SKS - Saks, Inc. - High-end retailer, Saks, Inc., popped up on our 'hot by options volume' market scanner this morning on heavier than usual trading traffic in upside calls. Shares in Saks are up 10% on Tuesday morning at a new 52-week high of $13.54 after the company posted first-quarter earnings in line with analyst expectations on higher-than-expected quarterly revenue. Shares in Saks are up more than 30% since this time last year. Bullish positions initiated in SKS options ahead of the earnings release yesterday are seeing sizable overnight gains today as shares push to the highest levels since June of 2008. Traders yesterday picked up around 500 out-of-the-money calls at the Jun $13 strike for an average premium of $0.22 per contract. Today, the $13 calls are in the money and changing hands at $0.65 each, a near three-fold increase compared to the premium paid yesterday, as

VOYA - ING US, Inc. - Shares in ING Group's U.S. retirement, investment and insurance business are up as much as 8.0% today to $26.98, the highest level since the company's May 2nd IPO. ING US was rated new 'buy' at BTIG LLC with a 12-month target share price of $31.00 today. The stock has rallied nearly 40% over the IPO price of $19.50, and some options traders are positioning for the price of the underlying to extend gains during the second half of the year. November expiry options are the most active contracts by volume on VOYA today, with notable fresh interest in the Nov $25 and $30 calls. Traders appear to have purchased around 200 lots at each striking price for average premiums of $2.71 and $1.14 each, respectively. Call buyers stand ready to profit at November expiration should shares in ING US rally another 2.7% and

BMY - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. - Shares in drug maker, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., are ripping higher today, up 6.5% at $44.94, the highest level in more than a decade, ahead of the release of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2013 Annual Meeting abstracts tonight. The ASCO Annual Meeting begins on May 31st in Chicago. Options on BMY are far more active than usual today, with overall volume topping 64,000 contracts by 12:25 p.m. ET, versus average daily volume of around 11,400 contracts. Traders appear to be snapping up call options on the name, establishing near-term bullish positions on the stock to position for further gains in the price of the underlying. Front month calls are seeing most of the action, with intraday call volume well in excess of open interest across several striking prices. More than 7,000 calls have traded at the May $45 strike against open

SNE - Sony Corp - Big prints in Sony Corp. call and put options this morning pushed the consumer electronics maker onto our 'hot by options volume' market scanner in the early going on Monday, with overall volume up above 21,000 contracts versus the stock's average daily volume of roughly 8,000 contracts. Trading traffic in the June expiry options suggests one or more traders are near term bullish on the prospects for the price of the underlying shares. The stock is up nearly 5.0% on the day to stand at $18.78 as of 11:25 a.m. ET. The Jun $17 strike puts traded 8,900 times versus open interest of just 232 contracts during the first 20 minutes of the session. It looks like the puts were sold for a premium of $0.25 apiece. Similarly, roughly 2,090 of the Jun $16 strike puts appear to have been sold at the same

NWSA - News Corporation - Trading traffic in News Corp call options in the early going on Thursday indicate some traders are positioning for the price of the underlying to continue marching to fresh record highs in the near term. The stock today increased as much as 6.8%, hitting a new all-time high of $34.04 after the global media company reported third-quarter net income that topped average analyst estimates. Traders looking for the up-trend to extend into next week snapped up front month calls, picking up around 200 calls at the May $34 strike at a premium of $0.25 each, and buying roughly 500 calls at the May $35 strike for an average premium of $0.15 per contract. Call buyers stand ready to profit at expiration next week should shares in News Corp rally another 3.8% and 6.5% over the current price of $33.00 to surpass average breakeven points

GNW - Genworth Financial, Inc. - Bursts of activity in Genworth Financial call options in the early going on Wednesday appears to be the work of one or more traders betting the price of the underlying stock pushes toward multi-year highs during the next several months. Shares in the insurer kicked off the trading session in rally mode, initially rising 1.2% to a near two-year high of $11.02, before reversing course to trade down 1.85% on the day at $10.69 as of 11:15 a.m. ET. The stock was cut to 'Neutral' from 'Buy' at BTIG today. Shares in Genworth Financial are up roughly 170% off the 52-week low of $4.06 set back in August of 2012. Options volume in GNW is heaviest out at the Sep $13 strike, where 5,000 calls changed hands against open interest of 472 contracts. It looks like most of the volume was purchased for

GDX - Market Vectors Gold Miners Index ETF - Big prints in GDX put options on Tuesday morning indicate some traders are positioning for shares in the Market Vectors Gold Miners Index ETF to potentially drop to the lowest level since December of 2008. Shares in the ETF are off 3.0% today at $28.85 as of midday in New York. Volume in GDX options is heaviest in the Jun $27 strike puts where nearly 40,000 puts have traded versus open interest of 16,819 contracts. It looks like the bulk of the volume was purchased for an average premium of $0.89 per contract. Put buyers stand ready to profit at June expiration should the price of the underlying plunge 9.5% from the current level to trade below the average breakeven price of $26.11 by expiration. Sizable prints in the Jun $27 puts helped push the put/call ratio on GDX above

