by OptionsZone Experts | April 28, 2011 1:43 pm
Your intraday options trading[1] update.
Trading moderate post-Bernanke press conference rally. Earnings reports mixed with Aetna (NYSE: AET[2]) making traders happy and rising 1.70 to 41.51, while Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM[3]) drops around $6 to 35.
Top action continues from investors fascinated by shiny metal. “Silver still the talk of the day,” said Roy Briggs with the Stutland Volatility Group in Chicago. The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV[4]) is up 1.56% to 47.74 on volume of nearly 100 million.
Briggs seeing interesting options trading in the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM[5]). A trader sold an EEM June Put Spread, 10,000 contracts on each side. Sold the June 49 Put and bought the June 45 Put for a credit of around $1. “If the EEM stays here (until June expiration), the seller collects the premium,” said Briggs. EEM is at 49.58, down .53.
Foster Wheeler (NASDAQ: FWLT[6]) also on Briggs’ radar as about 1100 FWLT May 37 Calls trade for 50 cents, no one large block. The strike has open interest of 1400 before the trade. “Maybe it’s someone taking a shot,” ahead of Foster Wheeler’s earnings report May 3, said Briggs. FWLT designs and operates oil and gas processing facilities worldwide.
High Options Volume by Strike
Industrial SPDR (NYSE: XLI[7]) leads volume in its Jun11 40 Call with nearly 106,000 contracts. Trades up .13 to .37. The XLI is up .06 to 38.47.
Options trading on the CBOE Volatility Index (CBOE: VIX[8]) hits 78,156 contracts in its Jun11 27.5 Call. Last sale is .65.
The Financial Select SPDR (NYSE: XLF[9]) continues moving up, rising .08 to 16.36. Its Jun11 16 Put trades 72,144 contracts, down .04 to .28
The iShares Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM[10]) has several top volume strikes. The IWM Jun11 82 Put and the IWM Jun11 77 Put each trade about 50,000 contracts.
Major Stock Trading Volume Movers
Vital Images (NASDAQ: VTAL[11]) sees nearly 5 million shares traded this morning, as stock rises 4.46 to 18.64. Toshiba Medical Systems for about $273 million.
The Fresh Market (NASDAQ: TFM[12]) announces it will make a publics offering of 11.9 million shares at $42.50. TFM trades today about 6.5 millions hares, down 1.77 to 41.73.
LoopNet (NASDAQ: LOOP[13]) hits 52-week high of 18.55 on 6.9 million shares. CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP[14]) will buy LOOP for approximately $860 million. LOOP is an online marketplace for commercial real estate.
Find more option analysis and trading ideas at Options Trading Strategies[15].
Stocks/Underlying – Big Daily Change in Option Volume
Equinox (EQIX[16]) trades about 65,000 option contracts as stock jumps 2.54 to 99.14 Data center operator EQIX reported today a 46% rise in revenue.
Teradyne Inc. (NYSE: TER[17]) falls 2.61 to 15.69 and options volume of about 18,000. Tech stocks following Akamai down.
Retailer OfficeMax (OMX[18]) is down 2.33 to 10.16, while options trading rises to 16,177 contracts. OMX earnings of 13 cents a share reported today about half what analysts expected.
Stocks – High Put/Call Ratio
Ecolab (NYSE: ECL[19]) Put/Call Ratio hits 184.44 as stock drops .06 to 52.69. Another triple digit P/C ratio is seen in Gran Tierra Energy (AMEX: GTE) reaching 172.33 as stock drops .12 to 7.42. GTE is an independent gas and oil explorer.
Stocks/Underlying – High Option Volume
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY[20]) trades about 640,000 contracts as SPY rises .13 to 135.80. S&P 500 Index Options (CBOE: SPX[21]) sees 213,000 options traded on the index as it rises 1.51 to 1357.17
The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV[22]) trades 517,000 options, as its rises .46 to 47.46. Brother fund SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD[23]) trades 165,000 options as it rises .14 to 149.34
About 136,798 options on the CBOE Volatility Index (CBOE: VIX[8]) trade as it falls .50 to 14.85.
Burney Simpson is the managing editor of InvestorPlace options pages.
Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2011/04/options-lunch-sees-vix-drops-xli-xlf-rise-iwm-spy/
Copyright ©2024 InvestorPlace unless otherwise noted.