Merger chatter is flooding one of the most hated sectors of 2018. Here’s what the market is saying 10:19 AM ET Wed, 27 June 2018 | 01:46

Shares of soup and cereal stocks have been hammered of late, on fears of rising rates and changing consumer tastes. Now, with many of these stocks at multiyear lows, some traders are banking on the calculus that two negatives will make a positive and that many of these troubled companies will look to merge.

On Wednesday, Conagra agreed to buy Pinnacle Foods for more than $8 billion in cash and stock. According to the options market, this deal can be the first of many in the space.

Over the last few weeks, the options market is seeing some unusual flows around consumer staples names that could suggest more marriages of some of the biggest and best-known brands.