DIS - Walt Disney Co. - Front month call options changing hands on Disney today suggest some traders are positioning for shares in the name to break well above recent all-time highs in the near future. The stock, up some 50% since this time last year, increased 0.45% near the open this morning to touch a record high of $65.09 after Iron Man 3, produced by Marvel Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Co., earned more than $175 million in its opening weekend in North America. Traders betting the stock pushes to fresh highs snapped up roughly 2,800 calls at the May $67.5 strike for an average premium of $0.48 apiece during the first half of the session. Call buyers make money at expiration if shares in Disney surge 4.4% over today's high of $65.09 to top the average breakeven point at $67.98. Walt Disney Co. reports second-quarter

YELP - Yelp, Inc. - Shares in Yelp are screaming higher today, up 26.5% at an all-time high of $32.00 as of 11:35 a.m. ET, after the provider of online consumer reviews of local businesses posted first-quarter sales that handily beat analyst estimates. Double-digit percentage gains in the price of the underlying shares sparked heavy trading in Yelp options on Thursday morning, with volume currently up above 11,000 contracts versus the stock's average daily volume of around 1,300 contracts. In and out-of-the-money call buying on Yelp today indicates some traders are positioning for the price of the underlying to extend gains in the near term. Bullish traders snapped up calls at the May $30, $31 and $32 strikes this morning, driving volume at each strike well above existing open interest levels. More than 800 calls changed hands at the May $32 strike versus open interest of 46 contracts. The

HIG - Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. - Shares in insurer, Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., are trading at their highest level since May of 2011 today after the company posted better than expected first-quarter earnings after the close on Monday. The stock is up 3.5% at $28.17 as of 11:20 a.m. ET this morning and some options players appear to be positioning for the price of the underlying to extend gains in the near term. The most actively traded contracts on HIG as measured by volume today are the May $29 strike calls, with upwards of 7,000 lots in play versus open interest of 2,184 contracts. It looks like most of the volume was purchased during the first 30 minutes of the trading session for an average premium of $0.38 each. Traders long the $29 calls stand ready to profit at expiration in the event that HIG's shares

DIS - Walt Disney Co. - Trading traffic in weekly call options on Disney suggests traders are positioning for shares in the name to extend gains, with the stock up as much as 2.2% at a new all-time high of $63.25 today on the heels of an upgrade to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' with a target price of $72.00 at UBS. Shares in Disney are up nearly 50% since this time last year. Traders betting the stock pushes to fresh highs this week appear to be buying the May 03 '13 $65 strike weekly calls. Roughly 400 contracts have changed hands versus open interest of 13 contracts as of 12:30 p.m. ET, and it looks like the bulk of the volume was purchased in the early going for an average premium of $0.07 per contract. Weekly call buyers make money at expiration this week if shares in Disney increase another

SWY - Safeway, Inc. - Shares in the food and drug retailer are trading down sharply on Thursday, falling more than 18% to $23.14 during the first half of the session, after the company posted first-quarter revenue that missed analyst estimates. At least one trader who appears to have purchased front month put options on Safeway on Wednesday afternoon is benefiting from the double-digit percentage declines in the price of the underlying today. The largest increase in put open interest on SWY yesterday was the 4,566-lot jump in the number of open contracts at the May $26 strike. It looks like most of the $26 puts were purchased at a premium of $0.40 each. Traders long the contracts are benefiting from Safeway's pain today, with premium on the $26 puts up more than six-fold at $2.55 apiece as of 11:55 a.m. in New York. Today, some options players appear

IRBT – iRobot Corporation – Shares in the maker of home robots such as the Roomba vacuum cleaner and defense and security robots for military uses are soaring on Wednesday, up as much as 17% to touch a new 52-week high of $28.85, after the company posted first-quarter earnings and sales that exceeded analyst expectations. The sharp move in the price of the underlying sparked heavy trading traffic in iRobot options in the early going. Bullish bets initiated yesterday on iRobot prior to the company’s earnings release are generating sizable paper profits for some traders today. It looks like traders yesterday snapped up around 500 calls at the May $25 strike for an average premium of $1.35 per contract. The sharp rally in the price of the underlying overnight now finds the contracts changing hands at $3.50 apiece as of 11:40 a.m. ET. Options traders establishing near-term bullish bets on

