Options Traders Build a Bull Case For Illinois Tool Works (ITW)

Shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. ITW are higher on the session by 0.92%, currently trading at $54.04. The stock has been moving largely higher over the past six months and is currently consolidating around the 50-day moving average. Options traders are buying calls on the name today. A short while ago the May 2011 $57.50 call was purchased 7,000 times, on the offer, for $0.53 on open interest of only 448 contracts. This signals new positioning on the strike. Overall call volume is now running at 3.30x the daily average with 98% of all calls traded being purchases on the offer. Illinois Tool Works Inc. is a multinational manufacturer of a diversified range of industrial products and equipment with operations in 57 countries. The company has eight segments: Transportation; Industrial Packaging; Power Systems & Electronics; Food Equipment; Construction Products; Polymers & Fluids; Decorative Surfaces, and Other.