Speculators showed an unusual interest in Apollo Group (APOL - 53.45) calls yesterday, as more than 5,100 of these contracts crossed the tape, more than doubling the equity's average daily volume. The bulk of the trading centered around the out-of-the-money February 55 strike, where over 4,900 calls were exchanged -- most of them at the ask price, suggesting they were bought. However, open interest at this strike fell by 1,186 contracts overnight, signaling liquidation activity. Even so, this option still carries peak call open interest of 6,742 contracts.

Despite Monday's surge in call volume, puts still appear to be the options of choice for APOL. The equity sports a Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.63, conveying that puts comfortably outnumber calls among options slated to expire within three months. In fact, this ratio ranks in the 92nd percentile of its annual range, which means that traders have been more bearishly oriented toward the stock just 8% of the time over the past year.

Furthermore, data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) shows a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 2.93 for APOL, indicating that puts bought to open have nearly tripled calls during the last couple of weeks. This ratio registers in the 80th annual percentile, conveying that investors have been scooping up bearish options over bullish at an accelerated clip.

On the technical front, APOL has underperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by around 12% during the past 20 sessions. A look at the charts shows that the stock is already poised to close a second week beneath its 10-week moving average, which had previously served as support since early December.

At last check, however, APOL is up about 1.8% and is trading at $53.45.

Groupon Inc. (GRPN - 22.86) is expected to step into the earnings confessional for the first time tomorrow. Ahead of the event, the coupon king has been exceptionally popular among call traders, with more than 9,500 of these bullishly biased contracts traded yesterday -- more than twice the norm.

Jumping right in... Speculators established new positions at the at-the-money February 22 call, which saw open interest spike by nearly 2,000 contracts overnight. Digging deeper, we find that most of the contracts changed hands at the ask price, suggesting they were purchased. By buying the 22-strike calls to open, the traders are expecting GRPN to muscle north of $22 over the next couple of weeks.

From a broader sentiment standpoint, though, yesterday's affinity for GRPN calls was just more of the same for the stock. In fact, the equity's 10-day call/put volume ratio on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits at 1.28, indicating that traders have bought to open more GRPN calls than puts during the past two weeks. Likewise, the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.74 implies that calls comfortably outnumber puts among options slated to expire within three months.

However, it's worth noting that short interest on the equity surged 11.4% during the past month, and now represents nearly two weeks' worth of pent-up buying demand, at GRPN's average pace of trading. As such, it's possible that the recent preference for calls could be attributable to hedging activity by the shorts.

In early trading, GRPN has given up 2.8% to explore the $22.86 region.

Tesla Motors (TSLA - 31.31) saw a rare spike in call activity on Monday, as more than 4,200 of these options changed hands, which was more than double the equity's average daily volume. A large portion of the action occurred at the out-of-the-money February 33 strike, where 1,549 calls were traded -- nearly all of them at the ask price, pointing to buyer-driven volume. Open interest on this option rose by 1,381 contracts overnight, making it safe to assume that most of the volume consisted of newly opened positions. This call is now home to open interest of 1,647 contracts. By buying these calls to open, investors are expecting the stock to power north of the $33 level by the time front-month options expire.

However, yesterday's preference for calls over puts is a change of pace for TSLA. The Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) stands at 2.47, confirming that puts more than double calls among options expiring within three months. In fact, this ratio sits just four percentage points shy of an annual high, signaling that traders have been more put-heavy toward the stock only 4% of the time during the past 12 months.

What's more, TSLA's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) put/call volume ratio checks in at 1.22, indicating that puts bought to open have comfortably outnumbered calls during the past two weeks. This ratio registers in the 94th percentile of its annual range, which means that traders have been snatching up bearish options over bullish at a near annual-high clip.

