Tuesday’s Options Alerts
The major averages came back from steep losses after IBM
(
IBM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) warned on their
first-quarter earnings. The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and the Nasdaq
(
$COMPX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
managed close in the
green, while the Dow
(
$INDU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) shed the majority of its losses but still ended in the red. Weakness in IBM spilled over to
the computer box makers as they were the weakest sector. Airline issues were
also weak due to tension in the Middle East. Good news from Computer Associates helped end a four day losing streak. For more information on today’s action, please refer to
the market
recap.
The VIX
(
$VIX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
opened near its highs and closed near the lows of the day today. Volatility
screamed higher at the open but the intraday sentiment has fear decreasing.
Today’s action riggered a CVR
I buy
signal. The VXN
(
$VXN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) displayed similar action as it too opened near
its highs and closed near its lows. This shift in intraday sentiment also has
fear decreasing. The VXN also triggered a CVR
I buy
signal.
Points of Significance:
Numerical technologies
(
NMTC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
dropped over 12% on heavy volume today. The shares are breaking down from a head
& shoulders top pattern. The company is scheduled to report its first
quarter earnings after the close on Wednesday April 10. There is heavy
activity in the May 12.50 puts.
International Business Machines
(
IBM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
dropped 10% on over four times its average volume. The stock gapped down after
issuing a warning on its first-quarter earnings. The company revised its outlook
to 66 to 70 cents per shares compare to previous analysts estimates of 85 cents
per shares. Big Blue will report results after the close on April 17. IBM is
breaking down from a head & shoulders on the weekly. There is heavy activity
in the May 85 puts.
Emisphere Technologies
(
EMIS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
dropped 5% on average volume. The shares are continuing to base after a three
month downtrend. There is heavy activity in the May and June 17.50 calls Â
| Volatility Index |
Close | Net Change |
Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average |
Significance |
| VIX | 20.74 | DOWN 0.37 |
CVR I BUY |
1.32% Above |
Not at Extreme |
| VXN | 40.28 | DOWN 0.54 |
CVR I BUY |
3.71 % 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 |
| Polymedica Corp. |
PLCM | + 53.02 |
3062 | 428 |
| Numerical technologies |
NMTC | – 12.16 |
549 | 117 |
| IBM | IBM | – 10.11 |
157478 | 35405 |
| Advent Software |
ADVS | + 5.82 |
1647 | 296 |
| Emisphere Technologies |
EMIS | – 5.61 |
1243 | 298 |
| CV Therapeutics |
CVTX | – 5.56 |
2568 | 893 |
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 |
| PF Chang’s |
PFCB | 47.9 | 38 | 50.2 | 36.4 |
| Sara Lee |
SLE | 23.8 | 19.5 | 27.2 | 19.4 |
| Energy East Corp. |
EAS | 26.5 | 22.3 | 31.2 | 24.1 |
| Emulex | EMLX | 93.4 | 80.4 | 125.2 | 67.9 |
| Puget Sound Energy |
PSD | 26.5 | 23.2 | 28.7 | 22.3 |
| Celestica | CLS | 73.2 | 64.4 | 87.5 | 56.8 |
Spike Down
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV |
High IV |
Low IV |
| Louisiana Pacific |
LPX | 40.4 | 46.7 | 74.2 | 46.1 |
| Getty Images |
GETY | 50.6 | 58 | 88.3 | 57.2 |
| First Energy |
FE | 21.1 | 23.3 | 30 | 22.8 |
| Sigma Aldrich |
SIAL | 29.8 | 32.9 | 34.5 | 28.5 |
| Columbia Gas Systems |
CG | 23.1 | 25.5 | 25.8 | 22.8 |
| Pall | PLL | 27.6 | 30.4 | 32.8 | 24.2 |
Please use stops on every trade!