By Pete Najarian, co-founder of OptionMonster
NEW YORK -- Kulicke & Soffa Industries ( KLIC) has some great-looking numbers, and upside option activity gained pace Monday afternoon. OptionMonster's tracking systems detected the purchase of 2,100 January 11 calls in two blocks at the same second for 30 cents. The volume was above the open interest of 1,797 contracts at the start of the session, so this is fresh buying. Calls lock in the price where investors can buy shares and can generate some nice leverage if the stock rallies. But these options will expire worthless if it doesn't move. Kulicke & Soffa rose 2.01% to $9.64 Monday. The company, which makes equipment used to assemble semiconductor devices, has a great-looking balance sheet and cash flows, with valuation levels in the single digits. Overall calls outnumbered puts by about 3,200 to 400, a reflection of the session's bullish sentiment. Total volume was four times greater than average. Najarian has no positions in KLIC.
