Friday’s Options Alerts
Earnings and accounting jitters rocked the markets today. Disappointing results from General Electric
(
GE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and an S.E.C investigation of
IBM
(
IBM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) knocked the major averages lower, with the Dow
(
$INDU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
giving back all of yesterday’s gain and then some. Broker Dealers, Telecoms, Internet and software issues
took a heavy beating while gold stocks were the only sector to end in the green. For more information on today’s action, please refer to
the market
recap.
The VIX
(
$VIX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
opened near its lows and closed near its lows. This
intraday shift in sentiment suggests that fear is increasing. No CVR signals were triggered by the VIX today. The VXN
(
$VXN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gapped up and opened near
its lows and closed near the highs of the day. This shift in intraday sentiment also shows fear
increasing. No CVR signals were triggered by the VXN today either.Â
Points of Significance:
Mecury Interactive
(
MERQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped
6% on almost double its average volume. Despite reporting first quater earnings
that easily beat expectations, net profits fell slightly compared to the same
period a year ago. The shares are continuing to break down from a head &
shoulders top pattern and are at a three-month low. Its implied volatility is at
a new six-month high. Â
Perkin Elmer
(
PKI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
dropped over 28% on six times its average volume. The stock was smashed today
after the company warned that its first quarter revenue will come in 10% below
expectations. Perkin Elmer also expects to break even for the quarter, analysts
had expected earnings of 15 cents a share. The shares have broken below month
low support and are at an all time low. There is heavy activity in the May 15
and 17.50 puts.
Genentech
(
DNA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped 12% on
over 10 times its average volume. The shares came under pressure today amid
rumors of safety concerns over its experimental cancer drugs. There is heavy
put activity in the May 30 and 35 puts.
| Volatility Index |
Close | Net Change |
Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average |
Significance |
| VIX | 22.33 | UP 2.11 |
NONE | 6.89% Below |
Not at Extreme |
| VXN | 43.67 | UP 1.60 |
NONE | 8.49 % Above |
Not at Extreme |
Abnormal Options Volume With Price Movement
—
Abnormal options volume (calls and puts) with stock price movement
| Name | Symbol | Net % Change |
Volume | Avg. Volume |
| Mercury Interactive |
MERQ | – 6.24 |
8317 | 3806 |
| Perkin Elmer |
PKI | – 28.08 |
2043 | 349 |
| Yahoo! | YHOO | – 16.21 |
21615 | 7328 |
| Genentech | DNA | -12.45 | 18432 | 4441 |
| Gap Inc. |
GPS | – 10.23 |
18458 | 1706 |
| General Electric |
GE | – 9.27 |
95722 | 43541 |
Stocks With Biggest Spikes in Implied
Volatility — Stocks with biggest increases or decreases in implied
volatility compared to previous day
Spike Up
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV |
High IV |
Low IV |
| Mercury Interactive |
MERQ | 136.3 | 78.6 | 89.8 | 62 |
| Perkin Elmer |
PKI | 72.7 | 56.1 | 59.7 | 36.3 |
| General Electric |
GE | 40.1 | 31.4 | 42.8 | 28.7 |
| Business Objects |
BOBJ | 64.1 | 50.6 | 88.2 | 48.2 |
| Chartered Semiconductors |
CHRT | 63.3 | 50.6 | 76.7 | 49.8 |
| Genentech | DNA | 59.8 | 48.2 | 54.8 | 35.7 |
Spike Down
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV |
High IV |
Low IV |
| Istar Financial |
SFI | 21.1 | 25.8 | 31.1 | 19.1 |
| Ameren Corp. |
AEE | 17.8 | 21.5 | 26.7 | 17.2 |
| Lone Star Steakhouse |
STAR | 14.4 | 16.8 | 45.2 | 28.6 |
| Xcel Energy |
XEL | 18.1 | 21.1 | 31.8 | 20 |
| Reckson Associates |
RA | 16.3 | 18.9 | 35.1 | 22.7 |
| Service Master |
SVM | 24.4 | 27.9 | 33.8 | 22.6 |
Please use stops on every trade!