BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Traders Bet on a VIX Bounce with Call Options]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2010/01/20/traders-bet-on-a-vix-bounce-with-call-options/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2010/01/20/traders-bet-on-a-vix-bounce-with-call-options/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2010/01/20/traders-bet-on-a-vix-bounce-with-call-options/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) is up nearly 10% this afternoon, buoyed by a down day in the U.S. equities market. Today's jump in the VIX likely comes as no surprise to option speculators, who have recently been loading up on VIX call options.

During the past five days, option traders on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) have bought to open 177,441 calls on the VIX, compared to just 74,637 puts. In other words, about 2.38 times more calls than puts have been purchased on the so-called "fear index" during the past week.

Continue reading Traders Bet on a VIX Bounce with Call Options

Traders Bet on a VIX Bounce with Call Options originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>CBOE Market Volatility IndexCboeMarketVolatilityIndexfear indexFearIndexfeaturedfeautredinvestor sentimentInvestorSentimentoptionsSP 500 IndexSp500IndexVIXvolatilityWed, 20 Jan 2010 15:20:00 EST<![CDATA[Visa will become part of the S&P 500 Index]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/12/14/visa-will-become-part-of-the-sandp-500-index/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/12/14/visa-will-become-part-of-the-sandp-500-index/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/12/14/visa-will-become-part-of-the-sandp-500-index/#commentsFiled under: ,

Late Friday, Standard & Poor's (S&P) announced that it will add four new companies to the S&P 500 Index (SPX), including credit card company Visa (V). Visa will replace telecom equipment company Ciena (CIEN). S&P stated that all the companies moving to the index have market caps above $5 billion, which makes them more representative of the market-cap range.

This morning, analysts are reacting to the news, setting up Visa for a bit of a news-related Monday rally. RW Baird upgraded Visa to outperform from neutral and upped its target price from $88 to $100, noting that it expects growth to reaccelerate growth over the next couple quarter, "along with annual earnings-per-share growth of more than 20 percent over the next couple years." Baird also believes that improving retail sales will help Visa. In addition, William Blair upped its estimate on Visa in order to reflect "an improved volume outlook."

Continue reading Visa will become part of the S&P 500 Index

Visa will become part of the S&P 500 Index originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>credit cardsCreditCardsinthenewsSP 500 IndexSp500IndexSPXupgradeVVisaMon, 14 Dec 2009 09:40:00 EST<![CDATA[O'Reilly Automotive revs higher, joins the S&P 500]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/20/oreilly-automotive-revs-higher-joins-the-sandp-500/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/20/oreilly-automotive-revs-higher-joins-the-sandp-500/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/20/oreilly-automotive-revs-higher-joins-the-sandp-500/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Auto parts company O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY- option chain) is one of the newest additions to the S&P 500 Index (SPX). Standard & Poor's announced late Thursday that ORLY will join the venerable index after the close of trading on March 26, where it will replace Noble Corp. (NYSE: NE).

The news caps off a pretty good week for ORLY; on Wednesday, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage of the stock with an "outperform" rating, and the equity tagged a new 52-week high of $36.17 in Thursday's session.

Continue reading O'Reilly Automotive revs higher, joins the S&P 500

O'Reilly Automotive revs higher, joins the S&P 500 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>contrarian investingContrarianInvestinginthenewsinvestor sentimentInvestorSentimentNENoble Corp.NobleCorp.OReilly AutomotiveOreillyAutomotiveORLYSP 500 IndexSp500IndexSPXtechnical analysisTechnicalAnalysisFri, 20 Mar 2009 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Standard & Poor's invites Spam to join S&P 500 Index]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/25/standard-and-poors-invites-spam-to-join-sandp-500-index/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/25/standard-and-poors-invites-spam-to-join-sandp-500-index/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/25/standard-and-poors-invites-spam-to-join-sandp-500-index/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Just last week, Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) surprised investors with stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Sales during the period were boosted by healthy demand for the company's recession-friendly canned ham-like product, Spam. Today, it seems that Standard & Poor's is revealing its own soft spot for potted meat, announcing that HRL will join its storied S&P 500 Index as of the close of trading on March 3.

Hormel will replace American Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACAS) in the closely watched broad-market index. The latter stock has given up nearly 96% of its value during the past year, and it's extending those losses today with a plunge of more than 16%.

Continue reading Standard & Poor's invites Spam to join S&P 500 Index

Standard & Poor's invites Spam to join S&P 500 Index originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ACASAmerican Capital Ltd.AmericanCapitalLtd.hormel foodsHormelFoodsHRLinthenewsinvestor sentimentInvestorSentimentoptionsSP 500 IndexSp500IndexSpamSPXStandard PoorsStandardPoorstechnical analysisTechnicalAnalysisWed, 25 Feb 2009 13:20:00 EST<![CDATA[Year-to-date winners and losers of the S&P 500 Index]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/11/26/year-to-date-winners-and-losers-of-the-sandp-500-index/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/11/26/year-to-date-winners-and-losers-of-the-sandp-500-index/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/11/26/year-to-date-winners-and-losers-of-the-sandp-500-index/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

With the end of the year fast approaching, it's time to start putting together "best of" and "worst of" lists for 2008. This entry is a little bit of both, but it's admittedly heavy on the "worst of." Among the current members of the S&P 500 Index (SPX), just 11 were sitting on a year-to-date gain as of the close of trading on Monday, November 24. Since Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) is unchanged, that means we have a whopping 488 securities sitting on a loss for the year.

Let's start with the bad news first. Among the worst-performing stocks on the SPX, the six top spots are claimed by stocks in the Insurance and Real Estate sectors. General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) has the dubious honor of dropping nearly 98% on the year, and -- not surprisingly -- American International Group (NYSE: AIG) isn't far behind.

Continue reading Year-to-date winners and losers of the S&P 500 Index

Year-to-date winners and losers of the S&P 500 Index originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>barr pharmaceuticalsBarrPharmaceuticalsbest stocks 2008BestStocks2008bigbig lotsBigLotsfeaturedgeneral growth propertiesGeneralGrowthPropertiesggpnational cityNationalCitynccSP 500 IndexSp500IndexSPXworst stocks 2008WorstStocks2008Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST