Put selling topped the action in Apache yesterday, even as the stock continued to slip.
APA fell 1.66 percent to $85.09 in Thursday's session, and is down more than 4 percent in the last two weeks. The natural-gas stock peaked at a 52-week high of $112 back in February, and then developed resistance around $90 in early May. It stalled at that level again this month.
Our tracking systems detected the sale of about 2,500 September 80 puts, with the largest block pricing for $0.66. Previous open interest at the strike was just 849, so a new position was initiated.
The put seller is looking for the stock to hold up above $80 over the coming weeks. He or she is also betting that the implied volatility of the options is higher than actual volatility. See the discussion of put selling in our Education Section for more.
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