Put Players Hope Diana Shipping Will Continue to Sink

Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com)

Put players sailed over to Diana Shipping Inc. (DSX) on Wednesday, with 1,350 of these bearishly oriented options changing hands on the session -- triple the transportation titan's expected daily put volume of fewer than 400 contracts.

Option players showed a preference for the back-month series, with DSX's February 12 put being the day's most heavily traded option. Nearly 500 contracts changed hands on this strike -- the majority of which traded at the ask price, suggesting that they were likely purchased. Open interest swelled by 367 contracts overnight, confirming that fresh bearish positions were added here. By buying to open the February 12 put, option players are betting on DSX to sink beneath the $12 level over the next two months.

In fact, DSX is currently trading around $11.90, so these 12-strike puts are just in the money. Technically speaking, the shipping issue has been sinking steadily lower during the past several weeks under the weight of its 10-day and 20-day moving averages. DSX has not closed a day above this duo since Dec. 2.

As a result, option players have adopted a skeptical attitude toward DSX, as illustrated by the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.82, which represents an annual bearish peak.

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Call Player Calls a Top to The Mosaic Company's Rally

Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com)

Potash producer The Mosaic Company (MOS) rallied to a 52-week peak of $75.70 on Wednesday, breaking briefly above the $75 level for the first time since September 2008. Prior to Wednesday, the stock had spent the past several weeks hovering around $70.

This technical feat comes ahead of the equity's turn in the earnings spotlight, which is slated for Tuesday, Jan. 4. Analysts are expecting MOS to post a profit of 91 cents per share for the first quarter. However, the company doesn't have the best track record in the earnings spotlight, falling short of the consensus estimate in three of the past four reporting periods.

Call players rushed to MOS on Wednesday, with 38,000 contracts crossing the tape -- more than triple the fertilizer firm's expected single-session call volume of just 12,000 contracts.

However, this heavy call activity was not necessarily bullish. Late Wednesday morning, 2,500 March 75 calls, marked "spread," crossed the tape at the bid price, while 2,500 March 90 calls, also designated "spread," traded at the ask price. Open interest increased substantially at each strike overnight, confirming the addition of fresh positions. By initiating this short call spread, the trader is ultimately betting that MOS will remain beneath the $75 level over the next several months.

In fact, MOS did pull back on Wednesday after hitting its new high, closing the session at $74.80.

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Speculators Sell Century-Strike Calls as Panera Bread Company Pulls Back

Andrea Kramer (akramer@sir-inc.com)

Since touching a new all-time high of $106.87 on Dec. 7, the shares of Panera Bread Company (PNRA) have given back about 4% to hover just south of $102. As such, it appears a handful of near-term call holders may be cashing in their chips for fear of a breach of $100.

So far today, the restaurateur has seen roughly 3,250 calls change hands ? more than 14 times its predicted daily call volume. Almost half of that volume has centered on the in-the-money January 100 call, which has seen more than 1,500 contracts traded. However, 98% of the century-strike calls have crossed the tape at the bid price, pointing to seller-initiated activity.

In the same vein, other options speculators have upped the bearish ante during the past couple of weeks. On the International Securities Exchange (ISE), PNRA currently sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 4.36, indicating that traders have bought to open more than four puts for every call on the equity. Furthermore, this ratio ranks in the 85th annual percentile, suggesting that traders on the ISE have rarely initiated bearish bets over bullish at a quicker step during the past year.

However, PNRA still has plenty of bullish fans on the Street ? at least among the brokerage bunch. According to Zacks, the stock boasts 11 "strong buy" ratings, compared to eight "holds" and not a single "sell" in sight.

At last check, the shares of PNRA have retreated 1.8% to explore the $101.80 neighborhood.

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Fifth Third Bancorp Targeted for a Long Put Spread

Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com)

Put players targeted Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) on Friday, with roughly 21,000 of these bearishly oriented options changing hands -- quadruple the banking behemoth's expected single-session put volume of just 4,600 contracts.

Friday's put-heavy activity is nothing new, though, as FITB currently sports a 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE) put/call volume ratio of 12.23, which ranks above 96.6% of all other readings taken during the past year. In other words, speculators on the ISE have rarely initiated FITB puts at a faster pace.

FITB's January 14 put attracted notable volume on Friday, with over 5,000 contracts exchanged. In fact, upon further review, it appears that a portion of the volume at this strike was part of a bearish spread. Early Friday morning, 959 January 14 puts, marked "spread," changed hands at the ask price, while 959 January 12 puts, also deemed "spread," crossed at the bid price. Open interest at each of these front-month strikes increased substantially over the weekend, pointing to the initiation of a long put spread on FITB.

In this option trading strategy, the speculator is bearish, but has a downside target in mind for the stock. In the above scenario, our long put spread strategist is ultimately betting that FITB will backpedal below the $14 level, stopping right at, or just above, the $12 level by the time these contracts expire.

FITB is currently trading around $14.16.

