Option Skews - Relatively Heavy Call Activity on Las Vegas Sands Corp, Fannie Mae, YRC Worldwide Inc, E-Trade Financial Corp

Here are the stocks that saw a bias toward call activity in the previous session. This filtered scan is based on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) buy-to-open data. It looks for stocks where the previous day's call volume on the ISE is at least twice as great as the put volume. It then sorts the stocks based on the call volume. Since this is buy-to-open data, this can be a good source for finding stocks where optimism is emerging. Of particular interest to me would be situations where we see call activity on stocks that are still in intermediate-term downtrends. This would be a potentially cautionary sign from the contrarian perspective.

Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM), YRC Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: YRCW), and E-Trade Financial Corp (NASDAQ: ETFC) were among the stocks hitting today's scan. These 3 situations share two commonalities. The first, and most obvious, is that each was severely hit amid the bear market slide and has yet to firmly recover. The second is that each stock carries a relatively heavy level of short interest. While that can lead to a short covering rally, the significance here is that calls buys can be used to hedge short interest. In other words, while call buying can represent optimism, it can also represent other things. That is always something to consider when looking at this data.

Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE: LVS) is also a heavily shorted name. While the equity is well off its former highs, I didn't lump it in with the names above because I wanted to touch on the daily chart. The shares have rebounded to trade in the teens and company has a market cap of 10 billion. As noted last week, the stock has been moving sideways and the chart shows an oversold condition was just hit. This a good test of whether buyers are willing to jump in.

Companies included in today's scan results: Bank of America Corp (BAC), Citigroup Inc (C), Palm Inc (PALM), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM), Microsoft Corp (MSFT), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT), Home Depot (HD), Veeco Instruments (VECO), Dell Inc (DELL), U.S. Bancorp (USB), Peabody Energy (BTU), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Pfizer (PFE), Fannie Mae (FNM), Kraft Foods (KFT), Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd (STP), YRC Worldwide Inc (YRCW), Alcoa (AA), Motorola (MOT), E-Trade Financial Corp (ETFC), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), EMC Corp. (EMC), Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS), Lexmark International (LXK), Sirius XM Radio Inc (SIRI).

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Option Skews - Relatively Heavy Put Activity on First Solar Inc, ON Semiconductor Corp, Broadcom Corporation, Biogen Idec Inc

Here are the stocks that saw a bias toward put activity in the previous session. This filtered scan is based on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) buy-to-open data. It looks for stocks where the previous day's put volume on the ISE is at least twice as great as the call volume. It then sorts the stocks based on the put volume. Since this is buy-to-open data, this can be a good source for finding stocks where skepticism is emerging. Of particular interest to me would be situations where we see put activity on stocks that are still in intermediate-term uptrends. This would be a potentially encouraging sign from the contrarian perspective.

The put activity on First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) continues what we saw last week. However, I still wouldn't consider any signs of skepticism to be counter-trend sentiment as stock is still trending lower.

The weekly chart of ON Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: ONNN) shows the equity is bouncing around in congestion. A push above 9 would break the consolidation as well as the pattern of lower higher that has been in place since late 2007.

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) challenged resistance back in December and then pulled back to previous support. The daily chart shows the shares bouncing off that support and out of an oversold condition.

The put buys on Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) came ahead of earnings. Shares of BIIB are showing a mild gain in pre-market activity.

Companies included in today's scan results: PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQQ), First Solar, Inc. (FSLR), Toyota Motor (TM), Exxon Mobil (XOM), ON Semiconductor (ONNN), Western Digital (WDC), Hasbro (HAS), Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG), Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT), Range Resources (RRC), Terex Corp. (TEX), MasterCard Incorporated (MA), Amgen Inc (AMGN), Biogen Idec Inc (BIIB), Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT), SanDisk Corp. (SNDK), Broadcom (BRCM), Morgan Stanley (MS), Coach (COH), Royal Caribbean Cruises. (RCL), PetroChina (PTR), Juniper Networks (JNPR), Genworth Financial Inc (GNW), Merck (MRK), Yahoo! Inc (YHOO).

