Consolidating is brewing in the financial sector, as NYSE Euronext (NYX) is in advanced merger discussions with Deutsche Boerse. If this pairing comes to fruition, it would create the world’s largest financial exchange, with trading capabilities on both sides of the Atlantic.
This potential pairing has reignited takeover talk in CBOE Holdings (NASDAQ:CBOE), which is the leading options exchange in terms of volume. The exchange just held its IPO last year – raising almost $340 million in the process – but some analysts are suspecting it could already be looking toward its next big change.
Thursday morning, CBOE reported fourth-quarter earnings of 32 cents per share, three cents above analysts’ estimates. Revenue was slightly above the consensus view as well. Exchange officials referenced the M&A talk but neglected to comment specifically, merely noting its own competitive position. (more…)
Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) lost some ground Tuesday following an analyst downgrade. RBC Capital cut its rating on the shares to “sector perform” from “outperform” and kept its 12-month price target at $19. The stock is currently trading around $17.50, so this target still allows for modest upside over the next year.
During Monday’s session, it appears as though an investor placed a bullish trade in Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) but looked to limit the initial capital required in more ways than one. Not only did he evidently sell puts in addition to buying the calls, but he sold twice as many puts.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares haven’t exactly been lighting the world on fire, down 11% in 2010 and up just 9% in the last six months. Comparatively, the Nasdaq Composite has gained 21% since mid-June. Even taking dividends into account, this is notable underperformance. An investor is hoping the stock reverses this trend, however, and reflected this view with a synthetic long stock position in the software giant.
Either someone’s a huge fan of Meximelts and Personal Pan Pizzas or they simply expect some intermediate-term upside in the shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM). On Monday, an options investor was active in this name, trading a bullish risk reversal (also known as a synthetic long stock). This options strategy is an alternative to buying the stock outright; it has a similar risk/reward profile but requires less capital up front to put on the trade.
El Paso (NYSE:EP) shares dropped nearly 3.7% in Wednesday’s trading following its pre-open earnings report. The oil & gas company’s third-quarter results topped analysts’ expectations by a penny but were a penny shy of year-ago results.
Ford Motor (NYSE:F) got the week off to a good start, rising almost 5% Monday on the heels of a vote of confidence from Morgan Stanley. The brokerage firm initiated coverage on the automaker with an “overweight” rating and a 12-month price target of $20, which is 55% north of the stock’s current level.
The OptionsHouse Hotlist scans for unusual option activity each trading day. The Hotlist is available for all OptionsHouse customers, including those with 
The Hotlist, a scan of unusual option volume, is available to all OptionsHouse customers, including those with a 
Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) may still encourage its customers to “watch for falling prices,” but they may be harder to find these days. A recent anecdotal study from J.P. Morgan Securities 
