Schaeffer's Daily Option Blog: Sector Skepticism Fuels Surge in Option Volume on Frontline Ltd. (FRO)

Option speculators swarmed Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) on Thursday, as the stock declined in sympathy with sector peer General Maritime's (NYSE: GMR) bleak earnings report. During the course of the session, the oil tanker titan saw about 4,800 puts change hands, more than quadrupling its average daily volume of fewer than 1,100 contracts. On the flip side, FRO saw roughly 11,200 calls cross the tape, more than seven times its normal single-session volume of about 1,500 contracts.

On the put side, investors centered on the stock's out-of-the-money January 2010 20 put. Most of the volume appears to have been the initiation of pessimistic positions, as put open interest at the January 20 strike swelled from roughly 1,500 to more than 5,000 contracts overnight. Plus, 91% of the puts traded at the ask price, suggesting they were bought.

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