Bull Is Willing to Wait for Nabors

By David Russell, reporter at OptionMonster

NEW YORK -- Nabors Industries (NBR) has been holding long-term lows, and one large buyer is positioning for a gradual rebound.

OptionMonster's trade scanners detected the purchase of 5,000 January 2015 20 calls for $1.70 Wednesday. The volume dwarfed the strike's open interest of just 53 contracts at the beginning of the day, so this is clearly a new position.

The calls lock in a $20 entry price in the stock in the next 25 months. Those options will increase in value if the shares rise, potentially resulting in significant leverage relative to the underlying shares.

The stock rose 2.9% to $14.20 Wednesday and has lost 18% of its value so far in 2012. The energy driller has managed to stay above its lows from earlier in the year, which could be leading some traders to expect a rally in the belief that it's at support.

Wednesday's call buying dominated option activity in the name, which typically sees volume of fewer than 1,200 contracts per session. Calls outnumbered puts by 5 to 1.

Russell has no positions in NBR.

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.