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Call Volume Heats Up on Evergreen Solar

Elizabeth Harrow (eharrow@sir-inc.com)

Evergreen Solar, Inc. (ESLR) has been bombarded by call players today, with volume rising to nine times the usual level. So far, nearly 1,300 calls have changed hands on the solar stock, compared to just 122 puts. The center of attention is ESLR's January 2012 1-strike call, where 1,063 contracts have crossed the tape -- 58% at the ask price, indicating they were purchased.

However, it's important to note that these aren't necessarily bullish bets on ESLR. With the stock trading near $0.59, these long-term calls are out of the money by a significant margin. Plus, a hefty 9.8% of ESLR's float is dedicated to short interest -- which raises the possibility that traders are buying calls in order to hedge their bearish bets.

Indeed, the stock's price action doesn't seem likely to inspire bullish speculation. ESLR has shed more than 60% in 2010, and the shares are down more than 2% this afternoon. Earlier, ESLR tumbled to a new annual low of $0.54, extending a recent slide beneath pressure at its 10-day and 20-day moving averages.

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AT&T Inc. Hopes to Boost 4G Network -- and Reputation

Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com)

Telecommunications titan AT&T Inc. (T) said this morning that it plans to buy wireless spectrum from QUALCOMM, Inc. (QCOM) for $1.93 billion. This move is aimed to boost T's 4G network, which has gained a reputation for dropping calls and having slow connections. T is hoping to gain ground over Verizon Communications (VZ), which also boasts 4G service -- and is rumored to begin selling the iPhone in 2011.

From a technical standpoint, T's performance has been nothing to write home about. The stock has added just 4.2% in 2010, and has been range-bound in the $28 to $30 neighborhood for the past few months.

As a result, traders have grown increasingly bearish toward T. During the past two weeks, traders on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) initiated 2.2 T puts for every call, a ratio which ranks above 93.5% of all other readings taken during the past year. In other words, speculators on the ISE have seldom been more put-heavy on the stock.

This trend continued on Friday, with 23,000 puts crossing the tape -- more than double T's expected single-session put volume. T's January 29 put saw the largest change to open interest over the weekend, with 2,573 contracts added. With T trading around $29.16, these 29-strike puts are right at the money.

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Option Volume Surges Ahead of Adobe Systems's Earnings Report

Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com)

Adobe Systems Incorporated (ADBE) is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter earnings after the close today, with analysts anticipating a profit of 52 cents per share from the tech issue. For the record, ADBE has surpassed the consensus estimate in each of the last four reporting periods.

Option traders have taken a keen interest in ADBE ahead of tonight's report, with 64,000 contracts crossing the tape so far -- five times the stock's expected daily option volume. Calls have been especially popular today, with some 41,000 of these contracts changing hands.

ADBE's most heavily traded option today has been its January 30 call, with 15,215 contracts exchanged -- 55% of which traded at the ask price, suggesting that they were likely purchased. However, with 40,000 contracts open at this strike, it's difficult to determine whether fresh positions are being added here today.

Technically speaking, ADBE hasn't been doing so hot lately, as the shares have been confined in a narrow trading range between $28 and $30 for the past few months. What's more, in addition to round-number resistance, ADBE could also face heavy options-related resistance, with peak call open interest looming overhead at today's highly popular January 30 strike.

With just minutes until the close, ADBE was trading around $29.22.

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Call Holders Cash In on Boston Scientific's Burst into the Black

Andrea Kramer (akramer@sir-inc.com)

The shares of Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) have advanced more than 17% since the start of December ? a feat accomplished with help from pharmaceutical rival Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), according to Wells Fargo. More specifically, the analysts on Friday said that JNJ's recently disclosed issues surrounding its Nevo heart stent could be "significant," and could even prompt the Dow component to re-evaluate its commitment to its flagging Cordis stent franchise ? which could be a boon for BSX.

Whatever the catalyst, the shares of BSX climbed to their highest perch since mid-March on Friday, with the stock topping out at $7.65. What's more, the security's upward trajectory prompted a slew of short-term call holders to cash in their proverbial chips.

During the course of the session, BSX saw roughly 15,000 calls change hands ? more than double its expected daily call volume. Most popular was the equity's now-in-the-money January 7.50 call, which saw around 5,500 contracts traded ? most of which crossed at the bid price, suggesting they were sold. Plus, call open interest at the now-front-month strike depleted by more than 2,000 contracts over the weekend, confirming our suspicions of sell-to-close activity.

However, even with Friday's bout of profit taking, there's still plenty of optimism among the near-term options crowd. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.40 indicates that calls more than double puts among options slated to expire within three months. Furthermore, this ratio ranks in the 26th annual percentile, implying that short-term speculators have been more bullishly biased toward BSX just 26% of the time during the past year.

In early trading, the stock has followed the broader equities market into the red, giving up 1.7% to hover just north of the $7.50 level.

