Midday Unusual Options Activity Update: XOP, EK, CREE, AMR, FMCN, WDC, VXX
Implied Volatility Movers And Unusual Volume Movers For Midday 10/3/2011
Unusual Volume Movers
SPDR Oil and Exploration ETF (XOP) options volume is running 6X the (22-day) average, with 102,000 contracts traded and put activity accounting for 76 percent of the volume.
Eastman Kodak (EK) options volume is 3X the average daily, with 98,000 contracts traded and call volume representing 54 percent of the activity.
CREE options volume is running 3X the average daily, with 66,000 contracts traded and call volume representing 95 percent of the total volume.
Increasing options activity is also being seen in AMR, Focus Media (FMCN), and Western Digital (WDC).
Implied Volatility Movers
iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-term Futures (VXX) is up $1.82 to $55.19 on a volatile start to the month of October. Shares, which track short-term market volatility through futures contracts, have now rallied 136 percent since July. Options volume on the VXX through midday includes 27,000 calls and 31,000 puts. The top trade is a 6,250 contract block of January 2013 $15 puts on the fund, which was bought at $1.10 per contract. The strategist is possibly taking a position on the view that extreme levels of market volatility will ease through 2012 and into 2013. VXX recorded a 52-week low of $19.88 on July 7. Therefore, a move to $15, or 72.8 percent below current levels, might not be entirely out of the realm of reality.
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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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