Implied Volatility Mover
Implied volatility in options on Pepsico (PEP) is falling sharply, as the stock rallies around earnings Thursday. PEP popped $3.50 higher to $82.35, new record highs, in brisk trading of 9.6 million shares after reporting a 77-cent per share quarterly profit, which was 7 cents better than Street estimates. Options volume is running 3X the daily average for the name. 20,000 calls and 8,500 puts so far. Apr 82.5, May 82.5 and May 85 calls are the most active and implied volatility is down 16 percent to only 14.
Volume Signals
Nokia (NOK) options volume is running 2.5X the (22-day) average, with 101,000 contracts traded and call volume accounting for 79 percent of the volume.
IBM options volume is 2X, the average daily, with 51,000 contracts traded and call option volume representing 57 percent of the activity.
Sandisk (SNDK) options volume is running 2.5X the average daily, with 44,000 contracts traded and call volume accounting 67 percent of the activity.
Increasing options activity is also being seen in Elan (ELN), Pepsico (PEP), and National Bank of Greece (NBG).
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