Options Flow Summary and Unusual Activity Alert: Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) & Liz Claiborne (LIZ)
General Sentiment
After a week of volatile trading due to talks of economic weakness, the downward pressure on the financial markets seem to have subsided for the time being.
In mid-day trading, the DJIA was up 120.15 points on the day or .95 percent. Investors were encouraged to buy back into this over sold market after IBM announced positive fourth quarter results.
Costco Wholesale Corp (COST)
Sellers in the Jan 08 65 puts were noted on the most active list for COST today. This activity will be interesting to follow since these contracts are due to expire at the end of this week.
The stock is down $2.70 today, to $63.73, most likely due to the fact that consumption trends are expected to weaken. Yet we are seeing investors selling puts which demonstrates upside expectations.
Liz Claiborne (LIZ)
Options on LIZ are trading 5 times its usual volume today. A total of 12,000 contracts have changed hands so far compared to its average daily volume of 2,090. Shares of LIZ are down to $16.93 with a 52 week range high of $46.84.
Unusual option volume noted on 1/10 (2x), 1/8 (3x), 1/7 (9x), 1/4 (2x) and 1/3 (2x). As one might expect, a majority of the options activity has seen buyers of puts and other bearish strategies. Although the retail stores have seen lower traffic due to economic worriesÖhow low can we really go.
Posted By: Trade Alert
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About Ellen Spiro
Ellen Spiro brings nearly 20 years market experience to her position as Vice President of Sales & Marketing of Trade Alert, LLC. Her background includes Fixed Income Derivatives trading at Deutsche Bank and starting up a similar desk at West Deutsche Landesbank as well as securities industry consulting for Coopers & Lybrand. Her current role puts her in direct contact with many of the largest participants in the equity derivatives field.
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