MET - MetLife, Inc. - Shares in insurance, annuities and employee benefits provider, MetLife, Inc., are popping on Tuesday after the company raised its quarterly dividend for the first time since 2007, increasing the payout to $0.275 from $0.185 a share. MET shares rallied as much as 6.9% in the early going to $38.27, the highest level in three weeks. Traders positioning for continued gains in the price of the underlying snapped up weekly call options on MetLife this morning, driving fresh interest in several striking prices. Of the weekly calls available, the Apr 26 '13 $38.5 strike calls attracted the most volume with upwards of 1,500 contracts in play as of midday in New York. It looks like most of the $38.5 strike calls were purchased at an average premium of $0.16 apiece, thus positioning buyers to profit should shares in MET settle above the average breakeven price

MSFT - Microsoft Corp. - Reporting from CNBC's David Faber this morning that activist fund ValueAct Capital Management LLC has acquired a $2 billion stake in Microsoft Corp. lifted shares in the world's largest software maker today, with the stock up 3.5% at $30.80 as of 12:10 p.m. ET. Options volume on MSFT is fast approaching the stock's average daily level, with roughly 210,000 contracts in play as of midday. Fresh interest in weekly call and put options suggests some traders are positioning for the price of the underlying to extend gains in the near term, while others are betting the shares will lose steam by the end of the week. The April 26 '13 $31 strike is seeing the most volume among the weekly contracts, with around 6,000 calls and roughly 8,000 puts traded so far. Bullish strategists appear to have purchased most of the calls for an

PEP - PepsiCo, Inc. - Options on global beverage and snack food giant, PepsiCo, Inc., are humming with activity this morning after the company posted first-quarter earnings that handily beat analyst expectations. Overall volume in PEP options is roughly three times the average daily level for the stock as of 11:00 a.m. ET. Shares in the world's largest snack maker jumped 5.8% in the early going to a record high of $83.45. Fresh interest in upside call options on Pepsi indicates some traders are positioning for shares in the name to extend gains this year. The July $85 strike calls have traded 1,600 times so far today versus open interest of 964 contracts. It looks like traders purchased most of the volume for an average premium of $1.10 each. Looking ahead to October expiration, traders stepped in to buy calls at the $85, $87.5, $90 and $95 strikes. The

CS - Credit Suisse Group - Call options changing hands on global financial services firm, Credit Suisse Group, this morning look for shares in the name to rally in the near term, perhaps following the Zurich, Switzerland-based company's first-quarter earnings report one week from today. Shares in CS are down 4.6% on the session to stand at $27.50 just after midday in New York. The May $28 strike calls are seeing the most volume, with upwards of 2,700 lots in play versus open interest of 341 contracts. It looks like most of the volume was purchased at a premium of $0.75 apiece, thus positioning buyers to profit in the event that the price of the underlying increases 4.5% to settle above the breakeven price of $28.75 at expiration. Yesterday afternoon the May $29 strike calls also traded more than 2,500 times, with the bulk of those contracts purchased for

SFD - Smithfield Foods, Inc. - Put options changing hands on pork processor, Smithfield Foods, Inc., this morning look for shares in the name to potentially pull back to the lowest level year-to-date by May expiration. Shares in SFD are up 0.60% on the session to stand at $25.39 as of 11:20 a.m. ET, reversing a portion of Monday's near 3% decline. The stock is up roughly 25% since this time last year. Overall options volume in excess of 3,750 contracts in play on Smithfield thus far today is substantial versus the stock's average daily volume or around 635 contracts. Most of the volume is in the May $22 strike puts, with some 3,600 lots trading against open interest of 1,179 lots. Time and sales data indicates one trader purchased the bulk of the put options at a premium of $0.20 apiece. The bearish stance may pay off at

CIEN - Ciena Corp. - Shares in networking products and services provider, Ciena Corp., jumped 8.0% on Wednesday morning to and intraday high of $16.81, rising in sympathy with ADTRAN after that company reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and revenue after the closing bell on Tuesday. Some options traders are benefitting handsomely from the pop in Ciena's shares today, having purchased upside calls on the stock yesterday. The largest increase in call open interest on CIEN since the prior session was in the April $16 strike calls. Time and sales data indicates some 5,000 of the $16 calls were purchased yesterday for an average premium of $0.21 apiece. The sharp rally in the price of the underlying today has more than tripled the value of the $16 calls overnight, with the contracts currently changing hands at $0.72 each as of midday in New York. Meanwhile, traders initiating bullish bets on

GT - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. - Shares in the tire manufacturer have declined nearly 15% since the start of 2013, but options activity on the stock this morning suggests some traders are positioning for the price of the underlying to rebound during the next six weeks. Goodyear's shares are up 0.80% today at $12.26 as of 11:40 a.m. ET, after the stock last week touched down at a fresh six-month low of $11.96. Overall options volume on the tire maker is up sharply versus the stock's average daily volume today, with trading in calls far outpacing activity in puts on the name. The May $13 strike calls are most active, with upwards of 25,000 lots in play as of midday in New York versus open interest of just 729 contracts. It looks like most of the $13 calls were purchased for an average premium of $0.35 apiece,