Options Traders Turn Bearish on Nokia

OptionMonster co-founder Pete Najarian provides options picks Monday, Wednesday and Friday in TheStreet.com's Deep in the Money Calls newsletter.

David Russell, reporter for OptionMonster.

Options action turned bearish on Nokia(NOK Quote) today as traders positioned for the cell phone maker to lose at least a quarter of its value.

Volume in the October 11 puts rose to 16,660 against open interest of 8,932 contracts, according to OptionMonster's monitoring systems. The puts traded for 30 cents to 35 cents, with purchases accounting for most of the activity.

Nokia fell 3.3% to $14.52 in afternoon trading and has stayed mostly between $14 and $15.50 since the start of May. The puts bought today will turn a profit if the shares drop below $10.65.

Nokia received a negative headline today when BMO Capital Markets(BMO Quote) initiated the stock with an "underperform" rating, predicting the company will lower profit forecasts as customers flock to devices from companies such as Research In Motion(RIMM Quote), which makes the BlackBerry.

Options volume in Nokia was more than twice the average today at 35,248 contracts, with puts outnumbering calls by almost 2 to 1.