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

During afternoon trading, options action in auto parts company

Johnson Controls

(JCI) - Get Report

suggests at least one investor anticipates significant near-term movement in the stock.

JCI did not announce any news today, and the company might announce earnings figures sometime around April 20. The stock closed up 2 cents to $33.13 a share.

Around 1:44 p.m. EST, 10,000 May 32-34 strangles crossed the tape for a net debit of $2.04 per spread. The May 32 puts changed hands for 90 cents per contract, while the May 34 calls traded for $1.14 per contract. This means investors will make money if JCI shares drop below $29.96 or climb higher than $36.04. The stock must drop at least 10% or rally at least 8% throughout the near term. An investor who buys a strangle calls for volatility to kick in and for the stock to move significantly in one direction or the other away from the breakeven prices.

The May 34 calls have gained 23 cents so far on the day, while the May 32 puts are currently trading down 31 cents. Implied volatility of the 32-strike puts is 28%, while the 34-strike calls have an implied volatility of 25% compared to a 30-day historical volatility of 18%.

JCI reached a 52-week high of $33.60 on Wednesday, and the investor who bought this strangle is willing to risk $2.04 per spread on a bet that could produce unlimited returns if the stock soars or significant gains if the stock declines all the way to $0.

Jud Pyle is the chief investment strategist for Options News Network (www.ONN.tv) and the portfolio manager of TheStreet.com Options Alerts. Click here for a free trial for Options Alerts. Mr. Pyle writes regularly about options investing for TheStreet.com.

Jud Pyle, CFA, is the chief investment strategist for Options News Network. Pyle started his career in finance in 1994 as a derivative analyst with SBC Warburg. After four years with Warburg, Pyle joined PEAK6 Investments, L.P., in 1998 as an equity options trader and as chief risk officer. A native of Minneapolis, Pyle received his bachelor's degree in economics and history from Colgate University in 1994. As a trader, Pyle traded on average over 5,000 contracts per day, and over 1.2 million contracts per year. He also built the stock group for all PEAK6 Investments, L.P. hedging, which currently trades on average over 5 million shares per day, and over 1 billion shares per year. Further, from 2004-06, he managed the trading and risk management for PEAK6 Investments L.P.'s lead market-maker operation on the former PCX exchange, which traded more than 10,000 contracts per day. Pyle is the "Mad About Options" resident expert. He is also a regular contributor to "Options Physics."