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For U.S. stock market report double-click 1736 ET 17June2009 RIM option premium buyers suggest post earnings move
A number of option players in Research In Motion appear to be betting on a big earnings-related move in the BlackBerry maker after it reports quarterly earnings late on Thursday. 'There is a tremendous amount of premium buyers both on the call and put side, suggesting that RIM will move substantially up or down on the day after earnings are released,' said William Lefkowitz, option strategist at vFinance Investments. Most notable have been the soon-to-expire June options which go off the board on Friday. On the put side, the strikes from $75 to $60 are active. Near-term RIM calls were busy from the $80 strike up the $100 strike, he said. RIM shares fell 3.84 percent to $77.21 on the Nasdaq. OptionMonster co-founder Jon Najarian said in comments on his Web site that RIM share price action was noteworthy as the interest in the June $75 puts are threatening to overtake the $80 calls.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1658 ET 17June2009 Allstate options warm up to likely gains
Shares of Allstate Corp, the largest U.S. publicly traded car and home insurer, fell 1.65 percent to $23.26. But its option activity suggests a move back up to the upside in the next few weeks. That includes large volume in the July $29 calls and apparent buyers in the July $25, $26 and $27.50 calls as well as the October $25 and $29s, said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy. Interactive Brokers Group market analyst Andrew Wilkinson said early afternoon action came in the form of hefty call activity centered on the July $29 call strike. With shares around $23.60 at midday, 'we're seeing around 16,000 calls at play for a 20 cent premium,' he said. This strike is already heavily favored by investors and has an open interest reading in excess of 29,000 contracts, he said in a note. Given the fact that the volume is trading in sizable round-lot chunks at mid-market prices, 'we sense that this is the closing half of a bull play with the option trader possibly taking down some losses,' he said.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1542 ET 17June2009 Nordstrom gets large bearish put spread
Upscale department store chain Nordstrom Inc was accessorized with a large put spread this morning when shares were on the decline, said Andrew Wilkinson, market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in a note. Norstrom shares have since recovered and were up 9 cents to $19.08 near the close. Its option volume increased following an investor's bearish play in the October contract. Wilkinson said the transaction involved the purchase of 20,000 October $19 strike price for $3.40 apiece spread against the sale of 20,000 puts at the lower October $14 strike for a premium of $1.20 each. The net cost of the spread was $2.20 and yields maximum potential profits to the investor of $2.80 if shares sink down to $14 by expiration, he added. Shares must fall about 13 percent from a reference share price of $19.30 before the trader breaks even at $16.80.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1520 ET 17June2009 Wells Fargo puts become popular, draws put spread
Wells Fargo & Co option volume was three times the norm with about 186,000 puts and 143,000 calls traded, three times the norm, according to Trade Alert. Put volume was up this morning after a significant spread populated the July contract. 'The WFC July put activity has been extreme this morning as buyers of the WFC July $24-$19 put spread make up the bulk of the extreme paper lighting up the Depth Charge (computer model),' said Pete Najarian, a co-founder of optionMonster.com in comments on the web site. The spread was purchased for $1.85 on 50,000 contracts, potentially positioning for any further downside pressure as the stock broke the 200-day moving average, approaches the 50-day and has a large gap below to the 100-day average, he said. Its shares fell 4.14 percent to $23.39.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1417 ET 17June2009
Eddie Bauer files for Ch 11, Rainier to buy
Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc on Wednesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the second bankruptcy for the company.
According to a court filing, the outdoor apparel retailer is planning to sell nearly all its assets to Rainier Holdings LLC. Its board has also received a limited guarantee from two affiliates of CCMP Capital Advisors LLC on some of the buyer's payment obligations.
The company blamed its debt load, citing concern it might not be able to comply with conditions attached to its $225 million senior term loan facility.
For details, see
Shares plummeted 29 percent to 16 cents.
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1351 ET 17June2009
S&P adds Badger Meter to S&P SmallCap 600
Badger Meter Inc shares jumped on Wednesday after Standard & Poor's said that the flow-measurement product maker will replace WMS Industries Inc in the S&P SmallCap 600 index after the close of trading on June 23.
Slot machine maker WMS Industries will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 index, replacing Colonial BancGroup Inc on the same date.