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Stocks Advancing Amid Heavy Short Interest - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc, JDA Software Group Inc, Fuqi International Inc, Lennar Corp

As explained in our education section, short interest is a useful sentiment indicator that measures the level of investor pessimism toward a stock. While it isn't always a simple "long only" indicator, it can give you insight into situations where you might see concentrated buying demand. The purpose of this post is to highlight heavily-shorted stocks that could be in the midst of a potential short covering rally. More details about the methodology are listed below.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) started to show signs of breaking out last month but the stock hasn't yet taken off. There hasn't been a reversal or a rejection, the equity has just been consolidating. Yesterday's gain of 5% leaves Chipotle near its recent highs.

The daily chart of JDA Software Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: JDAS) shows a pullback amid an uptrend. Congestion near 24-25 was previous resistance and has so far been support.

I recently said that Fuqi International, Inc. (NASDAQ: FUQI) was showing signs of life, but it looks like was wrong. The equity looked as if it was starting to bounce but sellers immediately stepped in and continued the downtrend seen in the weekly chart. I would now wait for the down trending channel to be broken.

Regular reader might note that housing stocks are once again showing lively action. We saw a number of stocks from the group hit last week's short interest scan and today we have companies such as Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN), KB Home (NYSE: KBH), and Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: HOV) making a repeat appearance.

Methodology - the query scans my database of companies which has some basic filters to eliminate stocks that don't trade frequently. The table above is a filtered list of stocks that have at least 10 percent of their float sold short and showed a gain in the previous trading day. I use this as a tool for finding situations where stocks with heavy short interest have begun to move.

Companies included in today's scan are: Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin (ABCW), CompuCredit (CCRT), Sonic Solutions (SNIC), Winnebago Industries (WGO), Power-One (PWER), Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG), InnerWorkings, Inc. (INWK), Lennar Corp. (LEN), ATP Oil & Gas Corp (ATPG), Universal (UVV), Beazer Homes USA (BZH), JDA Software Group Inc (JDAS), KB HOME (KBH), Capitol Bancorp. (CBC), Geron Corp. (GERN), Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (DTG), THQ (THQI), Aruba Networks, Inc. (ARUN), Fuqi International Inc (FUQI), Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV), Lumber Liquidators (LL), Pulte Homes (PHM), Meritage (MTH), MBIA Inc (MBI), Fannie Mae (FNM).

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If so, you can get it delivered to your inbox every day. To try it, simply click here and sign in with your Schaeffer's username and password. If you don't have a free membership, you can create one in just seconds. Once on the alerts page, select "phrase" from the first drop down box, select "intraday", and enter "Stocks Advancing Amid Heavy Short Interest" into the third box. You can repeat that process for other regular posts or change the setting to "author" and enter "Nick Perry" to get all the posts. Just remember, I make multiple posts a day so you will get numerous emails if you select intraday...

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Stocks Showing Unusually Heavy Volume - Cell Therapeutics Inc, Hasbro Inc, InfoSpace Inc, CIT Group Inc, Orexigen Therapeutics Inc

Here are the results for today's unusual stock volume scan. The scan looks at the previous day's volume and compares it to the recent average volume. It then sorts the stocks based on those that showed the biggest increase (the "unusual" part) in volume.

Companies included in today's scan are: FairPoint Communications, Inc. (FRP), Cell Therapeutics Inc (CTIC), Hasbro Inc (HAS), InfoSpace Inc (INSP), Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CADX), Cubic Corp. (CUB), BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (BBEP), CIT Group Inc (CIT), Phase Forward Incorporated (PFWD), Riverbed Technology, Inc. (RVBD), Zebra Technologies (ZBRA), CVS Corp. (CVS), Isilon Systems, Inc. (ISLN), Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. (OREX), Sonic Solutions (SNIC), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD), Open Text (OTEX), Kulicke and Soffa Industries (KLIC), Jack In The Box (JBX), NII Holdings Inc (NIHD), Sealed Air (SEE), Technitrol (TNL), Baldor Electric (BEZ), LeapFrog Enterprises Inc (LF), Credit Suisse Group (CS).

These are the top stocks from today's scan, which has some basic filters to eliminate stocks that don't trade frequently. A description of the column headings is below.

• Move Previous Day - yesterday's percent return.
• Volume Increase - looks at the previous day's volume and compares it to the recent average volume. It then sorts the stocks based on those that showed the biggest increase (the "unusual" part) in volume.
• Close - yesterday's closing price.
• Total Ratings - number of analysts who track the stock, according to Zacks.
• Buy Percent - percent of the analysts who rate the stock as a "buy". I use this to help gauge sentiment and potential buying demand. If everyone already loves a stock, that means a steady stream of new money will need to enter the stock to fuel a rally.

