Wednesday’s Options Alerts…
Stocks ended mixed as the Dow
(
$INDU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
and S&P 500
(
$SPX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) headed lower, while the Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
headed slightly higher. Semiconductor and software stocks were strong today
after Altera
(
ALTR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and BMC Software
(
BMC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) delivered optimistic
forecasts. For more information
on today’s action, please
refer to the market
recap. The VIX
(
$VIX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) opened near the highs of the day and closed
near the midpoint of its range. The intra-day shift in sentiment
suggests that fear is continuing to head back down. Today’s action
triggered a CVR
VI sell signal. The VIX did make another four-month low intraday, but did
close above the low. It appears to be working off its oversold condition. The VXN
(
$VXN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
opened at its highs and closed near the lows of the range. This intra-day shift in sentiment also
suggest that fear is declining as investors are optimistic about a recovery
in the tech sector. The VXN did not trigger any CVR
signals today.
Points of Significance:
Shares of alternative energy makers Plug Power
(
PLUG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
Ballard Power
(
BLDP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), and Fuel Cell
(
FCEL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) all powered sharply higher
today. All three companies make and sell proton exchange membrane fuel cells,
which converts hydrogen into energy with little or no waste products. Plug,
Ballard, and Fuel Cell were all sharply higher today in anticipation of U.S.
Energy Secretary Spencer speech on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Freedom CAR
program tomorrow.
Gateway
(
GTW |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) dropped 25% on over six times its average volume. Late Monday, the company warned that it expected fourth quarter
sales to be below expectations. Its options traded
over five times their average volume. There is heavy volume in the January 7.50 and June
10 calls.
Implied volatilities for Ubiquitel Inc.
(
UPCS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
and Endo Pharmaceuticals
(
ENDP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) are at a new high. Look for short volatility strategies
such as ratio spreads, straddles, and strangles.
| Volatility Index |
Close | Net Change |
Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average |
Significance |
| VIX | 22.55 | UP 0.46 | CVR VI Sell |
0.002 % Below | Not At Extreme |
| VXN | 47.45 | DOWN 0.44 |
NONE | 0.003 % 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 |
| Plug Power | PLUG | + 39.03 | 2841 | 167 |
| Gateway | GTW | – 24.97 | 9705 | 1768 |
| Fuel Cell Energy | FCEL | + 21.93 | 2670 | 315 |
| Ballard Power Systems | BLDP | + 14.96 | 1997 | 418 |
| Digital River | DRIV | + 13.68 | 1006 | 257 |
| Cholestech Corporation | CTEC | + 12.17 | 686 | 257 |
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 |
| Ubiquitel Inc. | UPCS | 81 | 64.7 | 69.5 | 61 |
| Endo Pharmaceuticals | ENDP | 77.9 | 64.4 | 70 | 63 |
| Dal Tile Int’l | DTL | 35.1 | 30 | 32.3 | 27.1 |
| Niagara Mohawk | NMK | 27.8 | 24.3 | 36.2 | 21.6 |
| Fuel Cell Energy | FCEL | 80.3 | 71 | 101.2 | 73 |
| Pharmacyclics | PCYC | 88.8 | 78.7 | 155.4 | 72.5 |
Spike Down
| Name | Symbol | IV | Previous IV |
High IV |
Low IV |
| Industrial Sector SPDRs | XLI | 23.3 | 28.4 | 42.3 | 20.1 |
| McDermott Int’l |
MDR | 60.8 | 72.5 | 106.2 | 66.6 |
| ConAgra Inc. | CAG | 21.4 | 25.4 | 30.8 | 25.1 |
| GATX Corp. | GMT | 37.9 | 44.4 | 62.9 | 25.5 |
| Bard Inc. | BCR | 45.2 | 52.4 | 53.2 | 28 |
| PSS World Medical |
PSSI | 52.4 | 59.9 | 100.1 | 37 |
Please use stops on every trade!