Investors Bullish on Pioneer Natural Resources

Shares of Pioneer Natural Resources have been range-bound for months, but at least one large trader is betting that they will break higher by the end of the year.

The oil and natural gas company is down about 2 percent on the day to $28.39, but options activity is bullish at the December contracts on PXD. Within seconds of each other this morning, a total of 5,000 December 30 calls were bought in three trades for $2.90, according to OptionMonster's real-time tracking systems.

Open interest was 1,564 contracts at the strike--which averages only 59 calls a day--indicating that the trades were newly opened positions. For these calls to turn a profit, the stock would need to rise nearly 15 percent by the time the options expire in December.

PXD bounced sharply from its March low of $11.88, breaking $30 in just two months, but has been trading between trading roughly between $22 and $30 ever since. The stock remains well below its highs over $62 from a year ago.

Calls at all PXD strikes outnumbered puts by more than 14 to 1 today, indicating an overall bullish sentiment.

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Mike Yamamoto is an analyst and writer for OptionMonster.

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