Thursday’s Options Alerts
After two hard weeks of heavy selling, the markets finally bounced — and bounce
they did! Early morning weakness soon evaporated as the string of
positive earnings announcements overcame news of the arrests of former Adelphia
executives. The Dow
(
$INDU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was the star of the show as it reversed its early
morning 170 point loss into a gain or 489 points or 6.34%! This was the Dow’s
biggest gain since October of 1987.Â
The S&P
(
$SPX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gained 45 points
or 5.72%, and the Nasdaq
(
$COMPX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gained 60 points or almost 5%. Volume
was very heavy, on the NYSE, we had volume of 2.7 billion while on the Nasdaq,
2.4 billion. However breadth was not very impressive despite the tremendous
gains in the indices. The rubber band was stretched too far and we did get a
broad-based high-volume rally, but whether this is just massive short covering
or the start of something new, we’ll just have to wait and see.
The VIX
(
$VIX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) had a very
volatile day today, as it gapped higher at the open, ran to near its Sept. 21 highs, and closed near the lows of the day. This shift
in intraday sentiment again shows a big decrease in fear. Today’s action
triggered CVR
1, 2, and 6 buy signals. After an extended stay above its moving average, it looks
like the VIX is starting to revert to its mean. The VXN
(
$VXN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gapped higher, opened near its
highs,
and closed near the lows of the day. The VXN didn’t triggered a CVR
I buy signal today.
Points of Significance:
Molex
(
MOLX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gained 18% on more than triple its average volume. The
company reported fourth quarter results that beat estimates by a penny and sees
fiscal 2003 results of 70 to 80 cents a share, which was inline with estimates
of 74 cents a share. MOLXÂ broke below its lower channel line
yesterday, and hopped back into its downward channel today. There is a great deal of
resistance ahead at the $30.40 area as it faces its 20-day moving average, its
38.2 retracement, and its downward trendline.
Coach
(
COH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) jumped over 15% on more than double its average volume. The
stock formed a huge reversal bar today, but there is significant resistance
ahead at $22.12 level.
| Volatility Index |
Close | Net Change |
Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average |
Significance |
| VIX | 45.29 |
DOWN 5.31 |
CVR 1, 2, 6 Buys |
6.41% Above |
Not At Extreme |
| VXN | 65.59 |
UP 0.39 |
CVR 1 Buy |
0.58 % 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 |
| Molex |
MOLX |
+ 18.03 |
1079 |
264 |
| Coach Inc. |
COH |
+ 15.88 |
4609 |
1511 |
| Caremax |
CMX |
+ 15.56 |
1521 |
732 |
| Hotels.com |
ROOM |
+ 13.37 |
1844 |
554 |
| Sealed Air Corp. |
SEE |
+ 12.73 |
1081 |
236 |
| MGM Mirage |
MGG |
+ 9.11 |
1116 |
232 |
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 |
| Flowserve Corp. |
FLS |
76.9 |
50.8 |
50.5 |
31.5 |
| Energy Sector SPDRs |
XLE |
36.4 |
24.8 |
28.8 |
16.8 |
| Duke Realty |
DRE |
31.9 |
23.5 |
25.7 |
17.7 |
| Allmerica Financial |
AFC |
73.9 |
57.8 |
47.5 |
22.6 |
| Greater Bay Bancorp |
GBBK |
62.8 |
51.9 |
45.4 |
31.3 |
| Reckson Associates |
RA |
30.3 |
25.1 |
31.9 |
16.4 |
Spike Down
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV |
High IV |
Low IV |
| PEC Solutions |
PECS |
78.5 |
105.8 |
58.1 |
65 |
| Compass Banshares |
CBSS |
26.6 |
35.6 |
30.9 |
17.9 |
| Linens N Things |
LIN |
39 |
50.6 |
44.4 |
33.9 |
| Cymer Inc. |
CYMI |
82.5 |
105.7 |
115.3 |
51.8 |
| 3 M |
MMM |
40.3 |
48.6 |
42.6 |
22.2 |
| NPS Pharmaceuticals |
NPSP |
92.1 |
110.3 |
140.9 |
51.7 |
Please use stops on every trade!