Note - sentiment data is current as of the previous trading day...

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Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average Suggest an 80-Point Gain

Good morning everyone - welcome to Tuesday. We start the day with stock futures showing a moderate upside bias. The S&Ps are 9 points above fair value. As they stand now, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are suggesting an opening gain of 80 points.

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Daily Wrap-up - A 104-Point Loss for the Dow Jones Industrial Average

Despite a mid-morning rebound back to breakeven, the day ends with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) down 104 points. The S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (COMP) each lost just under 1% while the Russell 2000 (RUT) was slightly weaker. The intraday chart below shows the afternoon slide and the close near the lows of the day.

Chart Courtesy of Thomson Reuters

The mild upside bias we saw in the sector action earlier evaporated at the close. The SPDR Homebuilders (XHB) and iShares Treasury Bond (TLT) led while the Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI), Regional Bank HOLDRS (RKH), and PowerShares Clean Energy ETF (PBW) lagged.

Click here for symbol descriptions

My midday post noted I was keeping a cautious eye on how the indexes traded near their recent lows. The daily charts below tell the story. The SPX, DJIA, and COMP show a rejection at resistance while the RUT didn't even rebound to resistance.

Charts Courtesy of Thomson Reuters

Before Friday's reversal the Dow was down 167 points at its worst levels of the session. Today's drop of 104 points erases more than half of Friday's rebound. The "bright" spot is that the indexes are still holding above Friday's intraday low. That is the near-term level I will be watching this week and is where I will pick up in the morning. Have a nice evening.

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Bears Continue to Bet Against Genworth Financial, Inc.

Put volume is heavier than usual today on Genworth Financial, Inc. (GNW), with roughly 1.3 times the expected number of contracts crossing the tape. So far, about 7,291 puts have changed hands, and 5,954 of those bearishly oriented contracts have traded on GNW's out-of-the-money February 13 put.

The February 13 put is currently home to peak front-month put open interest of 20,225 contracts, so it's not yet clear whether today's volume consists of newly opened positions or liquidations of existing contracts. However, with implied volatility up 6.1%, and 60% of this put volume trading at the ask price, most of the activity today at the February 13 strike appears to be buyer-initiated.

Today's bias toward bearish bets continues a recent trend for GNW, which has racked up a 10-day Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE)/International Securities Exchange (ISE) put/call volume ratio of 2.23. This ratio ranks higher than 86% of other such readings taken during the past year, revealing that traders have rarely scooped up puts over calls at a faster pace.

Despite the distinct preference for pessimistic bets, GNW is actually faring quite well on the charts. Since March 2009, the equity has marched consistently higher along the support of its 10-week and 20-week moving averages, racking up a 52-week gain of nearly 500%. During the short term, the heavy accumulation of puts at the February 13 strike could act as an additional layer of options-related support.

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Midday Market Check - The Dow Jones Industrial Average Rebounds to Breakeven

We head into the second half of the session with a seemingly quiet day on our hands. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dipped to an early loss of 77 points but quickly rebounded. The blue chip average is now down just 10 points and has spent the last two hours hugging the breakeven line. The S&P 500 (SPX) and Russell 2000 (RUT) are also flat while the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) shows a minor gain.

Chart Courtesy of Thomson Reuters

While the broad market indexes are more or less unchanged, the sector action has a mild upside bias. Today's strongest groups are the SPDR Homebuilders (XHB), Semiconductor HOLDRS (SMH), and S&P Retail Index (RLX). The Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI) and Regional Bank HOLDRS (RKH) are the weakest areas.

Click here for symbol descriptions

Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX), CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), and Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CADX) are among the stocks seeing unusual option volume so far today.

Click image to see live data in our Options Center

The relatively heavy call activity in Ebix is somewhat curious. The stock isn't really moving and the headlines are quiet so it is worth watching to see whether something develops. The interest in CIT Group options comes amid word that John Thain will be taking the reins. Shares of CIT are flat with the bulk of the action on the call side. Puts are active on Cadence Pharmaceuticals as the equity drops 8%. According to this article the company has an FDA event looming.

