Thursday’s Options Alerts…
After two years of back-to-back losses, the
markets are off to a positive start on this first trading day of 2002. Stocks
got a boost from the better-than-expected December Purchasing Managers Index
figures.
This is the second straight month that the index has come in better than
expected. The VIX
(
$VIX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) opened near the highs of its range and closed near
its lows. The intra-day shift in sentiment
suggests that fear is heading back down. A CVR
I buy signal was triggered today. The VXN
(
$VXN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) exhibited almost
the same action as the VIX; it too opened near its highs and closed near its
lows. This intra-day shift in sentiment also
suggests that fear is again declining. The VXN triggered a CVR
I buy signal today.
Points of Significance:
Itron
(
ITRI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) tumbled almost 15% today
on over three times its average trading volume. No specific news was cited. The
stock did break below its .382 retracement level from its September 17 low to its December
5 high.
Movie Gallery
(
MOV |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) broke below the neckline
of a head & shoulders top pattern today on double its average volume. Implied
volatility on Movie Gallery is somewhat high.
S1 Corporation
(
SONE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) came out of a pullback
from highs on heavy volume today. There is somewhat heavy volume in the April
17.50 calls and the July 20 calls. SONE’s implied volatility is also low. Look
at potential long volatility strategies such as straddles, strangles,
backspreads, and outright option purchases.
Fleming
(
FLM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) continued its descent today on
triple its average volume. Its options also traded over three times its average
contract volume. There is heavy activity in the July 20 and July 25 puts.
Gilead Sciences fell over 6.5% and broke down
from a pennant on heavy volume. Gilead’s options traded over five times its
average contract volume. There is heavy activity in the Jan 55, Jan 60, and
February 55 puts.
| Volatility Index |
Close | Net Change |
Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average |
Significance |
| VIX | 23.92 | UP 0.63 | CVR I BUY |
2.44 % Above | Not At Extreme |
| VXN | 48.20 | UP 1.03 |
CVR 1 BUY |
1.55 % 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 |
| Itron | ITRI | -14.85 | 358 | 109 |
| Movie Gallery | MOVI | – 13.38 | 671 | 242 |
| S1 Corporation | SONE | + 11.24 | 1764 | 407 |
| Fleming Cos. | FLM | – 9.24 | 3681 | 954 |
| Global Santa Fe | GSF | – 6.52 | 665 | 290 |
| Gilead Sciences | GILD | – 6.52 | 3772 | 742 |
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 |
| Solutia | SOI | 47.5 | 38.7 | 43.5 | 32 |
| Tyco International | TYC | 35.5 | 30.8 | 53.3 | 28.7 |
| Expedia Inc. | EXPE | 59.6 | 52.9 | 100.2 | 49.7 |
| ArQule | ARQL | 82.5 | 73.6 | 95.2 | 72 |
| Triton PCS Holdings | TPC | 43.7 | 39 | 49.9 | 39.7 |
| St.Jude Medical | STJ | 36 | 32.2 | 43.4 | 29.4 |
Spike Down
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV |
High IV |
Low IV |
| Cali Realty | CLI | 18.4 | 24.7 | 28.2 | 18.8 |
| Niagara Mohawk Power |
NMK | 19.9 | 23.8 | 36.2 | 20.6 |
| Vencor | VC | 38 | 45.1 | 48.5 | 43.7 |
| Sempra Energy |
SRE | 27.7 | 31.7 | 39.8 | 31 |
| ConAgra Inc. | CAG | 29 | 25.9 | 30.8 | 25.1 |
| Goodrich B.F. |
GR | 38.7 | 43 | 65.9 | 28.5 |
Please use stops on every trade!