Is there any legit way in which whoever made this trade could have got a wind of a potential acquisition without relying on inside knowledge?
replies(3):
Maybe this whale was tracking tail numbers, drove down to the executive airport, and saw that Cisco's chief M&A guy had a huge grin on his face as he stepped onto the plane.
(Okay, I doubt that highly, but it is a scenario)
The real trouble with 'maybe they were legit outsiders' is the options expired specifically today, which means you need to know _when the announcement_ is to profit.
For those who don't know, they're both part of the same metro area (Bay Area) but they're 50 miles apart, anywhere from 1 to 2 hours apart depending on traffic.