Options Traders Bearish on Canadian Natural

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David Russell, reporter for OptionMonster.

Options investors are bracing for a pullback in Canadian Natural Resource(CNQ Quote) after the energy company rallied 45% in the last three months.

OptionMonster's monitoring systems detected the purchase of 2,000 September 47 puts for $5.20 and the sale of an equal number of September 38 puts for $1.90. The bearish put spread cost a net $3.30 to implement and offers a profit of about 173% if Canadian Natural Resource falls to $38 by expiration. Volume exceeded open interest in both strikes.

Canadian Natural Resource is down 3.9% to $49.06 in midday trading. The company reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit on May 7 and will participate in the Deutsche Bank Energy & Utilities conference on May 28.

The June 49 calls were the most actively traded Canadian Natural Resource strike today, with volume of about 3,000 versus open interest of 198 by late morning. More than 85% of the trades consisted of sales for $3.40 to $4.20, indicating investors sense a near-term top and are writing calls to lock in profits.