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Types of Get Rich Quick Schemes

1. money money image by Valentin Mosichev from Fotolia.com
   
   
   Getting rich does not happen quickly, no matter what you are told.
   "Get rich quick" schemes are usually just that -- schemes. Someone will pitch you on a "fail-safe" way to make a large sum of money easily, if you will just invest some up-front cash. By the time you realize what has happened, your cash is gone and instead of getting rich you feel suddenly poor. These scams just prove the age-old wisdom, "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is."

Stock Market Schemes

2. Day trading , a form of high-risk investment, is an unsustainable "get rich quick" scheme that seeks to beat the market on a consistent basis by pulling money in and out of stocks on a short-term basis. Also beware of those who sell "stock market secrets" or "trading rules," as the market is not consistent enough to offer any sort of guarantee.

Online Marketing or Advertising Schemes

3. Many schemers are now telling you that you can make money at home from working online for just a few hours a day writing or clicking on ads or buying a website and paying to have traffic directed toward it. While you may be promised big money for these "paid for" schemes, it will usually take a lot of clicking or sifting through layers of confusing sites with many, many ads to make even a few dollars. Some of these schemes even claim to have endorsements from respected news channels or television shows. You'll see a story about a stay-at-home mom who now makes $10,000 a month. What they don't tell you is that this "story" is a fictional aggregate of results from a few people out of thousands who have tried to make money in the same way.

Pyramid Schemes

4. The traditional pyramid scheme sells an idea. The seller will claim to possess a "secret" that, if you buy it, will make you lots of money. Once you fork over the cash you are given nothing more than the "opportunity" to sell this supposed secret to others. The more and more people who are involved, the larger the pyramid grows, with nothing gained for those on the bottom.

Ponzi Schemes

5. The Ponzi scheme, although similar to a pyramid, is distinct in that it sells some sort of investment scheme. The terms may be complex, but the bottom line is that if you pay the money to sign up, you will get a return with 15 percent interest in 60 or 90 days. In the meantime, "investors" are charged with signing up more investors. The first investors are paid back their money with interest, but not because the pot of money is growing. They are paid from the investment of those on the bottom of the scheme and encouraged to reinvest their "earnings" for a larger reward in the future. If the seller and all the investors cannot keep signing up new investors, the scheme will eventually collapse. The seller may also disappear with all of the invested cash, putting an end to the scheme himself.

Multilevel Marketing Schemes (MLMs)

6. While these "schemes" can actually work for awhile, they still belong in the "get rich quick" category. MLM companies sell an actual product or service, but this is not where you'll make the big money. When you join, you are expected to sell the goods provided, but if you can convince others to sign up "under" you, you can receive a commission on all of the sales made by this junior associate. Some people can be very successful in these types of companies, both by selling the actual product and by persuading others to sign up. However, most people pay the fee to sign up or join because they are convinced it will be a simple cash cow, which it is not.

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Comcast Awarded a Duo of Bullish Brokerage Notes, Shares Rally to New High

Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com)

The brokerage bunch has taken a shine to Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) today, with the cable company receiving a duo of upbeat analyst endorsements this morning. Specifically, Bernstein raised its outlook on CMCSA to "outperform" from "market perform," and also increased its price target to $26 from $20. Meanwhile, Nomura initiated coverage of CMCSA with a "buy" rating and $25 price target.

The brokerage bunch is generally mixed toward CMCSA, with Zacks reporting that 14 analysts call the stock a "buy" or better, while 12 maintain a "hold" rating on the shares. Going forward, CMCSA could benefit from additional upgrades and/or price-target increases from the remaining skeptics.

Technically speaking, CMCSA has been on a tear lately. After a nice rally back in October, CMCSA entered into a period of consolidation in the $20 to $21 neighborhood. Last week, the shares bounced off their 10-day trendline, and have since tagged a series of fresh annual highs. In fact, just today CMCSA rallied to a new 52-week peak of $22.37.

The stock's recent technical feat could come as music to option players' ears. In the soon-to-expire December series of options, peak call open interest of nearly 24,000 contracts can be found at the 21 strike, with the 20 strike carrying another 12,000 calls in open interest. Given the stock's current perch around $22.34, both of these calls are in the money.

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Ahead of Expiration, Traders Extend their Bearish Bets on Corinthian Colleges

Andrea Kramer (akramer@sir-inc.com)

Put activity on Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (COCO) has picked up steam today, with traders preparing their portfolios for the expiration of front-month options after the closing bell. So far, the for-profit education issue has seen about 9,800 puts cross the tape ? nearly 20 times its predicted daily put volume, and close to 21 times the number of COCO calls exchanged.

Digging deeper into the data, it appears that almost all of today's put activity is attributable to a pre-expiration roll-out. More specifically, COCO's in-the-money December 5 put and near-the-money May 4.50 put have each seen more than 4,600 contracts traded, most of which changed hands via symmetrical blocks marked "spread." While the soon-to-expire December-dated puts traded at the bid price, the longer-term puts crossed at the ask price, suggesting that the trader is likely cashing in his winning near-term puts and buying slightly more aggressive, longer-term puts.

