Upside Purchased on Helix Energy Solutions (HLX)

Shares of Helix Energy Solutions Group HLX are lower on the session by 6.53%, currently trading at $10.02. The stock has been trading largely lower over the past three months and is selling off once again today on news that the company will be taking a $160 to $180 million pre-tax impairment charge. Options traders are betting that the stock is near a bottom and are buying calls. Though action has been primarily in small lots, call volume is now running at 2.25x the daily average with over 70% of all calls traded being purchases on the offer. Traders were mainly buying the January 2011 $15.00 call. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. operates as an offshore energy company. It provides development solutions and various other contracting services to the energy market, as well as to its oil and gas properties. The company provides a range of contracting services primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, the Asia Pacific, and West Africa regions primarily in deepwater.