LEAPS Calls Active on IAMGOLD

Options Unusual Activity

Posted September 17th, 2012 by The Options Insider in Unusual Activity

Shares of IAMGOLD Corp. (IAG) are consolidating this morning after a huge move higher into the second half of last week. IAG is currently off 1.08%, trading at $15.61; the stock gained over 13% last week.

A large block of LEAPS calls traded on the name shortly ago: the January 2014 $30 call was purchased 25,000 times, on the offer, for $0.95. Open interest on the strike is only 262 contracts, which indicates fresh positioning on the name.

It appears that the calls are tied to a block of shares that traded between $15.82-15.86; thus, this appears to be a long volatility play. Currently overall implied and historical volatility is registering 40% and 38%, respectively. This is up from 35% and 29% just a few days ago.

Calls have been hot on IAG from the past few days. On Friday, call volume climbed to over 12x normal volume with the March 2013 $18 call purchased over 8,000 times, on the offer, for $0.90.

IAMGOLD Corporation is a mining company. IAMGOLD’s interests include five operating gold mines, a niobium mine, a diamond royalty, and exploration and development projects located in Africa and the Americas.