Friday’s Options Alerts
Though off their highs,
stocks put in another strong performance today. Positive earnings news
from key tech issues such as Nokia
(
NOK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), Siebel
(
SEBL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), and EMC
(
EMC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
as well as Dow component Eastman Kodak
(
EK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) help fueled today’s rally. In
addition, Greenspan’s upbeat testimony also helped contributed to the
rally. For more information
on today’s action, please
refer to the market
recap. The VIX
(
$VIX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) opened near the top third of its range and
closed near the midpoint of its range. This shift in intra-day sentiment suggests that fear is
continuing to decline. No CVR signals were triggered today. The VXN
(
$VXN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
opened near its high and closed in the lower half of the range. This shift in intra-day
sentiment also suggests that fear is declining. The VXN did not trigger any CVR
signals today. Investor fear is continuing to decline as positive earnings and
economic news comes in.
Points of Significance:
Applied Biosystems
(
ABI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped 25% on ten
times its average volume. The company warned that earnings for the current
fiscal year will be in the neighborhood of 80 to 90 cents instead of analyst’s
estimates of 94 cents. There is heavy activity in the February 30 calls and February 35
puts.
Tollgrade Communications
(
TLGD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) fell 16% today on
four times its average volume. The company reported fourth quarter earnings of
15 cents a share, compared to 58 cents for the same quarter a year ago. The
company also missed estimates by a penny. Tollgrade cited a number of reasons
for the downturn in business, but the reduction in capital spending was a big
factor. Chris Alison, Chairman and CEO of Tollgrade, has put in a request to the
board for a 20% pay cut for himself and the eliminated the any potential
bonuses. There is heavy activity in the
February 35 puts and March 35 calls.
Citrix Systems
(
CTXS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped 12% on triple
its average volume. The stock has now taken out their September 2001 lows. The
company reported fourth quarter earnings that beat expectations by a penny.
However the stock came under pressure as their CEO had a cautious outlook for
2002. Look for bear spread opportunities.
OSI systems [OSIS| jumped 11% on heavy
volume as it continues to rally out of a pullback. There is heavy volume in the
February 20 calls.
| Volatility Index |
Close | Net Change |
Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average |
Significance |
| VIX | 22.77 | DOWN 0.89 |
NONE | 5.67 % Above |
Not At Extreme |
| VXN | 47.37 | DOWN 0.78 |
NONE | 2.47 % 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 |
| Applied Biosystems |
ABI | – 25.31 | 4346 | 1167 |
| Tollgrade Communications |
TLGD | – 16.73 |
816 | 118 |
| WebMethods | WEBM | + 13.55 | 7428 | 770 |
| Citrix Systems |
CTXS | – 12.45 |
9245 | 3413 |
| Cooper Industries |
CBE | + 12.16 | 14778 | 4723 |
| OSI Systems |
OSIS | + 11.34 |
812 | 404 |
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 |
| Asyst Technologies |
ASYT | 95.9 | 68.9 | 94.8 | 69.8 |
| Industrial SPDRs |
XLI | 34.3 | 25 | 42.3 | 20.1 |
| J.C. Penny | JCP | 61.9 | 46.1 | 61.9 | 45.5 |
| Niagara Mohawk Power |
NMK | 25.4 | 19.9 | 36.2 | 21.6 |
| Precise Software Solution |
PRSE | 70.7 | 83.5 | 107.5 | 78.5 |
| Soverign Bancorp |
SOV | 30.3 | 26.5 | 40.3 | 31 |
Spike Down
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV |
High IV |
Low IV |
| Willamette Industries | WLL | 6.7 | 14.6 | 59.6 | 19.3 |
| Triton PCS Holdings |
TPC | 47.6 | 61.7 | 62.3 | 39.7 |
| Aspen Technology |
AZPN | 77.9 | 96.3 | 111.6 | 77.8 |
| Bausch & Lomb |
BOL | 36.3 | 44.5 | 51.3 | 33.7 |
| EMC Corp. | EMC | 53 | 64.3 | 87.6 | 60.1 |
| GlaxoSmithKline | GSK | 21.3 | 25.7 | 35.2 | 20.7 |
Please use stops on every trade!