Whole Foods (WFMI, news, chart) is seeing three times its normal trading volume ahead of an earnings report due out after the close of trading. Shares are trading up $1.54 to $23.00, as investors seem confident the company will post earnings not far from analyst estimates. 14 analysts cover WFMI and the range of EPS estimates is between 28 and 35 cents a share, with consensus of 31 cents. In the options market, sentiment is mixed, with 14,000 puts and 19,000 calls trading on the day. Implied volatility in the August options is reaching towards the triple digits, compared to 60 percent in the September options. So, the options market is priced for some volatility (possible earnings gap move of 11.2 percent) and this is probably due to two factors: 1) WFMI has missed analyst estimates during the three previous quarters 2) the company might announce a dividend cut. According to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal (page C1), “The company’s shares have fallen so far that they now yield 3.7 percent, meaty by historical standards–and potentially short-lived, if analysts are right.”