Today’s tickers: IYR, CIEN, FXI, MTB, TGT, MTW & HURN

IYRBearish option traders honed in on puts in the January 2010 contract of the U.S. real estate ETF. Such positioning indicates that the current 1.5% rally in shares to $38.17 today will not last. Pessimists picked up 10,000 puts at the in-the-money January 40 strike price for 6.23 apiece and spread the purchase against the sale of 20,000 puts at the lower January 25 strike for an average premium of 86 cents each. The net cost of the ratio put spread amounts to 4.51 and yields maximum potential profits of 10.49 per contract if the IYR plummets 35% to $25.00 by expiration in January. Shares must decline 7% from the current price before profits begin to accumulate beneath the breakeven price of $35.49. – iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index –

CIENBullish action on the maker of transmission and switching systems for fiber-optic communication networks pushed Ciena onto our ‘hot by options volume’ market scanner this afternoon. Demand for near-term call options has surged amid a more than 7% rally in shares to $12.58. More than 16,000 calls were coveted at the August 12.5 strike price for an average premium of 19 cents apiece. We note that investors who paid 19 cents just before 1 pm EDT were rewarded for beating the crowd. Traders currently (2 pm EDT) looking to get long the same calls must now shell out 45 cents per contract. Those individuals who paid an average of 19 cents will begin to bank profits if shares surpass the breakeven point at $12.69 by expiration on Friday. Option implied volatility on CIEN is currently slightly higher to stand at 73% from an intra-day low of 69%. – Ciena Corp. –

FXILong-term downside protection was scooped up by traders bracing for potential declines in the China exchange-traded fund by expiration in February 2010. Shares of the FXI are currently enjoying a more than 2% rally to $40.02. Approximately 15,000 puts were picked up at the February 38 strike price for an average premium of 4.20 per contract. Downside protection on a long position in the underlying, or profits on a short position, will kick in if the fund declines 15.5% from the current price to breach the breakeven point at $33.80 by expiration. – iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index Fund –

MTBShares of the bank holding company have enjoyed a 0.5% increase today to…
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