Meanwhile, short interest on the electric auto concern climbed by 3.08% during the most recent reporting period, and now represents a staggering 38.95% of TSLA's float -- or almost 18 days' worth of pent-up buying demand. This implies that some of yesterday's call activity could be attributable to short sellers looking to hedge their bearish bets.

Technically, TSLA has gained more than 11% year-to-date, but has underperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by roughly 15% during the past 40 sessions. On the charts, the stock is on pace to finish a third consecutive week above its 10-week moving average, which had previously acted as resistance for over a month.

In the first hour of the session, however, the equity is down about 1.5% to hover at $31.31.

Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC - 27.45) is set to take the earnings stage before the opening bell tomorrow. According to Thomson Reuters, the firm has surpassed Wall Street's bottom-line estimates in three of the past four quarters. Nevertheless, it looks like one options speculator is bracing for a post-earnings drop, but is hedging his bets just to be safe.

During the course of yesterday's session, symmetrical blocks of several hundred puts traded at the March 25 and March 27.50 strikes. What's more, put open interest swelled at both strikes overnight, confirming the initiation of new positions. However, the 27.50-strike puts traded at the ask price of $2.15, suggesting they were bought, while the 25-strike puts crossed at the bid price of $1.05, implying they were likely sold. In other words, the strategist constructed a bear put spread on CSC for a net debit of $1.10 per pair of contracts.

By purchasing the 27.50-strike puts, the trader is expecting the shares of CSC to retreat in the short term. However, to limit the cost of entry -- which represents the maximum risk -- of the bearish trade, the investor sacrificed potential reward by selling the lower-strike puts. Plus, he trimmed his breakeven rail.

Now, he needs the shares of CSC to breach the $26.40 level (bought put strike minus net debit) in order to profit on the play. Had he simply bought the 27.50-strike puts, he'd need the shares to breach the $25.35 level (strike minus premium paid). On the flip side, the sold puts cap his maximum risk at $1.40 (difference between strikes minus net debit), no matter how far CSC sinks beneath the $25 level. Had he only bought the at-the-money puts, his profit would increase with each step south of breakeven.

Ahead of the bell, CSC is pointed 1.6% lower. From a longer-term perspective, the equity has added 15.8% in 2012, and finished last week north of both its 10-week and 20-week trendlines for just the third time since late April.

Speculators are favoring Motricity, Inc. (MOTR - 1.59) calls today, as nearly 4,200 of these options have been exchanged so far, representing 22 times the equity's expected intraday volume. More than 1,800 calls have been traded at the in-the-money February 1 strike -- the majority of them at the ask price, pointing to buyer-driven volume. Currently, this option holds peak call open interest of just 1,017 contracts, so it's safe to say that new positions are being opened in this session.

This affinity for calls over puts is an ongoing trend for MOTR. The Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) stands at 0.20, conveying that calls outnumber puts by five to one among options expiring within three months. In fact, this ratio ranks in only the 6th percentile of its annual range, which indicates that short-term options players have been more call-heavy toward the stock just 6% of the time over the past year.

What's more, data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) reveals a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 293.4, confirming that calls bought to open have outnumbered puts by a whopping 293 to one during the last two weeks. In fact, this ratio sits just four percentage points shy of a yearly acme, signaling that traders have been snapping up bullish options over bearish at an almost annual-high clip.

However, it's worth noting that while short interest on MOTR declined by 9.8% during the last two reporting periods, these bearish plays still make up a hefty 21.84% of the equity's float. This suggests that short sellers looking to hedge their bets may be contributing to some of the recent call volume -- particularly since MOTR has gained about 99% over the past three days. Either way, it would take almost seven days to cover these shorted shares, at the stock's average daily trading volume.

Examining MOTR's technical performance, the equity has gained a staggering 77% year-to-date, and has outperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by roughly 37% during the past 20 sessions. On the charts, the stock is already on pace to finish the week atop its 20-week moving average, a feat not accomplished since January 2011.

At last look, MOTR is up about 24% to flirt with the $1.59 region.