International cement giantCemex (CX) has seen shares rally in recent months. A return to normal economic activity bodes well for construction. One trader sees the trend continuing even higher. That’s based on the April 2021 $5.50 calls. Expiring in 136 days, the options saw over 12,950 contracts trade. That’s a staggering 105-fold rise in volume from the prior open interest of 105. With shares at $4.60, the stock would need to rise 19.6 percent for the option to move in-the-money. The trader paid about $0.31 on average, or $31 per contract of 100 shares. Shares of Cemex are up 29 ...

Big data giantPalantir (PLTR), which recently went public, traded sideways for a few weeks before starting a monster move higher. At least one trader sees shares continuing to head even higher from here. That’s based on the May 2021 $40 calls. Over 12,100 contracts traded against a prior open interest of 362. That’s a 33-fold rise in volume, and it came in as shares were up double-digits for yet another day. The trader paid about $7.10 for the contracts. With shares trading a $28, there would need to be another 30 percent rally in shares for them to move in-the-money. Palantir has...

Even energy stocks have seen some life in the past few weeks. Shares ofExxon Mobil (XOM) have rallied from $32 to $42 since the start of the month. One trader sees shares trending even higher. That’s based on the February 2021 $50 calls. Expiring in 84 days, the calls would require shares to jump another 18 percent to move in-the-money. Over 21,500 contracts traded against a prior open interest of 205 for a 105-fold rise in volume! The trader paid about $0.75, or a mere $75 per option contract. The energy giant’s recent surge still leaves shares down 42 percent over the past year, ma...

At least one trader is betting that shares of pharmacy chainWalgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) will rally in the coming weeks. That’s based on the surge of buying in the December 18th $41 calls. Those options just saw a 33-fold rise in volume, going from 100 open contracts to seeing over 3,250 trade. The buyer paid about $0.36, and expire in 22 days. To move in-the-money, shares would need to rally 7.3 percent from their current price near $38.20. Shares recently pulled back from trading in the mid-$44 range, so the trader is likely betting on a rebound in shares in the coming weeks. Sha...

At least one trader is betting that shares of alternative energy firmBloom Energy (BE) will continue to trend higher in the next month. That’s based on the 11,805 contracts that traded on the December 18th $23 calls. That’s a 65-fold rise in volume from the prior interest of 181. With shares trading just under $22, the stock would only need to rally about 5 percent for the options to move in-the-money. The trader paid about $1.75 for the contracts, which expire in 23 days. If shares don’t rally to the strike price of $23, they’ll expire worthless. For the trader to profit at expirati...

At least one trader is betting on a rally inBed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) around the Black Friday holiday. That’s based on the December 4th $21 call option. Expiring in 10 days, the option saw over 6,850 contracts trade against a prior open interest of 214, for a 32-fold rise in volume. The buyer of the calls paid about $0.84 per contract. With shares just over $21, this is an at-the-money trade. The buyer will make a profit as long as shares are over $21.84 on December 4th. Shares of the company are up 49 percent in the past year. The company’s streamlined operations over the past ye...

At least one trader is betting that pharma giantBristol Myers-Squibb (BMY) will have a big rally in the first half of 2021. That’s based on the call buying in the June 2021 $72.50 calls. The strike price of the option is about 15 percent higher than where shares currently trade at $62. Over 2,500 contracts traded against a prior open interest of 263, a nearly 10-fold rise in volume. The buyer of the contracts paid about $1.09 on average. While BMY has been working on a Covid vaccine, it’s lost out to Moderna and Pfizer in the race so far. But as a giant in the space with a number of ...

European bankCredit Suisse (CS) has seen its shares rise over the past few months. One trader sees an even bigger move ahead. That’s based on the March 2021 $14 calls. Over 4,300 contracts traded yesterday against a prior interest of 213, for a 20-fold gain in volume. The call buyer paid about $0.30 for the calls, which would move in-the-money if shares rose about 15 percent. The $14 strike price would put shares about where they traded before the March crash. Share shed over half their value, but have mostly recovered in the months since. Presently, shares of the bank trade at le...

Alternative energy playFirst Solar (FSLR) has generally been trending up, although shares recently saw a strong pullback. One trader is betting that the drop is temporary, and shares will trend higher. That’s the logic behind the surge in the December $92.50 calls. Expiring in 29 days, the calls will move in-the-money on a 14 percent rise in shares. Over 8,760 contracts traded, a 25-fold rise in volume from the prior interest near 350. The buyer of the calls paid about $1.38, or $138 per contract. Solar stocks were seen as a winning sector based on the presidential election, but shar...

Big data companyPalantir (PLTR), which recently went public, has seen shares rise from an initial price near $9 to over $17 in recent sessions. At least one trader sees that uptrend continuing for some time. That’s based on the March 2021 $18 calls. These near-the-money options saw over 6,000 contracts trade hands, a 55-fold surge from the prior open interest of 109. The trader paid about $3.10 for the calls on average. With a limited history to operate on, shares don’t even provide traders with guidelines such as moving averages right now. However, companies going through an initial...