Staples (SPLS, news, chart, volatility) is seeing heavy buying in the short-term contracts Thursday. Shares are down 70 cents to $21.44 the day after Friedman Billings analysts cut the rating on the stock to “underperform”. According to the firm, the company faces headwinds from a slowing economy and sales to small businesses are already showing signs of weakness. Firm expects the stock to fall ahead of an analyst meeting in late October. Some players in the options market seem to expect a move sooner. The October 20s, which have 11 and half trading days of life remaining, are the most actives. More than 14,000 have traded, with 86 percent of today’s volume trading offerside.