Monday’s Options Alerts…
Stocks backed and fill for most of the day before
staging a rally in the final hour. Investors were cautious about taking the
markets higher after a plethora of economic and corporate news this week. The VIX
(
$VIX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) opened
at the high of the range and spent the day working its way lower to close near its
lows. This intraday shift in sentiment
suggests that fear is decreasing. A CVR V buy signal was triggered today. The VXN
(
$VXN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) opened
in the lower half of its range and closed near the middle of the range. This
intraday shift in sentiment is also telling us that fear is
increasing. The VXN did not trigger any CVR signals.
Points of Significance:
Pharmacyclics
(
PCYC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) plunged almost 57% today as
their top cancer drug, Xcytrin, was not shown to be effective in the treatment
of brain metastases. PCYC has dropped to a record price low today on over
37 times its average trading volume.
Take-Two Interactive
(
TTWO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), the maker
of the popular “Grand Theft Auto” video game series, dropped over 31% today on
speculation of their fourth-quarter results. Their results were to be released
today. However, First Call now expects Take Two to report in mid-January.
Options on Take Two traded over 12 times their average volume. There is heavy
activity in the December 12.50 puts, January 12.50 puts, and January 15
puts.
InVision Technologies
(
INVN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) added another 15% today to close at a
new 52 week high. The company announced that the U.S. Navy has purchased two of
its QR160 explosive detection systems. InVision’s options traded over double
their average volume. There is heavy activity in the December 40 and 45 calls.
Calpine
(
CPN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) continued to lose power today as Moody’s
cut its
credit rating to junk status. Calpine continues to be weak, as investors see them
as another Enron. Calpine’s implied volatility has risen to a new high, making their
options pricey.
| Volatility Index |
Close | Net Change |
Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average |
Significance |
| VIX | 25.97 | DOWN .73 | CVR V BUY | 1.48 % Above | Not At Extreme |
| VXN | 52.79 | UP .64 |
NONE | 5.66 % 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 |
| Pharmacyclics | PCYC | – 56.72 | 3524 | 749 |
| Take-Two Interactive | TTWO | – 31.36 | 12239 | 1019 |
| Macromedia | MACR | – 15.72 | 1170 | 463 |
| XM Satellite Radio | XMSR | + 15.67 | 4418 | 1615 |
| InVision Technologies | INVN | + 15.62 | 9087 | 4298 |
| Mirant | MIR | – 14.44 | 520 | 209 |
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 |
| Take-Two Interactive | TTWO | 123 | 91 | 129 | 62.4 |
| Calpine | CPN | 136.8 | 113.9 | 78.9 | 53.3 |
| Amgen | AMGN | 52 | 43.5 | 54.6 | 33.8 |
| National Data Corp. | NDC | 48.6 | 41 | 54.2 | 35.2 |
| Meristar Hospitality | MHX | 37.2 | 31.9 | 60.5 | 20.8 |
| Trition PCS Holdings | TPC | 42.5 | 37.1 | 49.9 | 47.6 |
Spike Down
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV |
High IV |
Low IV |
| Hershey Foods | HSY | 22.1 | 18.6 | 28.5 | 18.3 |
| Pharmacyclics | PCYC | 151.8 | 179.7 | 132.6 | 71.2 |
| Charter Medical |
MGL | 84.6 | 98.3 | 88.7 | 50.8 |
| Tektronix Inc. |
TEK | 49.3 | 57.2 | 71.7 | 48.6 |
| Financial Sector SPDR |
XLF | 23.2 | 26.2 | 41 | 20.4 |
| Anglogold Limited |
AU | 36.7 | 41.4 | 56.8 | 40.9 |
Please use stops on every trade!