U.S. auto stocks are stuck in reverse.

Shares of General Motors were flat Friday but tumbled Thursday after Barclays downloaded the stock and sector from neutral to negative, citing disappointing sales from China.

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The stock is now down nearly 17 percent in just the past three months, Despite the troubles, one trader is betting that better times are ahead.

On Thursday, when GM shares traded at their lowest level since October and options volume ran more than twice its daily average, one trader bet $1 million that the stock could rally nearly 10 percent through the end of the year. Specifically that trader purchased 8,000 of the January 32-strike calls for $1.25. Since buying a call allows a trader to purchase a stock for a set cost at a given time, this trade makes money if GM shares rise above $33.25, or 9 percent, by January expiration.