Sentimentally speaking, though, bearish bets are relatively rare for COCO. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.38 stands at an annual nadir, implying that short-term speculators haven't been more optimistically aligned toward the stock at any other time during the past year. However, considering the equity's elevated short-to-float ratio of nearly 33%, the preponderance of near-term calls could be related to hedging activity among short sellers.

In early afternoon trading, the shares of COCO have added 1.4% to flirt with the $4.40 level.

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Last-Minute Call Writers Target Bank of America

Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com)

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) was smacked with a bearish brokerage note from KBW on Thursday. Specifically, the firm cut its outlook on BAC to "market perform" from "outperform," explaining that it does not see significant earnings improvement from the banking issue in 2011.

BAC has not been doing well on the charts lately, either, with the shares falling steadily since April. As a result, BAC is now docked beneath the long-term support of its 10-month and 20-month moving averages, which recently completed a bearish cross.

Option players flocked to BAC on Thursday, with 535,000 contracts crossing the tape -- well above the stock's expected single-session volume of 414,000 contracts. Calls comprised the majority of the volume, with roughly 411,000 contracts traded.

BAC's December 13 call was the day's most popular strike, with 81,713 contracts crossing the tape. Most of these calls crossed at the bid price, suggesting they were likely sold, and open interest jumped by 33,617 contracts overnight. In other words, it appears that traders were adding last-minute short positions at this strike. By writing to open the December 13 call, a trader is ultimately betting that BAC will remain below $13 through the close tonight -- allowing the sold calls to expire worthless so he can pocket the premium received at initiation.

BAC is currently hovering around $12.57.

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Traders Collect Profit on United Parcel Service Calls

Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com)

United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) has seen a surge in call activity today, with roughly 15,000 of these bullishly oriented options changing hands -- double the delivery diva's expected daily call volume of roughly 7,200 contracts. By contrast, just 4,770 puts have been exchanged.

In fact, today's heavy call volume is in line with a recent trend on the International Securities Exchange (ISE). During the past two weeks, speculators on the ISE have bought to open over 16 UPS calls for every one put, a ratio which ranks above 95.1% of all other readings taken during the past year. In other words, speculators on this exchange have seldom initiated calls at a faster clip.

Call players have focused on the soon-to-expire December options series today, with one strike in particular claiming the bulk of traders' attention. Nearly 7,400 contracts have crossed the tape on UPS' December 72.50 call -- 75% of which traded at the bid price, suggesting that they were likely sold. With UPS currently trading around $73.14, these 72.50-strike calls are in the money. As such, it seems that call players are likely liquidating their in-the-money positions ahead of tonight's expiration.

Technically speaking, UPS has been doing quite well lately, with the shares recently breaking above the round-number $70 level to tag a series of fresh annual highs.

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General Mills Falls Short of Adjusted Earnings Expectations

Jocelynn Drake (jdrake@sir-inc.com)

General Mills (GIS) said its second-quarter net income rose 9% to $613.9 million, or 92 cents a share, from $565.5 million, or 83 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted net income fell to 76 cents a share, from 77 cents a share. The food giant's revenue rose 0.8% to $4.1 billion. Wall Street analysts expected General Mills to earn 78 cents a share, on revenue of $4.1 billion.

General Mills continues to expect adjusted 2011 earnings of $2.46 a share to $2.48 a share, compared to the analyst target of $2.48 a share.

Optimism dominates the stock's sentiment backdrop. The Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio for GIS comes in at 0.46, as call open interest doubles put open interest among options slated to expire in less than three months. This ratio of puts to calls is lower than 81% of all those taken during the past year. In other words, short-term options players have been more optimistically aligned toward the shares only 19% of the time during the past 12 months.

Meanwhile, Wall Street is smitten with the shares. According to Zacks, the stock has earned 15 "buy" ratings and just four "hold" ratings.

Technically speaking, the shares of GIS are up nearly 3% since the start of 2010. The stock is stuck in a sideways channel between resistance in the 39 area and support in the 33 region. It appears the equity is consolidating its gains after rising from its March 2009 low in the 24 area to its high in the 39 region.

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Put Volume Ramps Up on Dean Foods Company

Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com)

Option players have flocked to Dean Foods Company (DF) today, with volume of 12,000 contracts changing hands. Puts have comprised virtually all of today's volume, with some 11,000 of these bearishly oriented options crossing the tape -- six times DF's expected single-session put volume of just 1,632 contracts.

The bulk of today's put volume has centered on one strike in particular. Over 9,600 contracts have crossed on the March 8 put -- the majority of which changed hands at the ask price, suggesting that they were likely purchased. What's more, with just 6,200 contracts currently open at this strike, it appears that fresh bearish positions are being added here today. By buying to open the March 8 put, option players are counting on DF to sink beneath the $8 level over the next few months.

Technically speaking, DF is in the midst of a long-term downtrend, with the shares falling swiftly since March 2007. During this time, the stock has been guided steadily lower by its 10-month and 20-month moving averages, which are currently located around $11 and $14, respectively.

