Schaeffer's Daily Option Blog: Put Trading Jumps on Walgreen Co. (WAG) as Stock Tags New Annual High

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The shares of Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) have skyrocketed more than 9% higher this morning to a new 52-week high following its earnings report. The company posted a profit of $436 million, or 44 cents per share, in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Aug. 31. The latest quarter's earnings per share included 3 cents in costs and 7 cents in savings from Walgreen's transformation plans. Analysts, on average, had expected a profit of 39 cents per share. Sales rose 7.6% to $15.7 billion, while sales at stores open at least a year rose 2.4%. Same-store sales of general merchandise declined 1.4%, while pharmacy same-store sales rose 4.5%.

With the stock skipping steadily higher, it's somewhat surprising to see the stock being hit with heavy put trading. According to data from WhatsTrading.com, more than 39,800 contracts have crossed the tape today, which is almost six times the stock's average daily trading volume of 6,710 contracts. What's more, roughly 62% of the volume has traded on the put side.

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