Traders started buying calls in Sunoco last week and are continuing to pile into the oil-refining company before its earnings report after the closing bell today.
The heavy options activity, which we first wrote about Friday, continued yesterday in the near-month contracts that expire in less than two weeks. The latest activity was concentrated at the May 30 and 31 strike prices, which saw more than 11,700 and 13,500 calls trade respectively.
Much of the trading at these strikes indicated bullish buying sentiment, according to OptionMonster's tracking systems. Total Sunoco calls of more than 31,000 dwarfed the number of puts at 2,397, as well as the average call volume of 4,227.
Sunoco's stock rose 1 percent yesterday to close at $30.19 on high trading volume, after having closed at $26.51 just last Thursday.
The options activity suggests that traders expect the shares to pop before the May contracts expire in less than two weeks.
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Mike Yamamoto is an analyst and writer for .
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