Will AMD Earnings Surprise Next Week? (AMD)

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are trading higher on the session by 1.11%, at $3.18. The stock has been on a date with death over the past six months, losing over 60% of its market value during that time period.

With shares trading just off of the 52-week low, upside calls are active on the name today. Over 29,000 calls have traded on AMD within the first hour, which is 4.3x normal volume. The heaviest action is coming in January 2013, where the $3.00 call has traded over 22,300 times. Given open interest of only 2,318 contracts, there is clearly some new positioning on the strike.

There has been no single, large block traded so far, instead the Jan13 $3.00 call is seeing persistent, repeated purchases on the offer in blocks ranging from 500-2,000 contracts, anywhere from $0.46-0.51. Perhaps this is some newsletter buying?

Implied volatility is responding to the upside as well, with 30-day IV up 3.9% on the session to 65.25%. 10-day historical vol is registering 42.50%.

With Advanced Micro Devices reporting Q3 earnings after-the-bell on October 18^th, you have to wonder if the stock is set to reverse here.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. is a global semiconductor company with facilities globally.

About Michael Zerinskas

Originally from Chicago, Michael J. Zerinskas began his career as an intern for a small high-frequency trading firm based at the CME; he then moved on to become Chief Options Strategist at Benzinga.com. Michael is now Unusual Activity Editor at The Options Insider, specializing in VIX, volatility, and flagging unusual activity.