Options Trading News

Put volume surged in OraSure Technologies as an investor looks to salvage a poorly timed bet.

Some 1,928 August 12.50 puts were bought for $1.85 against existing open interest. An equal number of September 12.50 puts was sold at the same time for $2.05 in a new opening trade. That suggests an existing position was rolled from one contract to the other.

OSUR rose 0.28 percent to $10.70 in afternoon trading. It surged from about $10 to $14 early last month after the Food and Drug Administration approved its in-home HIV test but has been pulling back since then.

Today's investor probably sold those August 12.50 puts after the rally, looking for the shares to remain above $12.50. But now that they've pushed lower, he or she is rolling the position forward by one month. That gives more time for the stock to rebound, and lets them collect a $0.20 credit while they wait.

The next scheduled event that could serve as a potential catalyst for the shares is the release of second-quarter results after the bell tomorrow.

Overall option volume is more than 5 times greater than average so far today.