S&P also announced commercial property and casualty insurer Employers Holdings Inc will replace telecom test systems supplier Catapult Communications Corp, which is being by Ixia, after the close on June 23.
Badger Meter shares jumped 11.7 percent to $43.98, WMS Industries gained 6.5 percent to $30.37 and Employers Holdings climbed 8 percent to $13.34. Colonial BancGroup shares slid 5.9 percent to 96 cents and Catapult Communications was unchanged at $9.22.
Reuters Messaging:rm://Charles.mikolajczak.reuters.com@reuters.net
1311 ET 17June2009
Abercrombie to close Ruehl by end of fiscal year
Abercrombie & Fitch Co on Wednesday said it would close its Ruehl unit, citing unsustainable losses. The chain posted a drop of 34 percent in its first-quarter same-store sales.
Because of the closure, Abercrombie expects to take additional charges of $65 million, which it will recognize largely throughout the rest of the fiscal year.
For details, see
Abercrombie's shares rose 3.4 percent to $26.67.
Reuters Messaging: rachel.chang.reuters.com@reuters.net
1259 ET 17June2009 Protective puts look attractive in some coal names, Susquehanna
Although most names throughout the coal sector have performed well during the three-month market rally, recent trading activity in the Market Vectors Coal ETF, the coal heavy SPDR Metals & Mining ETF and in coal producer Consol Energy seems to suggest investors may be positioning for protection, said Susquehanna Financial Group in a note. With the cloudy picture surrounding coal supply and demand as well as prices, several names of the KOL ETF are possible put protection candidates, it said. In light of strong gains across the sector, volatility has dropped while skew levels are generally mixed. Given the low volatility levels, Susquehanna said investors may find puts in Foundation Coal and Walter Energy attractive due to their sector outperformance year-to-date. In other outperformers with relatively high skew levels, long put spreads could be a less costly means of protection. Candidates for put spreads could include Massey Energy and Peabody Energy, SIG said..
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Real-time Equity news
For U.S. stock market report double-click 1736 ET 17June2009 RIM option premium buyers suggest post earnings move
A number of option players in Research In Motion appear to be betting on a big earnings-related move in the BlackBerry maker after it reports quarterly earnings late on Thursday. 'There is a tremendous amount of premium buyers both on the call and put side, suggesting that RIM will move substantially up or down on the day after earnings are released,' said William Lefkowitz, option strategist at vFinance Investments. Most notable have been the soon-to-expire June options which go off the board on Friday. On the put side, the strikes from $75 to $60 are active. Near-term RIM calls were busy from the $80 strike up the $100 strike, he said. RIM shares fell 3.84 percent to $77.21 on the Nasdaq. OptionMonster co-founder Jon Najarian said in comments on his Web site that RIM share price action was noteworthy as the interest in the June $75 puts are threatening to overtake the $80 calls.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1658 ET 17June2009 Allstate options warm up to likely gains
Shares of Allstate Corp, the largest U.S. publicly traded car and home insurer, fell 1.65 percent to $23.26. But its option activity suggests a move back up to the upside in the next few weeks. That includes large volume in the July $29 calls and apparent buyers in the July $25, $26 and $27.50 calls as well as the October $25 and $29s, said WhatsTrading.com option strategist Frederic Ruffy. Interactive Brokers Group market analyst Andrew Wilkinson said early afternoon action came in the form of hefty call activity centered on the July $29 call strike. With shares around $23.60 at midday, 'we're seeing around 16,000 calls at play for a 20 cent premium,' he said. This strike is already heavily favored by investors and has an open interest reading in excess of 29,000 contracts, he said in a note. Given the fact that the volume is trading in sizable round-lot chunks at mid-market prices, 'we sense that this is the closing half of a bull play with the option trader possibly taking down some losses,' he said.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1542 ET 17June2009 Nordstrom gets large bearish put spread
Upscale department store chain Nordstrom Inc was accessorized with a large put spread this morning when shares were on the decline, said Andrew Wilkinson, market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in a note. Norstrom shares have since recovered and were up 9 cents to $19.08 near the close. Its option volume increased following an investor's bearish play in the October contract. Wilkinson said the transaction involved the purchase of 20,000 October $19 strike price for $3.40 apiece spread against the sale of 20,000 puts at the lower October $14 strike for a premium of $1.20 each. The net cost of the spread was $2.20 and yields maximum potential profits to the investor of $2.80 if shares sink down to $14 by expiration, he added. Shares must fall about 13 percent from a reference share price of $19.30 before the trader breaks even at $16.80.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1520 ET 17June2009 Wells Fargo puts become popular, draws put spread
Wells Fargo & Co option volume was three times the norm with about 186,000 puts and 143,000 calls traded, three times the norm, according to Trade Alert. Put volume was up this morning after a significant spread populated the July contract. 'The WFC July put activity has been extreme this morning as buyers of the WFC July $24-$19 put spread make up the bulk of the extreme paper lighting up the Depth Charge (computer model),' said Pete Najarian, a co-founder of optionMonster.com in comments on the web site. The spread was purchased for $1.85 on 50,000 contracts, potentially positioning for any further downside pressure as the stock broke the 200-day moving average, approaches the 50-day and has a large gap below to the 100-day average, he said. Its shares fell 4.14 percent to $23.39.
