Wednesday’s Options Alerts
Despite a early morning rally, stocks finished
the day flat on this Christmas Eve. Oil stocks were strong as OPEC announced
that they will cut output by 1.5 million barrels per day in order to boost
sagging oil prices. Shares of securities companies such as InVision Technolgies
(
INVN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Viisage Technology
(
VISG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) got a boost today after a man was caught
on a commercial airliner trying to light explosives that were hidden in his shoes. The VIX
(
$VIX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) opened
and closed in the bottom of its range, however, it did manage to close above its
open. This intraday shift in sentiment
suggests that fear is creeping back up. Following Friday’s CVR
VI sell signal, we have a CVR
I sell signal for today. The VIX is still in oversold territory, which
means the market is still getting overbought. In addition, the VIX is also
somewhat low, which could suggest that we are near a top. The VXN
(
$VXN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) opened
near its highs and closed near its lows. This intraday shift in sentiment is also telling us that fear is
declining. The VXN did not trigger any CVR signals today.
Points of Significance:
Edison Schools
(
EDSN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), a private operator
of public schools, jumped 7% on heavy volume today. It is believed that Edison
will be chosen to manage several Philadelphia school district schools. Sepracor
[SEPR|SEPR ] gained 5% on heavy volume after the FDA approved its licensed drug
Clarinex, the successor to Claritin. Sepracor is also awaiting FDA approval on
its drug Soltara, which is due out in March. Newport News Shipbuilding
(
NNS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
is approaching the .618 retracement level from its October highs. Newport’s implied volatility
is getting high, which means that its options are becoming expensive. Have a
Merry Christmas.
| Volatility Index |
Close | Net Change |
Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average |
Significance |
| VIX | 23.21 | DOWN 0.08 | CVR I SELL |
6.33 % Below | Not At Extreme |
| VXN | 49.44 | DOWN 1.52 |
NONE | 2.54 % 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 |
| Edison Schools | EDSN | + 7.11 | 701 | 322 |
| CSG Systems Int’l | CSGS | + 6.69 | 2465 | 194 |
| Sepracor | SEPR | + 5.78 | 4199 | 1745 |
| Cooper Cameron | CAM | + 5.52 | 817 | 269 |
| Copart Inc. | CPRT | + 4.37 | 765 | 340 |
| Chico’s FAS | CHS | + 4.20 | 622 | 274 |
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 |
| Expedia Inc. | EXPE | 78.3 | 53.9 | 100.2 | 49.7 |
| Winn Dixie | WIN | 55.5 | 45.4 | 64.5 | 33.2 |
| Dal Tile Int’l | DTL | 32.3 | 26.9 | 32.3 | 27.1 |
| Williamette Industries | WLL | 36.7 | 30.6 | 49 | 19.3 |
| Newport News Shipbuilding | NNS | 29 | 24.2 | 30.7 | 18.4 |
| Bristol Meyers Squibb | BMY | 45.2 | 38.1 | 49.9 | 25.3 |
Spike Down
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV |
High IV |
Low IV |
| Ryanair Holdings | RYAAY | 27.2 | 41.2 | 62.8 | 28.5 |
| Istar Financial |
SFI | 19.3 | 25.8 | 27.8 | 23.4 |
| Old Republic Int’l |
ORI | 26.8 | 31.8 | 36.6 | 31.4 |
| Spanish Broadcasting |
SBSA | 65.6 | 76.7 | 96.3 | 57.3 |
| Charter Medical |
MGL | 76.5 | 87.4 | 93.5 | 50.8 |
| Cullen/Frost Bankers |
CFR | 30.1 | 34.2 | 33.4 | 31.3 |
Please use stops on every trade!