Put Volume Surges on Moody's Corp. (MCO)

Shares of Moody's Corporation

are trading lower on the session by 1.62%, at $33.89. They crashed lower mid-day, touching $32.99, after the EU said it might ban US-based credit rating agencies. Given the performance of the stock over the past five months, you can't blame traders for snatching up protection on the name in a hurry. 16,000 puts have traded on the name versus only 3,000 calls. The heaviest action is coming in the front month, where the $33.00 and $32.00 strikes are seeing massive relative volume, trading 4,029 times and 3,143 times, respectively. Volume has surpassed open interest on both strikes. The May $33.00 put is also very active as well. Moody's Corporation is a provider of credit ratings; credit and economic related research, data and analytical tools, risk management software and quantitative credit risk measures, credit portfolio management solutions, training and financial credentialing and certification services. Moody's operates in two segments: Moody's Investors Service and Moody's Analytics.