Midday Unusual Options Activity Update - .VIX, SLE, BMY, FITB, UNP, BBBY, RHT
Implied Volatility Movers
CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX) hit a morning high of 21.50, but has since given up half the gains and is up 1.52 points to 20.04. The volatility index is up, but there are no signs of panic in the "fear gauge". The volatility index, which tracks the expected volatility priced into S&P 500 Index options, is rallying, but still well off the highs seen in March when it jumped to 31.28. Indeed, trading in the index pits is orderly. 136,000 calls and 358,000 puts on the S&P 500 so far today.
Unusual Volume
Sara Lee (SLE) options volume is running 100X the (22-day) average, with 150,000 contracts traded and call activity accounting for nearly all of the volume.
Bristol Myers (BMY) options volume is 3.5X the average daily, with 81,000 contracts traded and call volume representing 54 percent of the activity.
Fifth Third (FITB) options volume is running 18X the average daily, with 70,000 contracts traded and call volume representing 50 percent of the total volume.
Increasing options activity is also being seen in Union Pacific (UNP), Bed, Bath and Beyond (BBBY), and Red Hat (RHT).
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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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