Surge in Options Trading: American Express, Nabors Industries, and Fortinet Stand Out

American Express (AXP) Sees Significant Options Activity

Looking at the options trading activity within the Russell 3000 index, American Express Co. (Symbol: AXP) has caught investors’ attention. Today, a total of 9,427 contracts have been traded, equivalent to about 942,700 underlying shares due to each contract representing 100 shares. This trading volume accounts for 41.3% of AXP’s average daily trading volume over the past month, which stands at 2.3 million shares.

Particularly noteworthy is the high volume for the $300 strike put option, set to expire on December 20, 2024. So far today, 2,688 contracts have traded, representing around 268,800 underlying shares of AXP. Below is a chart displaying AXP’s trading history from the past twelve months, highlighting the $300 strike in orange:

Nabors Industries (NBR) Experiences Increased Options Activity

Nabors Industries Ltd (Symbol: NBR) also saw a surge in options trading, with 1,224 contracts exchanged today. This volume corresponds to approximately 122,400 underlying shares, translating to about 40.8% of NBR’s average daily trading volume over the past month, at 299,635 shares.

The $55 strike put option, expiring on April 17, 2025, has experienced notable activity, with 1,001 contracts trading today, representing about 100,100 underlying shares of NBR. The chart below illustrates NBR’s trading activity over the last twelve months, with the $55 strike marked in orange:

Fortinet (FTNT) Records High Options Volume

Fortinet Inc (Symbol: FTNT) has also garnered attention, with 18,382 contracts traded as of today. This figure translates to approximately 1.8 million underlying shares, which is a striking 40.3% of FTNT’s average daily trading volume of 4.6 million shares over the past month.

The $98 strike call option expiring on December 27, 2024, has seen substantial activity. Today, 4,970 contracts have traded, representing roughly 497,000 underlying shares of FTNT. The chart below shows FTNT’s trading history for the past twelve months, with the $98 strike highlighted in orange:

To explore various expiration options for AXP, NBR, or FTNT, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Nasdaq, Inc.