Earlier this year, DF seemed to find a technical floor at the $10 level, where it hovered from May until November. However, DF recently backpedaled beneath this round number, and has been trading right around $8 for the past few weeks.

DF is currently perched around $8.08.

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Waste Management Boosts Its Quarterly Dividend

Mastercard Incorporated (MA) $222.18 -10.85%

Trading in Mastercard (MA) and Visa (V) is brisk Thursday afternoon, as shares fall on news a Fed staff has proposed debit card fee caps. The initial reaction to the headline was a move higher and MA hit an intra-day high of $254.01. Heavy selling ensued, however, and shares are now off $30.05 to $219.15 in very volatile trading. 24K calls and 37K puts have now traded in Mastercard. Meanwhile, Visa (V) gave up $9.86 to $67.08 and options volume includes 91K calls and 91K puts.

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NASDAQ OMX Group Inc (NDAQ) $23.89 +6.04%

NASDAQ OMX Group (NDAQ) touched a new 52-week high and is up $1.39 to $23.92 after announcing plans to buy back 22.78 million shares at $21.82 each. The stock is up on the news and options volume includes 5,575 calls and 625 puts. Jan 25 calls are the most actives, with volume approaching 4,000 contacts and 78 percent trading at the asking price. Dec 24 and Jan 24 calls are seeing interest as well.

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Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) $71.99 -0.26%

Exxon Mobile (XOM) loses 20 cents to $71.98 and is one of 18 Dow stocks trading lower late-Wednesday. Earlier in the session, a block of 20000 Jan 72.5 calls traded at $1.26 on ISE. It was initiated by an opening customer buyer, according to ISEE data. Doesn't look tied and appears to be a bullish play on the oil giant. Shares gapped higher when earnings were last reported on 10/28 and are up nearly 10 percent since that time. Meanwhile, crude (Jan) hit a high of $89.09 on bullish inventory data today, and was recently up 25 cents to $88.53 a barrel.

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Micron Technology Inc (MU) $8.05 -0.19%

Micron shares have turned a penny higher to $8.07 and notable trade in April as the $7 put and $9 call trade 10,000 contracts each in bullish r/r (sold puts bought calls) for a 17c net debit. Open interest is sufficient to cover but this appears to be an opening transaction.

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MannKind Corporation (MNKD) $9.04 +6.84%

MannKind (MNKD) options are actively traded and implied volatility is elevated heading into a December 29 PDUFA for the company's Afrezza. There seems to be some optimism building, as shares are up 54 cents to $9 today and 63.3 percent since earnings were reported on 11/4. Meanwhile, 26K calls and 11K puts traded in the biotech so far, or 2.5X the recent average daily. The top trade of the day is a Jan $9 - $10 call spread sold at 34 cents, 2735X and might be a roll of at-the-money calls to out-of-the-money calls. Jan 9 puts, Jan 15 calls, and even Jan 2.5 puts are seeing interest, as players jockey for position ahead of the news. Implied volatility is up another 9 percent to 226 and withing striking distance of recent 52-week highs (232).

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Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK) $23.45 +1.87%

Chesapeake shares are up 35c to $23.37 and saw sweep buyers of the Jan. $24 calls, as total of 10,038 trade between 58c-61c early Wednesday. Open interest is sufficient to cover, as a total of 11,775 have now traded, vs. 19,063 in OI. So, today's action might be closing after an 11.2 percent rally in shares so far in December.

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Amgen Inc (AMGN) $55.94 +3.39%

Amgen (AMGN) options are actively traded and implied volatility is falling after the company late-yesterday announced positive results from a clinical trial of its prostate cancer drug. Shares hit a morning high of $57.22 and were recently up $1.89 to $56. The top trades of the day look like a bearish risk-reversal after a block of 4,705 Jan 60 calls traded on the 41-cent bid and 4,714 Jan 50 puts at the 21-cent asking price. Dec 55, Dec 57.5 and Jan 60 calls are the most actives. Some players are likely liquidating positions on the news. Implied volatility is falling almost 30 percent to 24.5.

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Seagate Technology (STX) $14.97 -0.27%

Seagate (STX) loses 12 cents to $14.89 and STX Jan 14 calls are seeing early interest. The action is similar to last Thursday (see 12/9 color), as one strategist initiated a buy-write, selling Jan 14 calls for $1.23 against shares at $14.89 (34 cents over). 2500 contracts traded and open interest is 37.4K, now the fourth largest position in STX.

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ConAgra Foods Inc (CAG) $22.18 -0.67%

ConAgra (CAG) saw notable call buying options that have a 2013 expiration Jan. $25 calls saw a block of 6,600 contracts trade at the $1.30 ask in what also looks like an opening purchase. Heinz (HZ), a rival ketchup and food maker saw similar bullish action its 2013 Jan $55 calls as a 7,300 contract block trades at the $2.10 ask in what looks like opening purchase.

