NASDAQ OMX (NDAQ), Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) offered $42.50 per share to acquire NYSE Euronext (NYX). April and June call option implied volatility is at 22; below its 26-week average of 32 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Pier 1 Imports (PIR) April put option implied volatility is at 58, June is at 54; near its 26-week average of 56 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement into the expected release of Q4 results on April 7.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: NYSE Euronext Volatility Decreases on NASDAQ OMX and ICE Proposal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

NYSE Euronext (NYX), which competes with Nasdaq OMX (NDAQ) and CME Group (CME), is the world's leading stock exchange in cash trading, both in terms of volume and value. NYSE provides the trading platform and services for trade execution of stocks listed on its exchanges -- NYSE, NYSE Arca, NYSE Amex -- as well as for orders that are routed to other market centers for execution. It charges transaction fees for executing these trades.

Due to the global economic downturn, NYSE Euronext's EBITDA margin from its cash equity trades in its U.S. exchanges tumbled from around 38% in 2006 to -4.2% in 2009. The margin recovered a bit in 2010, and we expect it to increase slightly in the short term and stabilize thereafter, owing to fierce pricing competition among stock exchanges to gain more volumes. NYSE Euronext could however benefit from economies of scale from its merger with Deutsche Boerse (DBOEY), which can push its margin higher.

Continue reading NYSE's Profit Margins in Equities Could Pick Up Following Merger

NYSE's Profit Margins in Equities Could Pick Up Following Merger originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Despite the turmoil in the Middle East, the market powered to a 30-month high, closing above 12,000 Tuesday. The key driver was a slew of strong earnings reports. The last time we saw Dow 12,000 was on June 19, 2008. Across the board, the major averages were strong. The Dow climbed 148.23 to 12,040.16, S & P 500 rose 21.47 to 1307.59, and the NASDAQ surged 51.11 to 2751.19, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Here are just a few stocks that moved the Dow higher:

• Pfizer (PFE) rose $1.00 to $19.22. Fourth-quarter profit tripled from a year ago.

Continue reading Dow Closes Above 12,000

Dow Closes Above 12,000 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"About 3,600 companies trade on exchanges operated by NASDAQ OMX Group (NDAQ), where an average of 8.8 billion shares changes hands each day," says Richard Moroney.

The editor of Dow Theory Forecasts explains, "The company controls about two-thirds of trades involving NASDAQ securities and half of NYSE securities. It also holds about one-third of the U.S. options-trading market.

"Over the last five years, NASDAQ's revenue rose at an annualized rate of 32%, with operating cash flow up 43%.

Continue reading NASDAQ OMX Group (NDAQ): Exchange Gains

NASDAQ OMX Group (NDAQ): Exchange Gains originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Two of the three major indexes opened higher on a solid earnings report from General Electric Company (GE), although a quarterly loss from Bank of America Corporation (BAC) and weak earnings from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) kept a lid on the rise. Oil prices have continued to decline today, trading below $89.50. Gold prices, too, have posted a second-day of falling prices, though today's drop is modest compared with yesterday's dive. In the currency markets, the euro has gained against the dollar for a second day in a row.

Here are the unofficial closing bell numbers for today:

Dow Jones: 11,871.84 +49.04 (0.41%)
S&P 500: 1,283.35 +3.09 (0.24%)
Nasdaq: 2,689.54 -14.75 (-0.55%)

Continue reading Closing Bell: Stocks Move Up Slightly on Mostly Good Earnings Reports (WMG, ORCC, HUGH, ACOR, VVUS)

Closing Bell: Stocks Move Up Slightly on Mostly Good Earnings Reports (WMG, ORCC, HUGH, ACOR, VVUS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I have always felt that for all the blabbing we do -- or blogging, in my case -- we should try as best we can to be accountable for our good and bad calls. This report is long overdue, but I will post it anyway since all of my past year's picks and results have been made public.

The market was very harsh in the early part of 2009, filling investors fear and trepidation, and sinking to a March 9, 2009 bottom. Perhaps some of the bleeding has stopped, but the economy has not healed as bears and bulls seem to carry the day, or every other day.

Continue reading Chasing Value™: 2009 Results Crushed the S&P 500

Chasing Value™: 2009 Results Crushed the S&P 500 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nasdaq has been dubbed the home of technology. Some 63% of the Nasdaq 100 is computer related. Such companies as Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Apple Inc. (AAPL) have lost value, leading the record losing streak. Microsoft is down 26%, while Apple is off 9.7%. The index has fallen for 10 consecutive days.

