Calls Purchased on MGIC Investment Corp. (MTG)

Shares of MGIC Investment Corp. MTG are higher on the session by 6.25%, currently trading at $8.84. The stock has been moving largely lower over the past four months, off from recent highs near $13.25. Options traders are betting that the stock is near a short-term bottom and are buying calls. The January 2011 $10.00 call was purchased 5,000 times, on the offer, earlier in the session; open interest on the strike is 16,579 contracts. Call volume is now running at 2.27x the daily average. MGIC Investment Corporation is a holding company. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company provides private mortgage insurance in the United States. As of December 31, 2009, the company's principal subsidiary, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, was licensed in all 50 states of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.