Nasdaq OMX option volume and implied volatility spiked this morning when it became clear that the exchange was having trouble opening Facebook for trading on-time at 11am. While 643 contracts had traded in the first 90mins of the day, between (register to read more …) [...]

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Morgan Stanley (MS) loses 45 cents to $14.50 and a Jan 13 – 15 put spread is sold on the investment bank at $1.01, 10000X. Looks tied to 250K shares at $14.45 and might close. Separately, a May – Jun (register to read more …) [...]

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Put volume well above normal in Morgan Stanley today with nearly 50K contracts on the tape and the downside March 17 puts seeing most of the flow. ISE data confirms buyer is opening cust, with the day’s avg price for (register to read more …) [...]

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CBOE Holdings (CBOE) is up $1.46 to $27.93 and near session highs on share volume of 2.6 million, which is almost 10X the typical levels through midday, after S&P selected the stock to join the MidCap 400 Index. CBOE reported (register to read more …) [...]

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Etrade Financial (ETFC) adds a dime to $9.20 and a 10000-contract block of Jan14 $10 call trades on the broker at the $2.10 asking price. Looks opening and tied to 600K shares for $9.17. A Dow Jones article today mentioned (register to read more …) [...]

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Etrade Financial (ETFC) adds 19 cents to $8.10 and one strategist sells 20,000 Jan $14 calls on the online broker for a penny per contract. It’s likely a closing trade. Open interest in the Jan $14s is 22,259 and the (register to read more …) [...]

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Morgan Stanley (MS) adds 68 cents to $14.84 and recent options trades on the investment bank include a Jan 17.5 – Feb 17 call spread, bought for 45 cents, 10000X. It appears to be rolling activity, and possibly closing out (register to read more …) [...]

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Schwab (SCHW) shares hit a morning low of $10.83 and are down 37 cents to $11.16 after the discount broker reported November trading statistics and also lowered guidance for fourth quarter earnings. Shares sank on the news and some players (register to read more …) [...]

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Legg Mason (LM) adds 35 cents to $26.62 and one player intiates a Jan 26 – Feb 22 put spread on the firm for 60 cents on ISE. Sentiment data indicate Jan 26 puts were bought and Feb 22 puts (register to read more …) [...]

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43,000 puts and 9,650 calls traded on Morgan Stanley (MS) through midday. Shares are down 7 cents to $14.20 and the top trade is a 10000-contract block of Jan13 $13 puts for $3.55 on ISE. Data indicate an opening customer (register to read more …) [...]

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