On Aug.18, a block of 5,500 calls that pay off if Campbell rallies more than 8 percent in the next month changed hands on the ask price, indicating that a buyer initiated the trade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

?The options action speaks to someone looking at this thing as a potential takeout,? Breier, a senior equity derivatives trader at BMO in New York, said in a phone interview. ?There?s a burgeoning dynamic of consolidation in the food space. It?s really a story of survival.?

Some however think that there are better opportunities available. ??It hasn?t been performing all that well recently,? Binger, a senior portfolio manager at Gradient Investments in Arden Hills, Minnesota, said in a phone interview. The firm manages $625 million and exited its Campbell holdings this year. ?I don?t think the environment has gotten any better.?

However data complied by Bloomberg show that the company is more?affordable than 70 percent of its food-manufacturing peers based on its price-earnings ratio.

 

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