Upside Calls Very Active in Newell Rubbermaid (NWL)

Shares of Newell Rubbermaid Inc. NWL are higher on the session by 0.75%, currently trading at $16.22. The stock has been consolidating in a wedge pattern for the past nine months and is nearing the technical pivot point. Theory suggests a strong move one way or the other very soon. Calls are very active on the name today. The September $17.50 call was purchased 1,300 times, on the offer, a short while ago; open interest on the strike is 1,510 contracts. More notably, the October $17.00 call was purchased, on the offer, 2,500 times on open interest of 48 contracts and the October $18.00 call was purchased 1,195 times, on the offer, on open interest of only 20 contracts. That vast majority of trading has been on the offer, meaning that traders are paying up to enter into positions. There has been chatter this morning that NWL has hired investment bankers to put the company up for sale. NWL is scheduled to present at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Investment Conference on September 14th. Newell Rubbermaid Inc. is a global marketer of consumer and commercial products. The company's products are marketed under a portfolio of brands, including Rubbermaid, Graco, Aprica, Levolor, Calphalon, Goody, Sharpie, Paper Mate, Dymo, Parker, Waterman, Irwin, Lenox and Technical Concepts. The company's multi-product offering consists of consumer and commercial products in three business segments: Home & Family; Office Products; and Tools, Hardware & Commercial Products.