Looking at options trading activity among components of the S&P 500 index, there is noteworthy activity today in HCA Holdings Inc (NYSE: HCA), where a total volume of 9,857 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 985,700 underlying shares (given that every 1 contract represents 100 underlying shares). That number works out to 40.7% of HCA's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 2.4 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $79 strike put option expiring July 29, 2016, with 9,453 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 945,300 underlying shares of HCA. Below is a chart showing HCA's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $79 strike highlighted in orange:
Amgen Inc (NASD: AMGN) saw options trading volume of 12,113 contracts, representing approximately 1.2 million underlying shares or approximately 40.6% of AMGN's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 3.0 million shares.
Particularly high volume was seen for the $165 strike put option expiring October 21, 2016, with 725 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 72,500 underlying shares of AMGN. Below is a chart showing AMGN's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $165 strike highlighted in orange:
And Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE: OXY) options are showing a volume of 14,779 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 1.5 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 40.4% of OXY's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 3.7 million shares.
Especially high volume was seen for the $77.50 strike call option expiring November 18, 2016, with 10,049 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 1.0 million underlying shares of OXY. Below is a chart showing OXY's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $77.50 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for HCA options, AMGN options, or OXY options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
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