Bears Look for a Drop in Virgin Media

By David Russell, reporter at OptionMonster

NEW YORK -- Virgin Media (VMED) has been on a monster run but now the bears are looking for a drop.

OptionMonster's tracking systems detected the almost 4,400 January 29 puts, most of which priced for 55 cents. Volume was more than triple previous open interest at the strike, signaling that new money was being put to work.

Owning those puts lock in the price where investors can sell shares in the British cable company, no matter how far they fall. That right will increase in value if it drops, so the position is leveraged to move in the opposite direction as the shares.

The stock fell 0.68% to $31.94 Wednesday but is up more than 40% in the last three months. It spiked to an all-time high above $34 after a strong earnings report last month but has been drifting lower since.

Puts outnumbered calls by 29 to 1 in the name Wednesday, a reflection of the bearish sentiment.

Russell has no positions in VMED.

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.