus VWAP). In other words, by the end of Tuesday's session, the trades were already profitable -- perhaps prompting some speculators to close their positions to make a quick buck. Those that did not are hoping that Suntech continues to power its way upward through June 21 -- when front-month options expire -- since their gains are potentially unlimited. By contrast, potential losses are capped at the premium paid. Today, the stock has given back some of yesterday's gains and is currently off 17.2% at $1.06.

STP has experienced similar activity over the past two weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). The stock's 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX call/put volume ratio is 3.76, with calls bought to open besting puts by a count of nearly 4-to-1. That ratio lies in the 87th percentile of its annual range, betraying a bullish bias in Suntech Power's options pits.

Outside of those pits, sentiment is more negative. None of the four brokerages rating STP suggest buying it; rather, they all have evaluations of "hold" or worse. Meanwhile, a hefty 14.2% of the equity's available float has been shorted, which would take more than a week to cover at the stock's average daily trading volume.

That pessimism exists at all is strange. Yesterday was not the first time that Suntech Power has fared admirably -- indeed, over the past two months, the stock has bested the S&P 500 Index (SPX) by an incredible 172.5 percentage points. Suffice it to say, an unwinding of pessimism among the brokerage bunch or a short-squeeze scenario could throw even more gas on the security's fire.

Like I mentioned earlier, Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd.'s (ADR) (NYSE:STP) recent gains are part of a pattern that we've documented extensively at Schaeffer's, most recently with yesterday's commentary on Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co. Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:YGE).

Shares of eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) drifted 1.8% lower yesterday, a move that didn't go unnoticed by put players. Roughly 16,000 of these contracts crossed the tape during the course of the session, which was more than double the security's average single-session put volume. By comparison, around 10,000 calls changed hands. However, one speculator is expecting minimal movement of the stock over the next several months, and utilized both calls and puts to construct a short straddle on EBAY.

Digging deeper into the data, it appears that matching block of 3,500 puts and calls were sold simultaneously at the October 57.50 strike -- the former for $5.10 apiece, and the latter for $3.10 each, yielding a net credit of $8.20 per pair of contracts. Open interest rose at both strikes overnight, confirming the initiation of new positions.

In this scenario, the strategist is betting on the stock to finish at $57.50 on October expiration -- rendering both options worthless, and allowing him to pocket the net credit received, which also represents the maximum profit on the play. Meanwhile, should EBAY retreat beneath $49.30 (strike price minus the net credit) between now and the close on Oct. 18, his potential risk is capped at $49.30, since the furthest the stock could fall is to zero. However, if the stock ascends north of $65.70 (strike price plus the net credit), his losses are theoretically unlimited.

From a technical standpoint, the Internet auctioneer has shed 4.4% since touching a new multi-year high of $58.04 on April 11, and has trailed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by more than 8 percentage points during the past three months. What's more, EBAY is on pace to finish a second consecutive session below its 10-day moving average, which had previously served as support for the past few weeks.

Despite this ho-hum performance on the charts lately, most of the covering analysts harbor high expectations for EBAY. The equity sports 20 "strong buys" and four "buy" recommendations, versus four "holds" and zero "sell" suggestions. Additionally, the security's average 12-month price target of $64.08 reflects expected upside of 15.5% to its current perch at $55.46, as well as uncharted territory. In other words, a wave of downgrades and/or price-target hikes in the near term could pressure the shares lower.