Nabors Industries has been holding long-term lows, and one large buyer is positioning for a gradual rebound.
OptionMonster's trade scanners detected the purchase of 5,000 January 2015 20 calls for $1.70 yesterday. The volume dwarfed the strike's open interest of just 53 contracts at the beginning of the day, so this is clearly a new position.
The calls lock in a $20 entry price in the stock in the next 25 months. Those options will increase in value if the shares rise, potentially resulting in significant leverage relative to the underlying shares.
Nabors shares rose 2.9 percent to $14.20 yesterday and has lost 18 percent of its value so far in 2012. The energy driller has managed to stay above its lows from earlier in the year, which could be leading some traders to expect a rally in the belief that it's at support.
Yesterday's call buying dominated option activity the name, which typically sees volume of fewer than 1,200 contracts per session. Calls outnumbered puts by 5 to 1.
—By CNBC Contributor David Russell
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David Russell is a reporter and writer for OptionMonster. Russell has no positions in NBR.
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