Cramer switches sides on NYX (for now)

NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE: NYX) opened at $73.71. So far today the stock has hit a low of $73.04 and a high of $73.71. As of 10:40, NYX is trading at 73.45, down 0.10 (-0.1%).

After hitting a one year high of $112.00 in November, the stock has been slipping over the past eight months. After saying "back up the truck" for NYX as recently as March (when the stock was at $83), and standing with the stock in early June ($80), Jim Cramer is now calling NYX weak and says he expects it to remain so until it is selling at just one times growth down in the $60's. He says it was wrong to buy higher but it's still wrong to buy now. Recent technical indicators for NYX have been bearish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an August bear-call credit spread above the $85 range. NYX has not been above $85 for more than a few days at a time since April and has shown resistance around $76 recently. This trade could be risky if this volatile stock turns back upward, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by the stock's 50 day moving average, which is right around $81 and falling.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. Do you have any deadwood in your portfolio? Check out the 18 Warning Signs That Tell You When To Dump A Stock.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in NYX.