Call Options Stay Popular on Dave & Buster's

Plus, Dave & Busters options are attractively priced at the moment

The shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PLAY) are down 0.6% to trade at $40.74 today. Amidst a relatively quiet session though, PLAY's typically quiet options pits have come to life, with a strong slant toward calls.

With around two hours left in trading today, more than 2,600 calls have changed hands today, double the average intraday amount and 16 times the number of puts traded. Almost all of this attention is focused on the October and November45 calls, with new positions being opened at each. For reference, Dave & Busters stock hasn't traded at $45 since a sharp post-earnings bear gap in June.

This preference for calls is nothing new, though. Amid relatively low absolute volume, at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), PLAY stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 9.09 ranks in the 86th annual percentile, meaning calls have been bought to open relative to puts at a quicker-than-usual clip in the last two weeks.

Options appear to be the move right now. That's because equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 38% is higher than just 16% of all other readings from the past year, suggesting near-term option contracts are attractively priced at the moment, from a historical volatility standpoint.

Since that June bear gap, Dave & Busters stock has spent the last five months trading in a tight range between the $38 and $44 region. The shares are up 4.6% already in October, but resistance looms overhead at their 100-day moving average.