Investment bank Bernstein pointed out that about 0.1 million options were traded, far higher than the daily average trading volume of 0.013 million shares, with the majority being bought as opening positions and will expire on Friday.
Zhītōng Cáijīng APP noticed that the Kraft Heinz (KHC.US) stock options saw a 'suspicious' surge in call bid volume this morning. Investment bank Bernstein pointed out that about 0.1 million options were traded, far higher than the daily average trading volume of 0.013 million shares, with the majority being bought as opening positions and will expire on Friday.
Analyst Alexia Howard stated, "This behavior is not common for The Kraft Heinz Company, indicating that some believe the stock may rise by over 5% from now until Friday, suggesting the company is facing a catalyst."
Kraft Heinz is scheduled to announce its third-quarter performance next week, as are most food companies. The company has no meetings or investor days planned for this week.
Howard emphasized that the food industry has seen numerous activist movements recently, notably with activist investor Jana Partners revealing its stake in Lamb Weston (LW.US) last Friday and urging the fried food manufacturer to seek a sale. In addition, following an investment by investor TOMS Capital earlier this year, Kellanova (K.US) announced in August that it would be sold to Mars for $36 billion.
At the time of this unusual options activity, some of America's most prominent activists are planning to share their thoughts at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investor Summit in New York on Tuesday.