Midday Unusual Options Activity Update - .VIX, MS, GILD, SONS, GFI, SVU, SVM
Implied volatility movers and unusual volume movers for midday 7/18/2011
Implied Volatility Movers
CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX) is up and options on the VIX are actively traded today. VIX has added 2.13 to 21.66 and moving to its best levels since late-June. The volatility index has rallied 35.8 percent over the past 8 trading sessions on concerns about the European Debt Crisis, the upcoming deadline to raise the debt ceiling, and uncertainty about earnings heading into the reporting season. 199,000 calls and 56,000 puts have traded in the VIX pits through midday. Tomorrow is likely to see busy trading as well. Tuesday is the last day to trade VIX July options before the contracts expire Wednesday.
Unusual Volume Movers
Morgan Stanley (MS) options volume is running 2X the (22-day) average, with 52,000 contracts traded and call activity accounting for 64 percent of the volume.
Gilead Sciences (GILD) options volume is 3X the average daily, with 28,000 contracts traded and call volume representing 94 percent of the activity.
Sonus Networks (SONS) options volume is running 10X the average daily, with 18,000 contracts traded and call volume representing 99 percent of the total volume.
Increasing options activity is also being seen in Gold Fields (GFI), SuperValue (SVU) and SilverCorp. Metals (SVM).
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