A trader is opening an unconventional call spread in Mexican cement producer Cemex.
optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker system detected the purchase of 20,000 January 11 calls for $1.74 and the sale of 20,000 January 13 calls for $0.67 on Friday. Volume was above previous open interest of under 3,000 contracts at each strike, indicating new activity.
This vertical spread is unusual because it is in the money , with the trader spending $1.07 for the possibility to make $0.93. It was done for less than CX's intrinsic value, as shares were trading for $12.09 at the time of the transaction. (See our Education section)
That was also the closing price for Cemex shares, which slipped 0.25 percent on Friday but remain in the middle of their recent range. The stock was trading at the $9.50 level in late June but hit resistance at $12.50 last week.
Nearly 43,000 CX options traded in total on Friday, 13.5 times its daily average for the last month. Overall calls outnumbered puts by 33 to 1.
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