PetroChina is not a common target for option traders, but bulls were piling into the name at the end of last week.
About 2,200 December 130 calls were purchased on the Beijing-based energy company on Friday, mostly for $0.90 and $0.95. Volume was almost twice open interest in the strike, according OptionMonster's real-time tracking systems.
These long calls , which give traders the right to buy the stock for $130, will expire worthless at the end of this week if the stock remains below that level. But they can also appreciate by double, triple, or more if PetroChina rallies quickly.
PetroChina rose 0.41 percent on Friday to close at $124.58, and has been slowly working its way higher since the summer. Energy has been one of the stronger sectors in the last two weeks, as investors bet that a resolution to the European sovereign debt crisis will boost commodity prices.
Overall option volume in the name was seven times greater than average on Friday, with calls outnumbering puts by a bullish ratio of 10 to 1.
—Russell has no positions PTR.
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David Russell is a reporter and writer for OptionMonster.
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