Yahoo! Call Interest Surges on Yang Going

A couple of weeks back, amid reconstituted rumors of a possible reconciliatory bid from Microsoft (MSFT - commentary - Cramer's Take), we noted an uptick in implied volatility and long volatility positions in Yahoo! (YHOO - commentary - Cramer's Take) were assured by trader contacts in the know that real optimism on Yahoo! was contingent not on a renewed bid from Microsoft, but over the departure of CEO Jerry Yang.

This appears to have been validated by today's news that Yang indeed plans to step down as chief executive, sending shares 13% higher to $12.01 and call volume to more than twice that of calls.

The knee-jerk euphoria surrounding news of Yang's departure is amply illustrated in one 18,000-lot trade in Yahoo! calls at the $20 level, which appeared to have been bought for 39 cents apiece in a bout of wishful thinking that the company will resolve its problematic independence quickly.

We should add, however, that implied volatility did not register a significant comedown in connection with the Yang news -- at 124.4%, the measure of anticipated share-price turbulence as reflected in Yahoo! options is still extremely elevated above the 95.5% historic reading on the stock.

Elsewhere, shares in online brokerage Interactive Brokers (IBKR - commentary - Cramer's Take) brushed a new 52-week low today with an 8.5% decline to $16.46. Heavy put buying at downside strikes in the November contract, which expires on Friday, drove implied volatility higher by more than one-third. Most of today's volume has centered in the November $15 puts, which at 65 cents per contract seem to suggest that some traders feel the stock is vulnerable to another $2 downside over the next three days.

According to data from Trade Alerts, more than two-thirds of the volume in Interactive Brokers today weighs in on the bearish side of the directional scale. And with options moving at more than five times the normal level, the defensive sentiment here seems to have some momentum behind it.

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At the time of publication, Darst had no positions in the stocks mentioned.

Rebecca Engmann Darst is the Portfolio Manager for TheStreet.com?s Options Alerts Portfolio newsletter and an equity options analyst for RealMoney Each Thursday at 6:30 a.m. EST, she delivers the early-morning lowdown on option volume and sector trends on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Prior to her work in the equity options market, she spent seven years in Scandinavia as a Copenhagen-based chief reporter for a European Commission news service, correspondent for Spanish daily El Mundo and Radio Netherlands, followed by stints at Nordea Bank and Saxo Bank.