Kevin Caron of Stifel Nicolaus & Co. said: "There is an orderly liquidation of equity positions by traders who are taking risk units off the table." This is a fancy way of saying that investors are selling.

Continue reading Nasdaq 100 Posts Its Longest Losing Streak in Its 25-Year History

Nasdaq 100 Posts Its Longest Losing Streak in Its 25-Year History originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 04 Jul 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: Powerful Dividends Powering the Nation

Serious Money: Powerful Dividends Powering the Nation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 May 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades

• Wells Fargo upgraded Boeing (BA) to outperform from market perform. The firm is more confident about the company's earnings growth going forward.
• Oppenheimer upgraded H&R Block (HRB) to outperform from perform on expectations the company will improve performance in 2011. The firm has a $22 price target for shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded SunTrust (STI) to buy from hold to reflect valuation and expectations the company's credit will improve. The firm raised its target for shares to $34 from $29.
• Children's Place (PLCE) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Taubman Centers (TCO) was upgraded to neutral from sell at UBS.
• Cavium Networks (CAVM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Cowen.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BA, HRB, STI, NDAQ, AIG, CHH, ORCL, HCN, COL, MLM

Analyst Calls: BA, HRB, STI, NDAQ, AIG, CHH, ORCL, HCN, COL, MLM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When the market started to crap the bed last year, hundreds of public companies were faced with the prospect of delisting due to their low share prices and market caps.

Because of the unusual nature of the circumstances -- and the fact that they had much bigger problems to devote resources to -- the NYSE and Nasdaq elected not to enforce minimum share price requirements temporarily. But now that the market has rallied, what about companies that haven't been able to get their share prices back up a bit?

Continue reading Exchanges set to crack down with more delistings

Exchanges set to crack down with more delistings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Market ends the day lower, but up for the month

Market ends the day lower, but up for the month originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sirius has until March 15, 2010, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price rule, meaning its stock has to close at or above $1 for 10 consecutive business days.

Continue reading Sirius XM faces a possible delisting

Sirius XM faces a possible delisting originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What does this mean? It means that trades will clear through an independent counter party called a clearinghouse. What then is a clearinghouse? A clearinghouse is a central counter party that serves as buyer to every seller and seller to every buyer. Commodity futures trades pass through a clearinghouse.

What kind of numbers are we looking at? The interest rate swaps market is a $403 trillion market.

Continue reading Banks plan to clear 90% of their new swaps with a clearinghouse by December

Banks plan to clear 90% of their new swaps with a clearinghouse by December originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

U.S. stock markets are poised to rise today as more and more positive data convinces Wall Street that the economic recovery is for real.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite Index and the S&P 500 Index were all indicated higher following a rally in overseas markets. Germany's Dax, France's CAC-40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 all posted strong gains. Japan's Nikkei 25 also rose while China's Hang Seng declined.

For those looking for silver linings, there are plenty to choose.

Continue reading Before the bell: Stocks continue rally as investors bet recovery is for real

Before the bell: Stocks continue rally as investors bet recovery is for real originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Before the bell: Stock markets taking a breather

Before the bell: Stock markets taking a breather originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

From TheStreet.com Network

• Apple Full Steam Ahead
• Product Placement: Netbooks as Playthings

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Tech can do what it wants

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Tech can do what it wants originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When oil lost almost $3 a barrel, stock futures indicated a lower opening for today. Just shy of 5 AM, S&P 500, Down Jones, and Nasdaq 100 futures were all off 0.9%. The drop in oil to $64 a barrel has called into question any projections of a quick economic recovery -- as if high unemployment weren't enough. The Monday after any long weekend is hard, and this one's going to hurt.

The direction in which futures are pointing continues Thursday's equity declines in the United States, bringing the S&P 500 its third consecutive weekly loss. For the day, it lost 2.91%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.63% of its value, with the Nasdaq Composite Index giving up 2.67%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is down 5.6%, the S&P 500 down 0.8%.

Continue reading Oil down, futures down following holiday weekend

Oil down, futures down following holiday weekend originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Short interest back on the rise originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post was written by Minyanville Contributor Smita Sadana.

A stock that I am keenly watching today is Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: RVBD), which is up in this down market. Minyans might remember that we had concluded a successful long trade in this stock. For more please see my note on April 24th.

Here are some thoughts on the new technical picture:

Continue reading Riverbed on the radar

Riverbed on the radar originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 May 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Quick Take: Why is the market down today?

Quick Take: Why is the market down today? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 May 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.