Midday Unusual Options Activity Update: YHOO, WFT, ZNGA, DRYS, GT, DVN, HUM
Implied Volatility Mover
Yahoo (YHOO) is under pressure today on news reports that talks with Alibaba and Softbank about a possible deal have ended. There had been optimism building in recent days that the companies would reach an agreement that would have resulted in cash for Yahoo in exchange for its 40 percent stake in Alibaba. YHOO is down 78 cents to $15.34 on heavy trading of 32 million shares today after deal talks ended. 155,000 options have also traded on the Internet giant, which is 3X the norm, and implied volatility in YHOO options jumped 35 percent to 34.5.
Volume Signals
Weatherford (WFT) options volume is running 3X the (22-day) average, with 78,000 contracts traded and call activity accounting for 86 percent of the volume.
Zynga (ZNGA) options volume is 2.5X the daily average, with 78,000 contracts traded and call volume representing 54 percent of the activity.
Dryships (DRYS) options volume is running 3.5X the average daily, with 44,000 contracts traded and call volume representing 85 percent of the total volume.
Increasing options activity is also being seen in Goodyear Tire (GT), Devon Energy (DVN), and Humana (HUM).
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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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