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
1417 ET 17June2009
Eddie Bauer files for Ch 11, Rainier to buy
Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc on Wednesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the second bankruptcy for the company.
According to a court filing, the outdoor apparel retailer is planning to sell nearly all its assets to Rainier Holdings LLC. Its board has also received a limited guarantee from two affiliates of CCMP Capital Advisors LLC on some of the buyer's payment obligations.
The company blamed its debt load, citing concern it might not be able to comply with conditions attached to its $225 million senior term loan facility.
For details, see
Shares plummeted 29 percent to 16 cents.
Reuters Messaging: ryan.vlastelica.reuters.com@reuters.net
1351 ET 17June2009
S&P adds Badger Meter to S&P SmallCap 600
Badger Meter Inc shares jumped on Wednesday after Standard & Poor's said that the flow-measurement product maker will replace WMS Industries Inc in the S&P SmallCap 600 index after the close of trading on June 23.
Slot machine maker WMS Industries will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 index, replacing Colonial BancGroup Inc on the same date.
S&P also announced commercial property and casualty insurer Employers Holdings Inc will replace telecom test systems supplier Catapult Communications Corp, which is being by Ixia, after the close on June 23.
Badger Meter shares jumped 11.7 percent to $43.98, WMS Industries gained 6.5 percent to $30.37 and Employers Holdings climbed 8 percent to $13.34. Colonial BancGroup shares slid 5.9 percent to 96 cents and Catapult Communications was unchanged at $9.22.
Reuters Messaging:rm://Charles.mikolajczak.reuters.com@reuters.net
1311 ET 17June2009
Abercrombie to close Ruehl by end of fiscal year
Abercrombie & Fitch Co on Wednesday said it would close its Ruehl unit, citing unsustainable losses. The chain posted a drop of 34 percent in its first-quarter same-store sales.
Because of the closure, Abercrombie expects to take additional charges of $65 million, which it will recognize largely throughout the rest of the fiscal year.
For details, see
Abercrombie's shares rose 3.4 percent to $26.67.
Reuters Messaging: rachel.chang.reuters.com@reuters.net
1259 ET 17June2009 Protective puts look attractive in some coal names, Susquehanna
Although most names throughout the coal sector have performed well during the three-month market rally, recent trading activity in the Market Vectors Coal ETF, the coal heavy SPDR Metals & Mining ETF and in coal producer Consol Energy seems to suggest investors may be positioning for protection, said Susquehanna Financial Group in a note. With the cloudy picture surrounding coal supply and demand as well as prices, several names of the KOL ETF are possible put protection candidates, it said. In light of strong gains across the sector, volatility has dropped while skew levels are generally mixed. Given the low volatility levels, Susquehanna said investors may find puts in Foundation Coal and Walter Energy attractive due to their sector outperformance year-to-date. In other outperformers with relatively high skew levels, long put spreads could be a less costly means of protection. Candidates for put spreads could include Massey Energy and Peabody Energy, SIG said..
Reuters Messaging: doris.frankel.reuters.com@reuters.net
Keywords: MARKETS STOCKSNEWS
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.