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JDS Uniphase Corporation (JDSU) $14.12 +5.21%

JDS Uniphase (JDSU) gapped at the open, touched a new 52-week high, and is up 68 cents to $14.10 after Piper Jaffray upgraded the stock to Outperform and raised its price target to $17. Options action is heating up as well. 7,050 calls and 1,385 puts traded so far. The Jan 15 calls are the most actives. 1,495 traded (52 percent ask). Dec 11, Jan 14, and Mar 13 calls are seeing interest as well. Meanwhile, implied volatility is up 5.5 percent to 36.5.

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Wall Street Discovers Fresh Market; Issuing Fresh Coverage

Jocelynn Drake (jdrake@sir-inc.com)

The relatively new shares of Fresh Market (TFM) have caught the attention of Wall Street this morning, as several brokerage firms have started coverage of the company. Bank of America-Merrill Lynch initiated coverage at a "buy," while JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs have awarded the stock a "neutral" rating. BMO gives the stock a "market perform" rating, while RBC rates the stock a "sector perform." On the other hand, Morgan Stanley weighed in with an "overweight" rating of the shares.

TFM operates about 95 full-service upscale specialty grocery stores in some 20 U.S. states, from Florida to Wisconsin, according to Hoover's. As the name suggests, the chain specializes in perishable goods, including fruits and vegetables, meat, and seafood. The stores average 21,000 square feet, about a third to half the size of a conventional supermarket. However, customers won't find the nonfood items sold in most grocery stores these days, such as cleaning and cooking supplies.

Technically speaking, the shares have gained more than 11% since they started trading in early November. The stock is sitting on support at its rising 20-day moving average, but has recently dropped below its 10-day moving average, which is now capping the shares.

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Encouraging Analyst Note Motivates Motorola Call Players

Andrea Kramer (akramer@sir-inc.com)

Call traders have mobbed Motorola, Inc. (MOT) today, thanks to a few words of encouragement from Oppenheimer. More specifically, the analysts this morning recommended buying MOT shares before the mobile device manufacturer's spin-off of Motorola Mobility (Future ticker: MMI) next month. The brokerage firm opined that MOT's stock price doesn't reflect MMI's forecasted market cap of around $5 billion, pointing to an appealing entry point for a long MOT position. "We see an opportunity to unlock value with the January split," Oppenheimer said in a note.

In the wake of the bullish note, MOT has seen roughly 34,000 calls cross the tape so far today, more than doubling its expected daily call volume. Garnering the most attention has been the equity's now-in-the-money December 8 call, which has seen about 8,000 contracts change hands. However, the majority of the calls have traded at the bid price, suggesting that a slew of short-term speculators may be cashing in their proverbial chips by selling to close their winning positions.

From a broader sentiment standpoint, though, today's preference for MOT calls merely echoes the growing trend. The security has racked up a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 61.28 on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), implying that traders have bought to open more than 61 MOT calls for every put during the past couple of weeks. What's more, this ratio registers in the 99th annual percentile, indicating that options players on the ISE have initiated bullish bets over bearish at a faster clip just 1% of the time during the past year.

However, there could be an ulterior motive behind this escalating affinity for long calls. During the past month, short interest on MOT skyrocketed by almost 50%, and now accounts for 2.3% of the stock's total float. This simultaneous influx in both bought calls and short interest could indicate that the shorts are hedging their pessimistic positions with options.

In afternoon trading, MOT has tacked on 3% to loiter in the $8.60 region.

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Call Volume Soars on Record Delivery Day for FedEx

Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com)

FedEx Corporation (FDX) is currently in the midst of its biggest day of deliveries in the company's history. An estimated 16 million packages will be handled by FDX today -- a 13% increase from last year's busiest day. FDX is prepared to handle today's record volume, with executive T. Michael Glenn explaining, "FedEx has been preparing for the seasonal surge of packages for almost a year and we've leveraged our decades of logistical expertise to ensure FedEx has all the right assets in place to handle our busiest day in history."

Call players have had FDX on their radar today, with roughly 15,000 contracts exchanged -- quadruple the delivery diva's expected single-session call volume.

In fact, it appears that one call player has targeted FDX for a long call spread today. Late this morning, 339 December 95 calls, marked "spread," changed hands at the ask price, while 339 December 100 calls, also designated "spread," crossed at the bid price. By initiating this long call spread, the trader is ultimately betting that FDX will rally above the $95 level, stopping its ascent right at, or just before, the $100 level, by the time these options expire -- which is after the close this Friday, Dec. 17.

Today's spread strategist may be counting on an earnings-related boost for the shares. FDX is slated to report second-quarter earnings on Dec. 16, with analysts anticipating a profit of $1.31 per shares. However, FDX has a fairly spotty history in the earnings spotlight; in the past four quarters, the company has twice surpassed, and twice met, analysts' expectations.

At last check, FDX was hovering around $94.99.

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Ahead of Earnings, Call Volume Ramps Up on Best Buy

Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com)

Big box retailer Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings ahead of the open on Tuesday, Dec. 14. For the quarter, analysts are predicting the retailer to post a profit of 61 cents per share. Historically speaking, BBY has posted better-than-expected profits in three of the last four quarters.

