Oil refiner Valero (VLO) is up $1 to $20.53 and options trading is brisk Wednesday, with 33,000 calls and 19,000 puts on the tape so far. The gains in the shares and the heightened options activity comes the day after (register to read more …)

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Exxon Mobile (XOM) is up 2.8 percent to $66.85 and one of the best gainers in the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the oil giant posted earnings that beat Street estimates. In the options market, a noteworthy trade is the (register to read more …)

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Dow component Exxon Mobile (XOM) lost 42 cents $64.54 and afternoon trades include a Jan11 65- 75 call spread, apparently bought at $3.40, 14500X, on PHLX. The action comes ahead of earnings, Monday morning.

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Interoil (IOC) is up $6.42 to $79.24 and options are busy after the company discovered oil in its Antelope-2 well in Papua New Guinea. 31K calls and 7650 puts traded on the session. One player paid a hefty $6.10 for (register to read more …)

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ATP Oil and Gas shares are down 50c to $17.67 and option volume is 3x the daily average being driven by a roll out of the January $12.50 calls and into the February $12.50 calls 5,600 times for a 15c.

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Nexen, a Canadian oil gas extraction company, shares are down 20c to $24.15 but option volume is 20x the daily average. The notable trade was a bullish risk/reversal as someone bought the march $30 calls and sold the March $20 (register to read more …)

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Dow component Chevron shares are up $1.50 to $81.05, a new 52-week high, and notable trade was 2,300 contract block of the June $80 puts traded that appears tied to stock. Trading is active in the first hour, with 9,980 (register to read more …)

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Chesapeake (CHK) is up $2.14 to $28.02 and options have seen a day of heavy trading on news it has reached a deal to sell a 25 percent stake in a Barnett shale-gas project. Shares rallied and 86K calls traded. (register to read more …)

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Chesapeake (CHK) is up $1.15 to $26.15 after CNBC’s Jim Cramer made positive comments on the latest issue of Mad Money. Shares gapped higher and options activity is now 2X the average daily. One player bought 7000 Jan 25 puts (register to read more …)

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Chesapeake (CHK) is down 85 cents to $23.25 and one strategist sells 24.2K April 35 calls at 13 cents each. It might be tied to a block of 100K shares at $23.25 about ten minutes later. The premium sale might (register to read more …)

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