Friday’s Options Alerts
The larger-than-expected weekly
jobless claims number did help spark an early-morning rally, but the markets
later sold off. However, the Dow
(
$INDU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
reclaimed the psychological 10K level, but the broader S&P 500
(
SPX.X |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
and Nasdaq
(
COMPX |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) ended the day weaker. Better-than-expected results from
Hewlett-Packard
(
HWP |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and an upgrade on American Express helped boost the
Dow higher. For more information on today’s action, please refer to
the
market
recap.
The VIX
(
$VIX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) opened and
closed in the bottom half of its range. There was no significant shift in intraday
sentiment. The VIX did not trigger any CVR signals today. The VXN
(
$VXN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) opened
near its highs and closed on its lows of the day. This intraday shift in sentiment also suggests that fear
declining. The VXN did not trigger any CVR signals, but it is close to a CVR II
sell. With both volatility
indices in overbought areas, we could see a bounce soon. Implied volatilities
are still pretty low and puts could be used for protection.
Points of Significance:
Shares of Polycom
(
PLCM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped 12% on over
eight times its average volume. Polycom tried to reassure
investors that there was no new investigation of its finances by securities
regulators. However, the SEC is investigating past accounts of Picture
Tel, which was acquired by Polycom last October. The stock broke down from
a descending triangle and also broke under its 200-day moving average. Despite
the bearish picture, there is very heavy activity in the March 30 calls.
Whole Foods Market
(
WFMI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gained almost
10% on triple its average volume. The company reported a 34% jump in quarterly
earnings and reaffirmed a 15 to 20% growth rate. There is heavy activity in the
September 50 calls.
Cablevision
(
CVC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped almost 8% on triple its average volume.
The company reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss of $1.63 per shares
vs. estimates of $1.12 per shares. The company attributed the results to software glitches which interrupted its marketing efforts. There is activity in
the March 35 puts.
| Volatility Index |
Close | Net Change |
Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average |
Significance |
| VIX | 22.89 | UP 0.47 |
NONE | 8.40 % Below |
Not at Extreme |
| VXN | 42.14 | DOWN 2.03 |
NONE | 8.96 % Below |
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 |
| Polycom | PLCM | – 12.70 | 13929 | 1764 |
| Optimal Robotics |
OPMR | – 11.77 |
896 | 368 |
| Kronos | KRON | – 11.59 | 1328 | 133 |
| Whole Foods Markets |
WFMI | + 9.61 |
1757 | 262 |
| DRS Technologies |
DRS | + 7.95 | 1045 | 213 |
| Cablevision Systems |
CVC | – 7.83 |
35927 | 1059 |
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 |
| Moody’s Corporation |
MCO | 39.2 | 29 | 34.3 | 25.7 |
| Novartis | NVS | 24.6 | 20.6 | 34.4 | 24.2 |
| Nucor Corp. | NUE | 37.1 | 31.3 | 42.5 | 31 |
| Impath | IMPH | 77.9 | 66 | 70.9 | 52.8 |
| Federal Home Loan |
FRE | 28.3 | 24.5 | 37.3 | 21.1 |
| Activision | ATVI | 63.6 | 55.2 | 78.3 | 54 |
Spike Down
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV |
High IV |
Low IV |
| Expedia Inc. | EXPE | 60.8 | 89.7 | 100.2 | 44.7 |
| NCO Group |
NCOG | 50.6 | 64.7 | 74.2 | 49.3 |
| Watson Pharmaceuticals |
WPI | 41.7 | 51.9 | 57.3 | 35.5 |
| Viad | VVI | 22.9 | 28.3 | 44.2 | 23.6 |
| BB&T Corp. |
BBT | 18.9 | 23 | 30.1 | 21.2 |
| Greater Bay Bancorp. |
GBBK | 38.4 | 46.1 | 55.4 | 34.5 |
Please use stops on every trade!