Ahead of earnings, call players have ramped up their exposure to BBY. In the past two weeks, speculators on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) have bought to open 2.9 calls for every put purchased, a ratio which ranks above 88% of all other readings taken during the past 12 months. In other words, traders on the ISE and CBOE have been initiating bullish bets on BBY at a faster-than-usual pace lately.

This trend continued on Friday, with 22,000 BBY calls changing hands -- more than double the equity's expected single-session call volume of just 8,521 contracts.

BBY's January 2011 42 call was quite popular on Friday, with 2,382 contracts exchanged -- the majority of which crossed at the ask price, suggesting that they were likely purchased. What's more, open interest increased significantly over the weekend, indicating that new bullish positions were added here. With BBY currently trading around $42.39, these 42-strike calls are right at the money.

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Put Players Pounce as Yingli Green Energy Bucks the Broad-Market Trend

Andrea Kramer (akramer@sir-inc.com)

The shares of Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co. Ltd. (YGE) have bucked the broad-market trend into the black today, with the stock giving up 1.1% to flirt with the $10.40 level, at last check. As a result of the stock's defiance, YGE has attracted a slew of put speculators, with almost 4,100 puts already exchanged today ? more than six times its expected daily put volume.

Most popular have been the in-the-money December 12 and June 11 puts, which have each seen about 2,000 contracts cross the tape. While all of the front-month puts have traded at the ask price, suggesting they were bought, most of the longer-term puts have changed hands at the bid price, pointing to seller-initiated activity. However, with put open interest still exceeding volume at both strikes, we can't yet determine how much of today's action will translate into freshly opened bearish (bought to open) or bullish (sold to open) bets, and how much consists of profit taking (sold to close) among the pessimists.

Sentimentally speaking, today's preference for YGE puts merely echoes the growing trend in the options arena. The stock's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE) put/call volume ratio of 6.72 implies that traders during the past two weeks have bought to open almost seven YGE puts for every call. What's more, this ratio ranks in the 97th percentile of its annual range, indicating that speculators on the ISE have rarely initiated bearish bets over bullish at a faster clip.

Elsewhere on the Street, short sellers have also ramped up their bearish exposure on YGE. Short interest on the equity spiked by 17.7% during the most recent reporting period, and now accounts for 10 million YGE shares, or 10% of the stock's total available float. In fact, at the equity's average pace of trading, it would take about three sessions to repurchase all of these pessimistic positions.

Technically speaking, it's not difficult to decode the escalating skepticism surrounding the solar concern, which has underperformed the broader S&P 500 Index (SPX) by 25% during the past 40 sessions. Now, the shares are attempting to maintain their perch atop the $10 level, which hasn't been violated on a weekly closing basis since June.

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Option Traders Expect an Extended Uptrend for Atmel Corporation

Andrea Kramer (akramer@sir-inc.com)

Call buyers have bombarded Atmel Corporation (ATML) today, after the shares of the semiconductor concern soared to yet another new high, topping out at $12.68. Around midday, the stock has already seen roughly 4,750 calls cross the tape ? about 11 times its predicted single-session call volume, and close to 12 times the number of ATML puts exchanged.

Most of the speculators have centered on the February series of options, with the stock's out-of-the-money 15 and 16 strikes garnering the bulk of the attention. More specifically, the equity's February 16 call has seen about 2,200 contracts change hands on open interest of fewer than 200, pointing to new positions. In the same vein, the February 15 call has seen 1,000 contracts exchanged on open interest of fewer than 400. What's more, nearly all of the longer-term calls have traded at the ask price, hinting at freshly purchased bullish bets.

From a broader sentiment standpoint, though, today's affinity for optimistic positions is just more of the same for ATML. The stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) rests at a call-heavy 108.92, which registers in the 89th percentile of its annual range. In other words, traders on the ISE have bought to open ATML calls over puts at a quicker step just 11% of the time during the past year.

At last check, the shares of ATML have retreated from their fresh high, giving up 0.1% to explore the $12.30 neighborhood.

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Call Players Bet Bullishly as Lululemon Athletica Continues Post-Earnings Momentum

Sarah Wasserman (swasserman@sir-inc.com)

Lululemon Athletica inc. (LULU) sprinted to an all-time high in the wake of last week's consensus-beating third-quarter earnings report -- and the stock's record-setting rally has continued into this week. Out of the gate this morning, LULU vaulted to a fresh acme of $72.82, marking the first time the shares have ever surmounted the round-number $70 level.

Call players flocked to LULU on Friday, with volume ramping up to four times the daily norm. Specifically, 24,000 calls changed hands during the course of the session, compared to just 13,000 puts.

Option players looked ahead to the January 2011 series, which assumes front-month status after the close of trading this Friday, Dec. 17. Nearly 3,600 contracts changed hands on the January 2011 75 call -- 73% of which crossed at the ask price, indicating they were likely purchased. Open interest increased by 1,371 contracts over the weekend, confirming that fresh positions were added at this strike. By buying to open the January 2011 75 call, traders are betting on LULU to muscle above the $75 level over the next several weeks.

