Continental Airlines boosted by July traffic

Continental Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: CAL) opened at $32.85. So far today the stock has hit a low of $32.26 and a high of $33.21. As of 10:50, CAL is trading at $32.38, up $0.70 (2.2%).

After hitting a one year high of $52.40 in January, the stock has slid downward over the past eight months. CAL is leading all the airlines up today after reporting July traffic rose by 3.6%. Technical indicators for CAL are bearish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a September bull-put credit spread below the $25 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk and leverage returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 8.7% return in just seven weeks as long as CAL is above $25 at September expiration. CAL would have to fall by more than 22% before we would start to lose money.

CAL has hasn't been below $25 since last August and has shown support around $31.50 recently. This trade could be risky if fuel prices continue to rise, but with crude oil at all-time highs, there should be some decrease in demand and price on the horizon.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. DISCLOSURE: At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in CAL.