Upside Purchased on Agrium Inc. (AGU)

Shares of Agrium Inc. AGU are flat on the session, currently trading at $50.45. The stock has been drifting lower and lower over the past three months; the stock is currently trading below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Options traders are picking up calls on the name today. The October $57.50 call was purchased 1,000 times on open interest of 35 contracts and the January 2011 $60 call was purchased 2,200 times on open interest of 5,608 contracts. Call volume is now running at 3.06x the daily average. Agrium Inc. is a retailer of agricultural products and services in the United States, as well as Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. It is also a global producer and wholesale marketer of nutrients for agricultural and industrial markets. During the year ended December 31, 2009, Agrium reported its business through three business units and a fourth non-operating business unit for corporate and inter-company eliminations. The three operating business units are Retail, Wholesale, and Advanced Technologies. Agrium operates 826 retail centers, 37 terminals and 18 distribution centers in North and South America.