Despite the stock's recent fundamental and technical prowess, the Street remains largely skeptical of the athletic apparel issue. According to Zacks, 12 out of 16 brokerage firms call LULU a "hold" or worse. Any upgrades from the bearish holdouts could provide a fresh boost of buying pressure on the shares.

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Post-Earnings Option Players Weigh In on Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc.

Andrea Kramer (akramer@sir-inc.com)

The shares of Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. (WEN) staggered lower on Friday, after the fast-food firm reported a third-quarter loss on slipping same-store sales, and issued fiscal-year guidance at the low end of expectations. Meanwhile, the company also revealed plans to increase its stock buyback program (on hiatus until activist investor and primary shareholder Nelson Peltz decides his next move) by $170 million to $250 million, and boost its quarterly dividend to 2 cents per share.

However, despite WEN's subsequent decline on the charts, a handful of options speculators are betting on the stock to bounce back in the intermediate term. By Friday's closing bell, the equity had seen almost 4,400 calls cross the tape ? more than double its expected daily call volume, and about 10 times the number of WEN puts exchanged.

The bulk of the volume centered on the January 2011 5-strike call, which saw more than 3,500 contracts change hands. What's more, the majority of the calls traded closer to the ask price, and call open interest at the strike swelled over the weekend, pointing to buy-to-open activity. By purchasing the January-dated calls to open, the buyers are betting the shares of WEN will muscle back atop the $5 level within the options' lifetime.

From a broader sentiment standpoint, the affinity for calls stands in contrast to the pessimism among the near-term options crowd. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.95 ranks higher than 92% of all others taken during the past year, implying that short-term speculators have been more skeptically skewed toward WEN just 8% of the time during the past year.

At last check, WEN has continued its decline, giving up 1.4% to linger in the $4.90 region.

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How to Shop the Holiday Sales

             Holiday sales seem to be a blessing and a curse. Prices drop, stress rises and you're caught in the  middle of it. The key to surviving the holiday season is to get organized, which seems difficult if you have never shopped the holiday sales before.

Have your shopping list completed well in advance. One thing sure to exacerbate the already chaotic holiday shopping experience is having no idea of what to buy. In addition, the low prices are tempting enough that you may purchase something you later regret, negating the savings you would otherwise gain.

Read the ads for the holiday sales in the days leading up to the days you want to shop. Find out the dates of the sale and the hours of the stores. Many department stores and brand-name retailers have automated hotlines that will provide you with such information with minimal human interaction. Store websites will also have this information and can even send you email updates.

Window shop before the sale begins to map out your plan. Start populating your shopping list with what you want and where the item is located in the stores. Do not be discouraged by the original price when creating your list, since chances are it will be going down once the sale comes around. Use a special mark to prioritize items that are almost sold out, so you will know to get to them first.

Read the fine print on coupon. Some coupons are not valid on discounted items or come in effect outside of the sale period. Others may only be valid for purchases made either in their stores or online. Look for coupons both in the store and online. A list can help narrow down the sort of coupons you will look for.

Consult a map. Figure out the best way to get to each store to save time and gas money. Some stores may be located in unfamiliar territory, and certain streets may be blocked for construction. While this all seems very nitpicky, just think about how much trouble you will be spared in the worst case scenario.

Wake up early and readjust your internal clock if you have to. While it seems there is always a crowd at any hour of the day, mornings are still the least crowded shopping times. Otherwise, there are always the couple of hours prior to closing time, but by then, what you want may already be gone.

Schedule visits to stores in busy areas during rush hour. If several of the stores you want to visit are in a given area, such as in a single shopping center or mall, then be sure to schedule visits for those places during rush hour. That way, when everyone else is on the road, you're in the store getting the best deals.

How to Choose Penny Stocks That Can Make You Money

If you are looking to make money fast then you may want to look into investing into penny stocks because they are cheap and they can make you a lot of money. Of course as always when investing your money you need to know that there are pitfalls to be careful of as well.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Many people who like to invest in the stock market get into penny stocks because they are cheap and you can buy a lot of shares. One of the best advantages that yo have also is that they need to only go up a little but for you to make money.
   
2. It is always a good idea to subscribe to the day trading magazines because they usually have a lot of good insight into how to pick great penny stocks and make money. When you are investing in these types of stocks you have to remember that there is a different mindset than if you are buying blue chip stocks because with those stocks you are looking for the long term return.
   
3. With penny stocks you can be in and out of the stock before lunch time so you need to really pay attention to what is going on in the market place so you know what makes these stocks move.
   
4. Remember that you can make a lot of money trading penny stocks and many people have gotten rich by doing so but you need to know the facts and get as much good information as you can. You need to know when it is good to get into and out of these cheap stocks. You can use leverage to make money with prices of cheap stocks such as penny stocks.

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