Right out of the gate Wednesday, put volume surged to about 50 times the norm on Autodesk (ADSK). Within the first 45 minutes of trading, about 20,000 puts changed hands on the design software company. Most of the activity is taking place in the July series, where it looks as though traders are buying new puts at the 25 and 31 strikes. The stock is currently trading near $26.60, in between these two popular put options.

However, today's preference for bearishly oriented options isn't exactly a deviation from the norm for Autodesk. Among options slated to expire within three months, puts currently outnumber calls by a margin of 2.74 to one.

Continue reading Put Volume Spikes on Autodesk

Put Volume Spikes on Autodesk originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Blockbuster Seeks Reverse Stock Split

Blockbuster Seeks Reverse Stock Split originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Since shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) have dropped so sharply over the last year, the company keeps coming up with ways to convince its investors that it has a handle on things and can run the coffee retailer well in a harsh environment. It will make another attempt at getting its arguments across at its annual meeting Wednesday.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "executives are expected to outline a plan to weather the recession that includes an effort to make Starbucks products seem more affordable, and reassure investors that the company is on track to cut $500 million of costs by the fall."

Continue reading Starbucks (SBUX) plans to calm investors

Starbucks (SBUX) plans to calm investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A report today in the New York Post suggests that shareholders are anxious to oust Kenneth Lewis, CEO of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC). The paper says that a group of angry investors, spearheaded by Jerry Finger, has compiled a list of demands to present at the bank's next annual meeting. Finger and his irate mob will request that the roles of CEO and chairman be split, and the outspoken investor said it's safe to assume that a brand-new chief executive is also high on his wish list.

Finger made headlines last month by filing a class-action lawsuit against B of A, alleging that its merger with Merrill Lynch failed to protect shareholders' interests. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is now investigating that very same matter, and reports say that the AG may demand the return of $4 billion in bonuses to Merrill employees that were rushed through prior to the merger's completion.

Continue reading Will Bank of America shareholders show CEO Kenneth Lewis the door?

Will Bank of America shareholders show CEO Kenneth Lewis the door? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

But Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE: SRZ) has taken the corporate governance parody to astounding heights. On October 16th, 17 months after its last annual meeting, and after options scandals, accounting scandals, and the firing of a CEO among other thing, shareholders will convene for the annual meeting.

The New York Times piece on this travesty sums it up: Welcome to the annual meeting. Now be quiet. Only three directors will be standing for re-election, and no other business issues will be allowed to be discussed.

And we thought the shareholders owned the company, and the board/officers were supposed to be held accountable to them. Hah!

We can only hope Sunrise's assisted-living facilities treat their residents with more respect than the company treats its shareholders.

Who does Sunrise Senior Living (SRZ) think its owners are? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yahoo! shareholders send a message originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Jun 2007 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Anyone who was following the market a year ago remembers Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD)'s 2006 annual meeting, which was botched about as badly as anyone has ever botched anything. It was described as appalling, arrogant, and a bunch of other words that we can't type on a family site like BloggingStocks.

Now that former CEO Robert Nardelli has gone (with his $210 million severance package), new CEO Frank Blake is hoping to do better on the investor relations front. He will personally take questions from investors at the meeting, and won't even use a timer to keep people from rambling!

So far, Blake has come across as the anti-Nardelli: Humble, ready to admit mistakes, and even a bit Buffett-like with his folksy analysis of operations.

While it's all well and good that the company's management has a nicer public image, there is still a lot of work to be done on the operations front. The most recent quarter was a disappointment (as Blake put it, "While we expected a tough quarter, this was worse than we anticipated"), and the company will need to execute a turnaround.

But the nicer public relations campaign should buy Home Depot time with investors. It wasn't so long ago that Jim Cramer was jokingly referring to Home Depot as "Home Despot" -- those days are now behind it. But can the company deliver results?

Home Depot aims for a kinder, gentler annual meeting originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 May 2007 15:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• JPMorgan 35th Annual Technology Conference.
• Lowe's Companies Inc (NYSE: LOW) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9am. Lowe's is expected to post sub-par revenue results and an EPS decline, given the continued sluggishness in U.S. housing sector.
• PDUFA date for Shire plc's (NASDAQ: SHPGY) SPD-465 for ADHD in adults.

• Staples Inc (NASDAQ: SPLS) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 8am.
• Men's Wearhouse Inc (NYSE: MW) to hold conference to at 5pm discuss Q1 earnings, detail its acquisition of After Hours and discuss the impact on 2007 guidance.

• Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 9:30am.
• Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 4:30pm.

• McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) to hold shareholder meeting at 10am.
• Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 5pm.

• Lowe's to hold annual shareholder meeting at 10am. Note that Lowe's reports on Monday 5/21.
• Agilysys Inc (NASDAQ: AGYS) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 11am.

Market highlights for next week: Lowe's to report on Monday originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 May 2007 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Eastman Kodak Comapny (NYSE: EK) -

Kodak volatility suggests less risk into EPS and closing of $2.3 billion cash asset sale.

EK will report EPS on 5/4. EK has a market cap of $6.7 billion, long-term debt of $2.7 billion with cash and investments of $1.4 billion as of 12/31/06. EK announced in January it has agreed to sell its health group to Onex Corp for $2.3 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to close soon.

EK overall option implied volatility of 27 is below its 26-week average of 31 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing risk.

The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) -

Boeing implied volatility suggests flat risk into EPS and annual meeting.

BA will report EPS on 4/25. BA will hold its annual meeting on 4/30. BA announced a $2.8 billion 787 order with Virgin Atlantic today.

BA overall option implied volatility of 22 is near its 26-week average of 23 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional risk.

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

Option update 4-24-07: Kodak shows reduced risk before earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Apr 2007 14:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Starbucks' Schultz: not slowing down, reiterates 40,000 store goal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Nortel Networks Corporation (NYSE: NT) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:30am. Analysts will be focused on Nortel's Mobility enterprise solutions revenue, as well as new business opportunities and clients.

• Two well known technology companies to report -- Adobe Systems Inc's (NASDAQ: ADBE) Q1 conference call is at 5pm, Oracle Corporation's (NASDAQ: ORCL) Q3 conference call is at 5pm.

• PDUFA Date for Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc's (NASDAQ: ALXN) Solaris, a treatment for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a rare blood disorder.

• The International Trade Commission will hold a public hearing on the Patent Infringement case between Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) and Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ: QCOM) at 9:30am.

• Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) will hold a shareholder meeting at 1pm in Seattle. Ferris Baker Watts believes the meeting will alleviate some concerns over a previously leaked internal memo written by CEO Howard Schultz that had a cautious tone.

• Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5pm. Along with performance by region [North America, Europe, Asia], and evaluation of pricing pressures, analysts will review Nike's revised Air Force One product performance -- deemed a catalyst for growth moving forward .

• Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:30am.
• Virginia District Court to hold injunction hearing between Vonage Holdings Corp (NYSE: VG) and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ).

Market highlights for next week: Nortel, Adobe, Oracle to report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Mar 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analysts not blinded by Sun at investor's day originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Feb 2007 07:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Net cash generation of $592 million versus an estimate of $400 million to $600 million, hitting the higher end of the estimate
• Digital earnings grew five-fold, albeit only hitting the lower end of guidance
• Intellectual property development doing well, as it makes progress with its CMOS business and generates profits from its other IP businesses

Kodak coming into focus originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Feb 2007 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google annual meeting set for May 11 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 02 Apr 2006 08:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.