I ended Friday noting that the intraday reversal was a mildly encouraging sign but that the indexes were still at or below the recent lows. Today's tepid action does little to change the charts so I am still keeping a cautious eye on how that plays out.

Meanwhile, Todd Salamone offered some upbeat comments over the weekend in Monday Morning Outlook. He noted the influx of skepticism and pointed out the advantages of hedging intermediate-term long positions with short-term puts. The advantage of this is that you can step in during pullbacks and still manage your risk profile. That is definitely an interesting point to keep in mind.

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Short-Term Trader Is Cautiously Bullish on Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) was the target of major call volume on Friday, with activity accelerating to roughly three times the usual level. During the course of the session, about 41,000 of these bullishly oriented options changed hands, compared to GILD's typical call volume of 11,000 contracts.

A closer look at the day's trading reveals that the February 47 and February 49 calls were singled out for a moderately bullish spread strategy. The February 47 strike saw 15,464 contracts cross the tape, while the February 49 call traded volume of 16,335 contracts. Open interest on both options rose substantially over the weekend, confirming that new calls were added at these two strikes.

Digging deeper into the activity at these strikes, several large blocks traded near the ask price on the February 47 call, simultaneously with several symmetrical blocks that crossed the tape near the bid price on the February 49 call. This suggests the 47-strike calls were purchased, while the 49-strike calls were sold. In other words, this was the initiation of a long call spread on GILD.

By opening this spread, the trader expects GILD to rally above $47 by the time February-dated options expire next Friday. However, by selling the 49 call, the speculator has revealed that he doesn't expect the shares to rally too dramatically during this time frame.

After checking out the charts, there's some justification for this moderately bullish spread. GILD rebounded last Friday after meeting up with newfound support at its 80-day moving average, but the shares haven't managed a monthly finish above $49 since January 2009, despite multiple challenges of this region.

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Amazon.com Inc - Then and Now

It was nearly 4 months ago that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) appeared on the Schaeffer's Contrarian Stock Screener ahead of earnings. The stock was profiled in this post - Amazon.com Inc - One to Watch - with the key takeaway being -

"A positive reaction could put the stock above resistance and leave the Street scrambling to catch up. "

Fast forward to today and we see the tide has shifted. In October, only 7 of 20 analysts (35%) ranked the stock with a buy rating. Heading into today, a full 70% were sitting in the buy camp.

The swing towards optimism began after the gap higher seen in the daily chart below. Amazon.com's October earnings report was well received and buy recommendations began to build as the stock continued higher. By mid December, 60% of the ratings were buys.

I think this is a good illustration of how you can use sentiment indicators and the contrarian methodology. Of course, it is also raises the question of what's next as the sentiment profile now shows little in the way of skepticism. Shares of Amazon.com are still a longer-term leader but they have trended steadily lower since the beginning of the year. The downdraft has the stock hitting oversold levels and flirting with support near 115. From a technical perspective, a bull would want to see the stock hold here as a sign that buying demand hasn't evaporated.

Chart Courtesy of Thomson Reuters

A point noted many times is that sentiment needs to be evaluated in the context of price action. In October the equity was strong and sentiment was unenthusiastic. Now, the stock is at a crossroads and sentiment is enthusiastic. This doesn't mean that Amazon.com has to turn lower but this is no longer the contrarian situation it once was. With analysts firmly in the buy camp and short interest low, the bar for expectations is getting higher.

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Option Skews - Relatively Heavy Call Activity on Citigroup Inc and Ciena Corp

Here are the stocks that saw a bias toward call activity in the previous session. This filtered scan is based on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) buy-to-open data. It looks for stocks where the previous day's call volume on the ISE is at least twice as great as the put volume. It then sorts the stocks based on the call volume. Since this is buy-to-open data, this can be a good source for finding stocks where optimism is emerging. Of particular interest to me would be situations where we see call activity on stocks that are still in intermediate-term downtrends. This would be a potentially cautionary sign from the contrarian perspective.

It was recently noted that Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) frequently tops the call activity scan. Today continues the trend and the updated daily chart shows the stock is once again testing short-term support. A pattern of lower highs has now converged on support so something has to give here. The Street is firmly on the sidelines with just 7 of 19 analysts (37%) ranking the stock with a buy rating. Of course, given the company's history, it isn't surprising to see skepticism.

