Bullish Move in Accenture: Options

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Accenture(ACN Quote) are 30% higher than its April lows of $26.67, and at least one investor is calling for even more upside in the management services company throughout the next few weeks.

Looking at the out-of-the-money Oct. 40 calls, more than 12,700 of these options traded so far today versus open interest of 3,000 contracts, indicating that the investor traded these calls to open.

During the first hour of trading, an investor bought 8,000 of these options for about 20 cents. That means if the investor decides to hold these options until expiration, the call purchase would make money if ACN shares expire higher than $40.20.

The Oct. 40 calls are currently trading up 12 cents, and have a delta of 15. That means for every dollar move in the underlying stock, the calls should move by 15 cents. ACN shares are now trading down 41 cents, and the calls should have dropped roughly six cents. When calls are up and stocks down, it suggests the presence of call buyers, as implied volatility has climbed to 42.1.

ACN did not announce significant news today, but rumors continue to circulate around ACN's potential interest in acquiring Huron Consulting(HURN Quote).

It's interesting that we're seeing heavy-call buying activity without a major catalyst. This could also be a stock-replacement strategy, where the investor is selling shares but buying the calls in case there is further upside. The call purchase could have less downside than owning the stock outright. (The maximum loss for a long call is the premium paid, plus commissions.)