A trader is betting that Symantec will hold its ground through the next quarterly results.
optionMONSTER's tracking systems detected the sale of 2,500 November 20 puts sold for $1.01 in about 90 seconds yesterday. This is fresh buying, as there was no open interest in the strike before the trade occurred.
The put seller collects the $1.01 premium and is looking for SYMC to stay above $20 through expiration in mid-November. If the stock falls below that strike price, the trader will be on the hook to buy shares at that level.
Investors sometimes sell puts in hopes of picking up a stock at an effective discount to existing levels. Because today's contracts are in the money, the trade creates a position that is similar to long calls . (See our Education section)
SYMC fell 2.02 percent to $19.85 yesterday. The data-security company is down about 15 percent in the last three months but has been trapped in a tight range at current levels in September.
The company's next earnings report is scheduled for Nov. 5, about two weeks before yesterday's trade expires.
Overall option volume in the name was quadruple its daily average for the last month. Yesterday's put sale accounted for more than 75 percent of that total.
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