Friday’s Options Alerts…
After two days of major gains, the Dow
(
$INDU |
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PowerRating)
and S&P
(
$SPX |
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PowerRating) headed slightly lower, while the Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
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PowerRating)
managed to move slightly higher. Once again, the strength was concentrated in
biotech and technology stocks as issues in the networking, software, and certain
Internet were up for the day. Despite a morning rally attempt, traders seem to
be hesitant to buy after two straight days of huge gains. In addition,
traders are waiting to get a better picture of the economic situation from tomorrow’s
employment report. The VIX
(
$VIX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) opened near the midpoint of its
range and closed slightly under the open. Once again this intra-day shift in sentiment
is telling us that fear is starting to creep back up. No CVR signals were
triggered today. The VXN
(
$VXN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) opened near the highs of its range and closed
just below the open. This intra-day shift in sentiment is also telling us that fear is
starting to creep back up. No CVR signals were triggered by the VXN.
Points of Significance:
Millenium Pharmaceuticals
(
MLNM |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped 16% on over 10 times its average trading volume today as they announced
plans to buy COR Therapeutics
(
CORR |
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News |
PowerRating) in a $2 billion stock swap deal.
Inrange Technologies
(
INRG |
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News |
PowerRating) tacked on another 15% today. The stock has more
than doubled in the last three trading sessions. InterVoice Brite
(
INTV |
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Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
jumped 12.50% on double its average trading volume. InterVoice’s options traded
over ten times its average contract volume. There is heavy activity in the
December and April 17.50 calls. BJ’s Wholesale Club
(
BJ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) fell eight percent
today as they reported lower same-store sales. BJ attributed the lower sales to
the warmer than average weather that has slowed purchases of goods such as snow
tires and heaters. Its implied volatility is at a new high. Avant! Corporation’s
(
AVNT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) implied volatility is at a new low. Yesterday it was announced that
Silicon Valley Research has taken Avant! to court over various unfair practices.
| Volatility Index |
Close | Net Change |
Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average |
Significance |
| VIX | 25.10 | UP .31 | NONE | 2.14 % Under | Not At Extreme |
| VXN | 48.39 | UP .95 | NONE | 1.53 % 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 |
| COR Therapeutics | CORR | + 42.85 | 2388 | 840 |
| Millenium Pharmaceuticals |
MLNM | – 16.61 | 20750 | 2202 |
| Inrange Technologies | INRG | + 15.88 | 699 | 206 |
| Emcore Corporation | EMKR | + 14.49 | 897 | 234 |
| Overture | OVER | + 14.09 | 1388 | 647 |
| InterVoice Brite | INTV | + 12.50 | 1200 | 160 |
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 |
| Financial Sector SPDRs | XLF | 28.9 | 23.4 | 41 | 20.4 |
| BJ’s Wholesale | BJ | 52.4 | 43.5 | 44.7 | 32.9 |
| THQ Inc. | THQI | 66 | 56 | 74.5 | 56.2 |
| E Trade Group Inc. | ET | 76.2 | 64.7 | 92.7 | 68.1 |
| Constellation Brands | STZ | 43 | 36.8 | 49.9 | 30.2 |
| Engelhard Corp. | EC | 35.2 | 30.2 | 39.2 | 31.6 |
Spike Down
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV |
High IV |
Low IV |
| Telefonos de Mexico | TMX | 18.3 | 31.4 | 40.3 | 25.9 |
| XM Satellite Radio |
XMSR | 95.8 | 123.2 | 156.7 | 95.8 |
| Avant! Corp. | AVNT | 59.1 | 70.3 | 129 | 69.4 |
| UST Inc. | UST | 25.6 | 30.4 | 33.7 | 25.8 |
| Inrange Technologies |
INRG | 98 | 113.4 | 116.9 | 88.4 |
| CNF Transportation |
CNF | 39.1 | 45.2 | 64.9 | 36.9 |
Please use stops on every trade!