The company has traded over 6,6000 options today in the first hour on total daily average option volume of 388. Almost all of the volume has been a Feb 45 straddle seller @ ~$3.00. The OI (open interest) on the Feb ATMs is well below the trade volume. These are opening positions. The Vol chart comparing IV30™ to HV10™ and HV20™ illustrates the divergence. Notice the IV30™ is down over 10% today significantly lessening the divergence with historical vol. The underlying chart illustrates in fact that the stock has traded in a tight range for several months. Yesterday (1/11) PVH raised Q4 '09 guidance. Today, Citigroup added PVH to its Top Picks Live list. Note also that earnings are in late March - the Feb options do not include that volatility event. Ultimately the short straddle bets on lower vol and at expo simply bets the stock goes to $45 with a PnL positive range for stock between $42 - $48. With the stock almost to $44, this is a slightly bullish bet while also betting on lowering vol. The bet is consistent with the recent news. You can see details, prices, charts and trades on my blog: http://livevol.blogspot.com/2010/01/phillips-van-heusen-pvh-feb-straddle.html