Pioneer Natural Attracts Bullish Trades

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

Mike Yamamoto, managing editor of OptionMonster.

IRVING, Texas (TheStreet) -- Shares of Pioneer Natural Resources(PXD Quote) have been range-bound for months, but at least one large trader is betting that they will break higher by the end of the year.

The oil and natural gas company is down about 2% to $28.39 today, but options activity is bullish in the December contracts. Within seconds of each other this morning, a total of 5,000 December 30 calls were bought in three trades for $2.90, according to OptionMonster's real-time tracking systems.

Open interest was 1,564 contracts at the strike, which averages only 59 calls a day, indicating the trades were newly opened positions. For these calls to turn a profit, the stock would need to rise nearly 15% by the time the options expire in December.

Pioneer bounced sharply from its March low of $11.88, breaking $30 in just two months, but has been trading between trading roughly between $22 and $30 since. The stock remains well below its highs over $62 from a year ago.

Calls at all Pioneer strikes outnumbered puts by more than 14 to 1 today, indicating an overall bullish sentiment.

-- Reported by Mike Yamamoto of OptionMonster in New York.

Follow TheStreet.com on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.