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Vivus calls active on low volatility on renewed takeover chatter
Vivus calls active on low volatility on renewed takeover chatter
Vivus is recently up 30c to $9.19 on renewed takeover chatter. January and March option implied volatility of 84 is below its 26-week average of 103. VVUS call option volume of 3,942 contracts compares to put volume of 665 contracts according to Track Data, suggesting traders taking positions for price movement.
MannKind (MNKD) March put volatility at 151, May at 159
MannKind (MNKD) closed at $10.07. The U.S. FDA decision on the Mannkind diabetes device Afrezza was extended from its original January 16 release date. March call volatility is at 125, puts are at 151, May calls are at 121, puts at 159; August calls are at 95 puts are at 136 according to Track Data, suggesting large price movement. Paul Foster
Global Payments volatility flat into EPS and outlook
Global Payments volatility flat into EPS and outlook
Global Payments closed at $52.75 GPN, a provider of electronic transaction processing services, is scheduled to report Q2 EPS on January 7. Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of GPN with a Hold rating and $46 price target. January call volatility is at 29, puts at 34, May calls are at 25, puts at 30; verses is 26-week average of 31 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional near term price movement.
CBOE Volatility Index-VIX down 15c to 19.00.
Option volume leaders today according to Track Data are: BAC GE F BAC.
Sirius XM Radio volatility decreases as shares trend higher
Sirius XM Radio is recently up 3c to 91c in pre-open trading. SIRI over all option implied volatility of 80 is below its 26-week average of 119 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.
CBOE Volatility Index-VIX down 6c to 19.44
Aetna volatility low on renewed takeover chatter
Aetna is recently up 61c to $31.64 on renewed takeover chatter. Call option volume of 2,685 contracts compares to put volume of 859 contracts. March and April put option implied volatility is at 35,July is at 36 below its 26-week average of 40 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.
Medivation January volatility at 55, June at 134 into data
Medivation January volatility at 55, June at 134 into data
Medivation is recently up 21c to $33.51. Data from the CONNECTION study (Alzheimer treatment data) is expected to be available in Q1 or Q2 of 2010. Call option volume of 395 contracts compares to put volume of 2,513 contracts. MDVN January option implied volatility is at 55, March is at 100, June is at 134; verses its 26-week average of 68, according to Track Data, suggesting larger 2010 price movement.
Stillwater Mining volatility low; shares near 15-month high on higher precious metal prices
Stillwater Mining, a processor and refiner of palladium and platinum, is recently up 49c to $10.01. Call option volume of 715 contracts compares to put volume of 42 contracts. SWC December and January call option implied volatility is at 66, puts at 72; verses its 26-week average of 76 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.
Four Horseman of Tech option implied volatility
February option implied volatility; Apple-AAPL 32, Research in Motion-RIMM 34, Google-GOOG 23 and Amazon-AMZN 37 according to Track Data.
Oracle options active on flat January volatility into EPS
Oracle options active on flat January volatility into EPS
Oracle (ORCL) is recently down 12c to $23. Oracle is expected to report Q2 EPS after the market close today. Oracle is waiting for regulatory approval of its $7.4B purchase of Sun Microsystems (JAVA). Call option volume of 35,635 contracts compares to put volume of 22,288 contracts. ORCL December 23 straddle is priced at 95c, January 23 is at $1.70. January option implied volatility is at 32, March is at 31; verses its 26-week average of 32, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement after EPS.
Time Warner (TWX) volatility at 33 into spin-off of AOL
Time Warner (TWX) spin-off distribution date for AOL (AOL.WI) will be December 9. Time Warner stockholders of record as of 5 PM on November 27, will receive one share of AOL common stock for every eleven shares of Time Warner common stock they hold. Time Warner December option implied volatility is at 33; January is at 32; verses its six-month average of 36, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement. Paul Foster
TiVo March put volatility elevated at 118 into events
TiVo (TIVO) is recently down 7c to $9.66. Microsoft (MSFT) filed a suit against TIVO on January 20 claiming TIVO illegally uses technology related to purchasing and delivering video. TIVO is expected to report Q4 EPS on March 2. Call option volume of 14,764 contracts compares to put volume of 1,427 contracts. March put option implied volatility is at 118, May is at is at 101, August is at 89; verses its six-month average of 84 according to Track Data, suggesting larger near term price movement.
