Options Betting on an Oil Pop for McMoRan?
By: Pete Najarian | "Fast Money" Contributor
McMoRan Exploration saw heavy option activity last month and yesterday drew more upside buyers.
More than 7,000 January 2013 22.50 calls were bought in the final hour of trading for $1.65, according to OptionMonster's real-time tracking systems. The open interest at that strike was 1,411 contracts, so these were new positions.
Earlier in the day more than 7,800 January 2012 17.50 calls were bought with the largest blocks going for $0.92, though the activity was below open interest so it could have been opening or closing positions. In late August, the trades focused on options expiring in February.
MMR ended the session up 0.08 percent to $11.94. The company is engaged in exploration and production of oil and natural gas offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore in the Gulf Coast areas.
Calls outnumbered puts yesterday by 23,000 to 1,500.
The compay is scheduled to report earnings results on Oct. 18.
Second Opinion: Drilling and Low Gas Prices
Disclosure:
—Najarian has no positions in MMR.
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Pete Najarian is a professional investor, CNBC contributor, regular co-host of CNBC's "Fast Money" and co-founder of OptionMonster.com.
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