Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) has taken a drastic dive, with the stock staging a bearish gap with the sound of Friday's opening bell. Thursday night, the company unveiled its fiscal fourth-quarter results, and also confessed to a disappointing outlook for the first quarter.

Specifically, Green Mountain said it banked a fourth-quarter profit of $27 million, or 20 cents per share, up from its year-ago earnings of $14.1 million, or 12 cents per share. Sales for the quarter climbed 73% to $373.1 million. The results fell roughly in line with Wall Street's expectations, which called for a profit of 20 cents per share on revenue of $359.2 million.

Option volume has skyrocketed on Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) today, after the Vermont-based coffee company announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken an interest in GMCR's revenue recognition practices.

GMCR plunged right out of the gate as traders reacted to the news, with the shares shedding roughly 17% to test round-number support at $30. Option players definitely took notice; within the first two hours of the session, roughly 42,000 calls and 34,000 puts had changed hands on the stock -- outpacing GMCR's predicted daily volume by a massive margin.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) has rebounded from a recent pullback, but one options trader is looking for the stock to slump during the intermediate term. On Thursday, one bearish bettor opted to build a synthetic short options spread on the equity.

Specifically, the trader sold to open 2,500 contracts of GMCR's near-the-money December 25 call, and simultaneously purchased an equal number of December 25 puts. This pessimistically skewed strategy closely resembles the risk/reward scenario of a traditional short sale: If GMCR should slump below $25 prior to December expiration, the trader stands to collect a healthy profit. On the other hand, if the stock rallies significantly north of this strike, losses could add up quickly.

As the name suggests, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) is based in the pastoral state of Vermont. The company offers about 180 varieties of coffee, cocoa and tea, which it sells to wholesale customers including supermarkets, convenience stores, resorts and office-delivery services.

Some of its biggest customers are ExxonMobil's (XOM) convenience stores and McDonald's (MCD) restaurants. In September, Green Mountain acquired Tully's Coffee, which has been chipping away at Starbucks' (SBUX) dominance in the Pacific Northwest. Green Mountain Coffee's popular Keurig brewing system is also red-hot, with the increasing demand for specialty coffees in homes, restaurants and offices.

For millions of Americans, and indeed for millions around the globe, there's nothing like a piping hot cup of coffee to help kick-start the day. It's the beverage of choice for the hordes on Wall Street, many of whom rely on a strong cup of java to help propel them through a stressful trading day.

But Wall Street pros don't just relegate their relationship with coffee to what's inside their mugs. For many professionals, as well as for many individual investors, coffee is more about buying and selling shares of the best coffee stocks out there.

Diedrich Coffee (DDRX) continues to be the belle of the ball in the caffeinated beverage sector. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) Wednesday hiked its offer to acquire Diedrich, raising the bid from $32 per share to $35 in cash. The deal's total value now stands at $290 million.

"We are eager to start realizing the benefits of this transaction for our shareholders as quickly as possible, and therefore after careful deliberation, we determined to enhance our proposal to $35.00 per Diedrich share," explained Lawrence J. Blanford, CEO of Green Mountain Coffee.

As the name suggests, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR) is based in the pastoral state of Vermont. The company offers about 180 varieties of coffee, cocoa, and tea, which it sells to wholesale customers including supermarkets, convenience stores, resorts, and office delivery services.

Some of its biggest customers are ExxonMobil's convenience stores and McDonald's restaurants. In September, Green Mountain acquired Tully's Coffee, which has been chipping away at Starbucks' dominance in the Pacific Northwest.

For millions of Americans, and indeed for millions around the globe, there's nothing like a piping hot cup of coffee to help kick start the day. It's the beverage of choice for the hordes on Wall Street, many of whom rely on a strong cup of java to help propel them through a stressful trading day.

But Wall Street pros don't just relegate their relationship with coffee to what's inside their mugs.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) has enjoyed a stellar run higher in 2009, with the shares up 105% year-to-date.

Today, the company announced that its board has approved a three-for-two stock split in the form of a stock dividend. All shareholders of record as of May 29 will receive one additional share of GMCR common stock for every two shares currently held, with distribution scheduled for June 8.

"This stock dividend allows us to share our success with our loyal stockholders to the extent of our authorized stock and underscores our confidence in the strength of our Company and its prospects for the future," said President and CEO Larry Blanford in a statement.

Is it realistic to expect Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) to deliver double-digit earnings growth in this environment?

Seriously, can retail customers afford premium coffee when budgets are severely strained and debts are high?

No way. Premium coffee is a luxury item, and though many are addicted to java, cutting back is relatively easy to do. In that dynamic, sales are likely to slow.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR) provides specialty coffee products to more than 7,000 wholesale customers, under the brand names Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Newman's Own Organics and Keurig. The customer list includes supermarkets, resorts, office delivery services and convenience stores. The firm also conducts direct mail and e-commerce operations. Green Mountain has been ranked first on the Business Ethics list of "100 Best Corporate Citizens," for the past two years. Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) are competitors.

The firm surprised investors late last month, when it announced fiscal Q1 EPS of 12 cents and revenues of $126.4 million. Analysts had been expecting 11 cents and $118 million. The CEO attributed success to the robust growth rate of Keurig brewer sales. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 19-23 cents (20 cent consensus), FY08 EPS to 72-77 cents (73 cent consensus) and FY08 revenues to about $478.4-$495.5 million ($455 million consensus).

When your coffee needs develop beyond the "cup o' joe" stage, there's an outfit in Waterbury, Vermont that's prepared to satisfy your refined tastes.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ:GMCR) provides specialty coffee products to more than 7,000 wholesale customers, under the brand names Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Newman's Own Organics and Keurig. The customer list includes supermarkets, resorts, office delivery services and convenience stores. The firm also conducts direct mail and e-commerce operations. Green Mountain was recently ranked first on the Business Ethics list of "100 Best Corporate Citizens."

The firm surprised investors earlier in the month, when it announced fiscal Q1 EPS of 40 cents and revenues of $83.3 million. Analysts had been expecting 24 cents and $78.9 million. Management also guided Q2 revenues to $75-$79 million ($73.51M consensus). The share price popped on the news and then began formation of a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Stocks frequently exit a flag with a move in the same direction they were traveling when they entered it. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend GMCR with one "strong buy", one "buy" and one "hold". Analysts see a 35 percent growth rate, through the next year. The stock's Price to Sales ratio (1.95) and Sales Growth rate (30.44%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 53 percent of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, GMCR has traded between $35.00 and $65.60. A stop-loss of $52.90 looks good here if one were to buy the stock.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.