Microsoft (MSFT) Feb volatility at 34, March at 30 into EPS
Microsoft (MSFT) is expected to report Q2 EPS after the market close today. February put option implied volatility is at 34, March is at 30; verses its six-month average of 29, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement after EPS. Paul Foster
Three stocks with IV rise on December 16; Medco-MHS +9%, Express Scripts-ESRX +8%, Amedisys-AMED +8% according to IVolatility.
US Steel volatility near 26-month lows
US Steel is recently up $2.28 to $57.38. X is expected to report Q4 EPS in late January. January option implied volatility is at 48; February is at 47; below its 26-week average of 54, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.
WABCO Holdings puts active on low volatility
WABCO Holdings, a supplier of safety and control systems, is recently up 38c to $23.78. December 20 puts have traded 14 times on transaction volume of 1,105 contracts verses its open interest of 3,266 contracts. December option implied volatility is at 48, January is at 43; verses its 26-week average of 55 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.
Medivation (MDVN) March volatility elevated at 86 into data
Medivation (MDVN) closed at $30.49. Data from the CONNECTION study (Alzheimer treatment data) is expected to be available in Q1 or Q2 of 2010. MDVN December option implied volatility is at 40, January is at 45, March is at 86; verses its six-month average of 62, according to Track Data, suggesting larger 2010 price movement. Paul Foster
Dean Foods (DF) option active on EPS miss and lower guidance
Dean Foods (DF) is recently down $2.69 to $14.94 after report less than expected EPS and lowering guidance. Stephens reduced its rating on DF to Equalweight from Overweight. Call option volume of 7,080 contracts compares to put volume of 5,059 contracts. March option implied volatility is at 37, June is at 36; its six-month average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement. Paul Foster
Thermo Fisher (TMO) puts active; shares down 5% on report of interest in Millipore
Thermo Fisher (TMO) is recently down $3.27 to $45.97. TMO said to offer $6B for Millipore (MIL), Bloomberg reports. TMO call option volume of 1,716 contracts compares to put volume of 4,562 contracts. March put option implied volatility is at 31, April is at 30; verses its six-month average of 28 according to Track Data. Paul Foster
Enterprise Products put volume and volatility elevated after EPS
Enterprise Products is recently down 57c to $30.47. Morgan Keegan say's "Q4 results top our street-high estimates, maintain Outperform rating." EPD February 30 puts have traded 1,547 contracts, verses its open interest of 1,956 contracts. February and March put option implied volatility of 31 is above its 26-week average of 24 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.
Option volume leaders today according to Track Data are: BAC BMY INTC C.
Honeywell volatility flat into Investor Conference
Honeywell closed at $39.85. HON is hosting its Annual Investor Conference on February 22. March put option implied volatility is at 27, June is at 28, September is at 30; near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.
Vectren March 25 calls active on 855 contracts
Vectren is recently up 24c to $23.99 on vague takeover chatter. VVC March option implied volatility is at 29, April is at 28, June is at 24, September is at 22, verses its 26-week average of 23. March 25 calls have traded 855 contracts, above its open interest of 144 contracts according to Track Data, suggesting traders positioning for upside price movement.
Bare Escentuals options active into Shiseido $1.7B acquisition
Bare Escentuals will be acquired by Shiseido for $18.20 a share. Shiseido is Japan's largest cosmetic company. BARE February option implied volatility of 64 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data. Options were active on January 14th with volume of 3,638 contracts trading, above its average daily volume of 1,280 contracts according to IVolatility, suggesting traders were adjusting positions.
