Investing

Weatherford Options Traders Bet 'All's Well' (WFT)

Weatherford International, Ltd. (NYSE: WFT) originally looked like it was going to be in serious trouble after its earnings debacle when the company said that investors could not rely on certain aspects of its accounting.  When that news came about two weeks ago, shares fell from $17.79 to $15.36.  The move seemed like an overreaction at the time, but anything tied to accounting irregularities is a red flag for too many investors these days.

Now shares have recovered the bulk of that big drop after a 3% gain to $17.00 on Friday.  More importantly, there is a boat load of options trading activity in the March-2012 CALLS as you can see below.  We have these vetted out by the strike price for the March 16 expiration date, as well as the volume in contracts, followed by the open interest:

$CALL  Vol.   OpInt

15.00  1,399    1,479

16.00  1,628    5,883

17.00  26,857   17,631

18.00  11,788   42,834

19.00  5,227    3,342

20.00  7,154    15,602

Options trading in the April Calls also looks a bit elevated, but the real action is in the current month.  It would appear based on the tape that perhaps things were not as dire as the reaction indicated.

Sponsored: Want to Retire Early? Here’s a Great First Step

Want retirement to come a few years earlier than you’d planned? Or are you ready to retire now, but want an extra set of eyes on your finances?

Now you can speak with up to 3 financial experts in your area for FREE. By simply clicking here you can begin to match with financial professionals who can help you build your plan to retire early. And the best part? The first conversation with them is free.

Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you make financial decisions.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.