Puts Purchased on VimpelCom (VIP)

Shares of VimpelCom VIP are lower on the session by 3.10%, currently trading at $13.74. The stock has been moving largely lower over the past three months and is currently trading below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Options traders are buying puts on the name today. A short while ago the June 2011 $12.50 put was purchased 1,200 times, on the offer, on open interest of only 115 contracts. This signals new positioning on the name. Overall put volume is now running at 2.23x the daily average with 85% of all puts traded being purchases on the offer. VimpelCom Ltd., formerly New Spring Company Ltd., consists of telecommunications operators providing voice and data services through a range of wireless, fixed and broadband technologies. The company has operations in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam and Cambodia, covering territory with a total population of about 345 million.