Value Hunters Target Gold Fields

By David Russell, reporter at OptionMonster

NEW YORK -- Gold Fields (GFI)is sitting at long-term support, and Tuesday the bulls stepped in.

OptionMonster's real-time tracking systems detected heavy buying in the October 12 calls, which traded more than 21,000 times against open interest of just 858 contracts. Most of the large blocks changed hands for 80 cents to 87 cents.

Those calls lock in the price investors must pay to buy shares in the South African miner. They can generate some nice leverage in the event of a rally but also could lose most of their value if the stock doesn't move.

The stock rose 0.83% to $12.15 Tuesday, bucking the selloff in the broader market. Other mining names, including Barrick Gold and Kinross Gold, have also drawn buyers in recent sessions as investors hunt for values in an industry that's been weak for most of the year.

Overall option volume in the name was 27 times greater than average. Calls outnumbered puts by a bullish 5-to-1 ratio.

Russell has no positions in GFI.

This commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet guest contributor program. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of TheStreet or its management.