Carnival, eBay Options Lure Bullish Traders

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.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Real-estate ETF faces bearish trade: Put volume is dominating the action in the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate(IYR Quote) exchange-traded fund as investors position for property stocks to fall.

S&P rally stays on track for year-end: The index has already surpassed earlier projections to reach 1100, so where does the potential for a year-end run stand now?

Long-term bearish bet on Dean Foods(DF Quote): One big trader is looking for lower prices over the next year in the dairy stock, which has been falling since its last earnings report early this month.

Gap(GPS Quote) options active before Black Friday: As we head into Black Friday, options on some of the retailers are reasonably active on an otherwise quiet trading day.

Trade sees breakout for Compania de Minas Buenaventura(BVN Quote) breakout: The stock has fought its way back to an old high, and now one investor is looking for the Peruvian gold miner to break out.

Maxim Integrated Products(MXIM Quote) gets bearish play: The circuit maker's shares have been range-bound between $17 and $19 for the last four months, but now at least one trader is betting that the stock will break to the downside.

VIX is lowest since August 2008: The volatility index recorded its lowest close since August 2008, and the VIX continues to fall as the S&P 500 gains.

Wednesday Pre-Market:

Traders look to ride eBay(EBAY Quote) higher: The auction giant has been showing signs of improving business trends, and now some investors are betting on a New Year's rally.

What the bulls see in R.R. Donnelly(RRD Quote): The printing services company doesn't usually see much options action, but yesterday was an exception with tremendous bullish trading.

Bulls on board as Carnival(CUK Quote) hits doldrums: The cruise-line operator has been consolidating above $30 for the last three months, and now at least one trader is looking to ride it higher.