Put buyers take a bite out of $CHWY

Bears are scoring in downside option positions on Chewy (CHWY) today.

On Apr. 12, Market Rebellion’s Unusual Activity Service found that 2,015 Weekly $17 puts, expiring May 10, were bought for $0.53 above the existing open interest of 29 contracts with shares at $18.17.

Those puts have traded for as much as $2.34 this session, an 341.51% return, while the stock fell 18.93% in the same time frame, illustrating the kind of leverage that can be achieved quickly with options.

Long puts lock in the price where a stock can be sold no matter how far it might drop, gaining value in a selloff with the potential for significant leverage. The contracts can be purchased either as an outright bearish bet or a hedge on a long-stock position.

CHWY was last down on the day by 0.27% to $15.05.