Enormous Put Buying on ATP Oil & Gas (ATPG)

Shares of ATP Oil & Gas Crop.

are lower on the session by 10.54%, currently trading $10.78. The stock has fallen off a cliff as of late, accelerating today, due to its focus on deepwater drilling. Heavy put buying can be seen on the June $9 put, where 5,636 contracts have been bought on open interest of 872 contracts, the September $11 put was purchased 1,632 times on open interest of 125 contracts, the December $5 put was purchased 9,975 times on open interest of 54 contracts, and the January 2011 $5 put was purchased 10,306 times on no open interest. It seems that someone is making a bet on the solvency of this company given that they are reaching for strikes that at 50% below the current share price, which is already off 53.81% from its highs. ATP Oil & Gas Corporation is engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico and the United Kingdom and Dutch Sectors of the North Sea. As of December 31, 2009, the Company owned leasehold and other interests in 62 offshore blocks and 104 wells, including 19 subsea wells, in the Gulf of Mexico.