Options: Possible Hedging in Valero

By Jud Pyle, CFA, chief investment strategist for the Options News Network

Around 3 p.m. EDT today, an investor in Valero Energy(VLO Quote) sold off the upside of the stock to decrease the cost of downside protection in a long-dated collar spread.

The investor sold the Jan. 2011 12.5-20 risk reversal, selling the out-of-the-money Jan. 2011 20 calls and buying the out-of-the-money Jan. 2011 12.5 puts, 15,000 times for 15 cents with the stock trading at $16.10 a share. The Jan. 2011 12.5 puts, which closed up nine cents on the day, changed hands 20,000 times and were home to open interest of 6,804. The Jan. 2011 20 calls, which dropped 34 cents on the day, were home to open interest of 2,745. Approximately 20,300 of these contracts traded today.

Normal daily options volume in Valerois about 25,000 compared to the 53,000 contracts that changed hands today. ...