E*Trade Pops on Buyout Rumor; Calls Active (ETFC, SCHW)

Shares of E*Trade Financial Corp.

are popping higher this morning, currently up by 4.75% and trading at $15.66. Within the first hour of trading, the stock has already traded 0.50x the 10-day daily average volume. There is a rumor circulating trading desks that The Charles Schwab Corporation

is looking to buy ETFC for $22.00. Be advised that, not only is this unconfirmed, but it also reminds of that children's show “Lamb Chop's” because it is the rumor that never ends. Be that as it may, calls are active on the name, running at 4.96x the daily average, with 63% of all calls traded being purchases on the offer. The November $15.00 and $16.00 strikes are where the action is happening. The $15.00 strike has traded 1,900 times on open interest of 8,061 contracts and the $16.00 strike has traded 9,200 times on open interest of 2,889 contracts. E*TRADE Financial Corporation is a financial services company, which provides online brokerage and related products and services to the individual retail investors, under the brand E*TRADE Financial. It also provides investor-focused banking products, sweep deposits and savings products, to retail investors.