Options Trading News

Mosaic bounced yesterday, and traders looked for the gains to continue.

optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker monitoring system detected the purchase of 1,800 March 52.50 calls for $2.53 and the sale of an equal number of March 60 calls for $0.50. Volume exceeded open interest at both strikes, indicating that new positions were initiated.

The trade cost $2.03 and will earn a maximum profit of 269 percent if the fertilizer stock rallies back to $60 or higher by expiration. That's roughly the same price where it peaked in September, so the investor is apparently looking for a retest of that level. (See our Education section for more on the strategy, known as a bullish call spread because it leverages a move between two prices.)

MOS rose 3.39 percent to $51.20 yesterday but is down 15 percent in the last two months. The company was trading at its lowest price since mid-June before yesterday's rebound, having fallen along with most other materials stocks on concerns about a slowing economy.

Total option volume in MOS was 3 times greater than average in the session, according to the Heat Seeker.