From the monthly archives:
When stock-specific news hits the tape, one of the first things an educated trader does is widen their focus to other “like” companies in the same business. This kind of sector impact is seen this morning on the back of news from Geron (GERN) hitting the tape this morning.
The company has announced that Geron [...]
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One of the logical winners in an environment of recession and rising unemployment is the re-education space, including Apollo Group, Inc. (APOL). Last night, APOL announced earnings that beat analysts’ estimates by two cents per share and topped expectations for enrollment growth. The company also announced a further buyback in the stock. This [...]
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Agrium Inc. (AGU) is up 2% today along with fellow agriculture/chemical names such as Mosaic (MOS) and Potash (POT). Today this industry is rebounding after a relatively weak June. The OptionsHouse Hotlist is picking up unusual activity in AGU options with 27,000 contracts trading today. Especially of note are the 11,000 July [...]
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Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SPPI) is continuing its four-day run higher today, up 4% to a new 52-week high in the stock. The OptionsHouse Hotlist is possibly picking up some defensive option activity in the November 7.5 calls. 3,000 contracts traded electronically on the ISE on the bid side of $1.55, which is possibly [...]
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Biogen Idec (BIIB) is down almost 7% this morning following the disclosure of another case of PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy) associated with use of the biotech firm’s Tysabri product. BIIB is seeing a pickup in option activity with 18,000 contracts already crossing the tape today.
The July and August 50 puts have traded 3,000 [...]
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…there are a couple of positive signs out there today. Treasuries are strong. The 10-year yield, which touched 4% at the high today is back below 3.5%. This reduction in yield has the likely impact of keeping mortgage rates low, which could help the housing crisis. Also, the CBOE SPX Volatility [...]
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Potash (POT) reduced its second-quarter guidance, due mostly to lower realized phosphate fertilizer prices. This is having an impact on the entire chemical/agriculture sector as Mosaic (MOS) is also down at the open. There is some positive news on a contract with India that may mitigate the damage however.
POT is extremely [...]
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The FOMC left monetary policy unchanged (as expected) at the conclusion of its two-day meeting. They appear to have disappointed investors a bit by not raising the amount of the central bank purchases of long-term Treasury securities and the Treasuries and equity markets gave back most of their early gains.
The five-year auction [...]
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We’re expecting another slow news day overall. Today, the most important headlines to watch for are:
Existing Home Sales number at 10am EDT (4.82M expected)
Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index at 10am (uptick to 5 expected; Richmond is still the only region in positive numbers)
$40 billion two-year auction results
None of the above should be tone-changing [...]
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The market has broken down below the 200-day moving average, located at 900. If we do not recover from current levels, today will be the weakest day since May 13th.
Utilities are the only positive sector today. Last week, this group was strong as a possible safety sector. Additionally, expectations are [...]
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