Bulls Tune Into Dish Network

By David Russell, reporter at OptionMonster

NEW YORK -- One option trader wants leverage in Dish Network (DISH), which has been steadily working its way higher all year.

OptionMonster's tracking programs detected the purchase of 2,000 January 32 calls for $1.74 and the sale of an equal number of January 25 puts for 60 cents.

Calls become more valuable when shares climb because they lock in the price where a stock can be bought. Puts lose value when a stock rises because they guarantee a minimum selling price. Buying calls and selling puts leverages the investor to upside on both halves of the trade because the long calls will appreciate while the short puts will lose value.

The net result of Tuesday's trade is that the investor now controls the equivalent of 200,000 shares in the satellite-television company for just $1.14 each. If the stock doesn't move, the entire position will become worthless when it expires early next year.

Dish shares rose 1.32% to $30.69 Tuesday and are up 23% in the last year. The stock has been trending steadily higher and now seems to be forming support around its 100- and 200-day moving averages just below $30. That could be leading some chart-watchers to expect the gains to continue.

Total option volume in the name was twice the daily average, according to OptionMonster's data systems.

Russell has no positions in DISH.

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.