Check Out Kroger (KR)
by Houghton and Atkeson 09/10/08
Call option trading is very active in restaurant chain Kroger (KR) today. More than 11,000 KR Sept 30 Call (KRIF) contracts have been purchased. Additionally, option investors are buying the Oct $30 (KRJF) and $32.50 (KRJZ) strike options about 4,000 times, collectively.
These 15,000 calls traded today are about half of the total call open interest in all strikes and expirations. With the stock currently trading at about $28 per share, this appears to be an aggressive bullish bet in the near term.
The company will report earnings in the pre-market on Sept 16, well before September options expiration on the 19th. There is also unconfirmed speculation that Kroger might be an acquisition target.
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