Shares in teen retailer Aeropostale Inc. (Ticker: ARO) earlier rallied to the highest level since June 2nd, perhaps after the stock was rated new ‘hold’ at Wunderlich Securities with an 18-month price target of $3.50 a share. The move in the price of the underlying spurred heavier than usual trading in upside call options on the name, perhaps as some traders take positions ahead of the company’s second-quarter earnings report on August 21st. Shares in ARO are currently up 3.5% at $3.49 after earlier rising as much as 9.0% to $3.68.
The most traded options contracts on Aeropostale thus far in the session are the Jan ’15 3.0 strike in-the-money calls, with volume topping 16,000 contracts as of the time of this writing, versus open interest of just 1,412 contracts. Time and sales data suggests most of the volume was purchased for an average premium of $0.89 per contract. Traders long the 3.0 strike calls stand ready to profit at expiration in the event shares in ARO exceed the average breakeven price of $3.89. As the one-year chart below illustrates, shares in Aeropostale are down roughly 75% since this time last year.
Chart – 1-year performance of shares in Aeropostale
