Genomics Report Helping Market
Johnson
& Johnson
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PowerRating) is one big reason the DJIA is up over 100
points (as of 11:30 am CST). The February 90 calls have been active, but not
crazy. The action in Amgen
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PowerRating)
options has likewise been busy, due in large part to the bullish story in
Barron’s over the weekend about Celera Genomics
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PowerRating).
The AMGN FEB 65 calls and MAR 75 calls seem to be
drawing the most interest. With AMGN trading at 74 1/2, the March action has been
interesting because the bulk of those contracts have been sold in two large
orders. About 35 minutes after the opening, someone sold 917 March 75 calls, and
an hour later, another 125 calls hit the AMEX market maker’s bids.
To us this institutional selling indicates the large
players thinking that Biotech’s run might be topping out, at least for the near
term. The fact that they are only selling one-month out calls tells us that they
aren’t saying the run is over, but rather that the sector might trade in a
range for the short-term. I guess this is a classic case of buy the rumor, sell the
news.
Qualcomm
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PowerRating) options are also seeing
some pretty interesting volumes. Early on there were some sellers of the Feb 90
calls, but we’re seeing more calls being bought on the offer now, indicating
both short-covering and speculation that a rally could carry QCOM to that strike
later in the week.