Midday Unusual Options Activity Update - .VIX, PHM, DNDN, NTAP, CRM, EWJ, SFD
Implied Volatility Movers
The CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX) is plummeting. The market's "fear gauge" is down 2.72 to 19.04 and near session lows, as the S&P 500 rallies 21 points on optimism for a bailout of Irish banks along with stronger-than-expected weekly jobs and manufacturing data Thursday. VIX has now given back all of the gains recorded during Tuesday's turbulent trading session and is off 1.57 points on the week. Meanwhile, trading is active is active in VIX options, with 114,000 calls and 81,000 puts traded in the index so far, according to data from Trade Alert.
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Unusual Volume
Pulte Homes (PHM) options volume is running 4.5X the usual, with 44,000 contracts traded and put volume accounting for 84 percent of the activity, according to data from website WhatsTrading.com.
Dendreon (DNDN) options activity is running 2.5X the usual, with 41,000 contracts traded and call volume representing 63 percent of the volume.
NetApp (NTAP) options volume is 2.5X the typical levels, with 36,000 contracts traded and call volume accounting for 62 percent of the activity.
Increasing volume is also being seen in Salesforce.com (CRM), iShares Japan Fund (EWJ), and Smithfield Foods (SFD).
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About Joseph Cusick
Joseph Cusick currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Education and a Senior Market Analyst for optionsXpress. Mr. Cusick seeks out common sense and technologically scalable educational pathways for self-directed investors of all experience levels. He is largely responsible for ramping up delivery of online and offline seminars to customers and potential clients worldwide. Prior to serving in his current role, Mr. Cusick immersed himself in the broker side of optionsXpress by managing his own book of business. Prior to joining optionsXpress, Mr. Cusick served as a market maker and portfolio manager at the Chicago Board of Options Exchange. Joseph is a graduate of Marquette University and holds his Series 4, 7 and 63 registrations with FINRA.
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