Arch Coal’s Front Month Put Volume Surges (ACI)

Shares of Arch Coal Inc. ACI are higher on the session by 2.83%, currently trading at $22.53. The stock has been moving largely sideways for the past three months, but has managed to rally above the 50-day and 200-day moving averages as of late. Options traders are flocking to the puts, however. The August $23 put traded 2,050 times on open interest of 1,283 contracts, the Aug $22 put traded 9,200 times on open interest of 698 contracts, the Aug $21 put traded 2,100 times on open interest of 1,823 contracts, and the Aug $20 put traded 3,600 times on open interest of 2,792 contracts. Put volume is now running at 8x the daily average with 51% of all puts traded being purchases on the offer. Arch Coal, Inc. is a coal producer in the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the company sold approximately 126.1 million tons of coal, including approximately 7.5 million tons of coal, it purchased from third parties. The company sells coal to power plants, steel mills and industrial facilities.