Friday’s Options Alerts…
Despite weak economic data showing the highest level
of jobless claims since May of 1983, Microsoft helped ignite a broad-based rally
today. Stocks ended sharply higher today after Microsoft
(
MSFT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and the DOJ
announced that they are close to a settlement in their landmark antitrust case.
The VIX
(
$VIX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gapped up and opened near the top of its range and closed
near the lows of today. This intraday shift in sentiment suggest that fear is continuing
to subside as positive news is rolling in. Today’s action in the VIX triggered a
CVR
I buy signal. The VXN
(
$VXN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
exhibited somewhat similar behavior as it opened near the half-way point of
its range, but
closed near its lows. This intraday shift in sentiment also suggests that fear
is subsiding. The VXN did not trigger any CVR signals for today.
Points of Significance:
Having not having traded in the $10 level since
the attacks, WebMethods
(
WEBM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) broke out today on triple its average daily
volume. Options volume was heavy as it traded over six times its average daily
contract volume. Anadigics Inc.
(
ANAD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) broke above its 200-day moving
average today on four times its average daily volume. It also broke an
intermediate-term downtrend line. Options activity was heavy as it traded over
eight times its average contract volume. Cigna
(
CI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) continued its downtrend
on double its average volume today. Implied volatility is at a new high, which
means that you should be looking to sell premium. UAL Corp’s.
(
UAL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) implied
volatility is near a new high. Like most airline stocks, UAL is still
sharply off since the September attacks. EMN
(
EMN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is pulling back from
lows, however it’s facing resistance at its 20-day moving average. EMN‘s implied
volatility is also at a new high. CMS Energy is also pulling back from lows. CMS
is facing resistance at its 50-day moving average.
| Volatility Index |
Close | Net Change |
Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average |
Significance |
| VIX | 34.18 | DOWN 1.10 | CVR I |
1.40 % Above | Not At Extreme |
| VXN | 61.18 | DOWN 1.17 | NONE | 1.84 % Under |
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 |
| WebMethods | WEBM | + 24.05 | 3376 | 513 |
| Network Appliance |
NTAP | + 18.27 |
11824 | 4347 |
| Advanced Micro Devices |
AMD | + 16.87 |
13129 | 5370 |
| Anadigics Inc. |
ANAD | + 12.38 |
2675 | 304 |
| Kulicke & Soffa |
KLIC | + 12.26 | 3624 | 883 |
| Med-Design | MEDC | + 11.42 |
706 | 352 |
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 |
| CIGNA | CI | 52.5 | 42.8 | 40.2 | 28 |
| ServiceMaster | SVM | 40.2 | 33.3 | 42.4 | 21.5 |
| Progress Energy | PGN | 25.3 | 21.8 | 29.1 | 17.9 |
| Solutia | SOI | 45.6 | 39.5 | 42.1 | 32 |
| Eastman Chemical | EMN | 43.3 | 38 | 35.1 | 29.7 |
| CMS Energy | CMS | 42.6 | 37.6 | 47.7 | 27.6 |
Spike Down
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV |
High IV |
Low IV |
| Biomet | BMET | 38.4 | 45.3 | 65.2 | 32.6 |
| UAL Corp. | UAL | 79.2 | 93.1 | 80 | 33.7 |
| Pediatirx Medical Group |
PDX | 72.8 | 84.5 | 95.4 | 37.1 |
| Panamsat | SPOT | 54.3 | 62.9 | 67.1 | 43.6 |
| Cresent Real Estate |
CEI | 26.6 | 30.4 | 29.5 | 17 |
| First American Financial |
FAF | 43.9 | 49.8 | 62 | 43.3 |
Please use stops on every trade!