Bearish Hedges Purchased in Kohl's (KSS)

Shares of Kohl’s Corp. KSS are lower on the session by 0.47%, currently trading at $48.83. The stock has been moving largely lower over the past six months, off from recent highs near $59.00. The stock saw a ‘V’ shaped bottom on higher than normal volume August 12th-13th; a break below $47.50 would send the stock back to that low. Options traders are buying protection on the stock today. The September $50.00 put was purchased 2,300 times, on the offer, for $1.80 on open interest of just 282 contracts. In addition, the October $49.00 put was purchased over 4,000 times, on the offer, on open interest of 2,492 contracts. Put volume is now running at over 3x the daily average with 85% of all puts traded being purchases on the offer. Kohl's Corporation operates family-oriented department stores that sell apparel, footwear and accessories for women, men and children, soft home products, such as sheets and pillows, and housewares. The company's stores feature private and exclusive brands, which are found only at Kohl's, as well as national brands. As of January 30, 2010, the company operated 1,058 stores in 49 states. As of January 30, 2010, it leased 686 of its 1,058 retail stores. For more great research like this, as well as how to play it through options…please visit Benzinga’s Options & Volatility Edge and Benzinga’s Cash Generator.