We have been tracking the positive price action on Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN) for a few weeks now. According to data collected by our Quantified Analysis department, 19% of the stock's float is sold short. That is worth noting as call buys could be as a hedge to short positions.

Companies included in today's scan results: Citigroup Inc (C), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM), Pfizer (PFE), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Hecla Mining (HL), Smithfield Foods (SFD), Intel Corp. (INTC), Qualcomm Inc (QCOM), Aetna (AET), Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO), Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR), WellPoint Health Networks (WLP), DryShips Inc. (DRYS), Palm Inc (PALM), Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT), Yamana Gold Inc (AUY), Motorola (MOT), CIENA Corp. (CIEN), Peabody Energy (BTU), Nokia Corp. (NOK), AirTran Holdings Inc (AAI), American Tower (AMT), Merck (MRK), Corning Incorporated (GLW), Newmont Mining (NEM).

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Option Skews - Relatively Heavy Put Activity on Sanmina-SCI Corporation and Aruba Networks Inc

Here are the stocks that saw a bias toward put activity in the previous session. This filtered scan is based on the International Securities Exchange (ISE) buy-to-open data. It looks for stocks where the previous day's put volume on the ISE is at least twice as great as the call volume. It then sorts the stocks based on the put volume. Since this is buy-to-open data, this can be a good source for finding stocks where skepticism is emerging. Of particular interest to me would be situations where we see put activity on stocks that are still in intermediate-term uptrends. This would be a potentially encouraging sign from the contrarian perspective.

Sanmina-SCI Corporation (NASDAQ: SANM) is a very interesting situation. The daily chart shows the stock has pulled back retest former resistance as support. This has allowed the equity to work off some of its overbought condition.

Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) has also pulled back to support. The shares are near a short-term oversold reading so it will be worth watching whether buyers step in.

Companies included in today's scan results: SPDR Trust Series I (SPY), PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQQ), MasterCard Incorporated (MA), Aruba Networks, Inc. (ARUN), Annaly Mortgage Management (NLY), CVS Corp. (CVS), Transocean (RIG), Myriad Genetics (MYGN), Sanmina-SCI (SANM), American Express (AXP), Nike (NKE), MGM Mirage (MGM), Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT), Rockwell Automation Inc (ROK), Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), Wells Fargo & Co (WFC), Barclays PLC (BCS), Honeywell International (HON), NetGear, Inc (NTGR), Simon Property Group (SPG), SL Green Realty (SLG), PetroChina (PTR), C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW), Emerson Electric (EMR), Noble Corp. (NE).

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Stocks Advancing Amid Heavy Short Interest - Power-One Inc, RF Micro Devices Inc, Osiris Therapeutics Inc, Discovery Laboratories Inc

As explained in our education section, short interest is a useful sentiment indicator that measures the level of investor pessimism toward a stock. While it isn't always a simple "long only" indicator, it can give you insight into situations where you might see concentrated buying demand. The purpose of this post is to highlight heavily-shorted stocks that could be in the midst of a potential short covering rally. More details about the methodology are listed below.

Power-One, Inc. (Public, NASDAQ: PWER) and RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: RFMD) have both pulled back to support. The weekly chart of PWER shows intermediate-term support near 3. The daily chart of RFMD shows shorter-term support just below 4.

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSIR) has now rallied back to the lower end of the "void" left by the September gap.

Discovery Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCO) once again makes an appearance. However, the recent comments about volatility and the longer-term trend still ring true.

Methodology - the query scans my database of companies which has some basic filters to eliminate stocks that don't trade frequently. The table above is a filtered list of stocks that have at least 10 percent of their float sold short and showed a gain in the previous trading day. I use this as a tool for finding situations where stocks with heavy short interest have begun to move.

Companies included in today's scan are: bebe stores (BEBE), Baldor Electric (BEZ), Power-One (PWER), Shutterfly, Inc. (SFLY), Bronco Drilling Company, Inc. (BRNC), Metabolix, Inc. (MBLX), National Penn Bancshares (NPBC), Hecla Mining (HL), Alkermes (ALKS), Discovery Laboratories Inc (DSCO), Barnes & Noble (BKS), PSS World Medical (PSSI), First BanCorp. (FBP), Walter Industries (WLT), Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT), Old Second Bancorp (OSBC), Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (TXRH), Isle of Capris Casinos (ISLE), Chiquita Brands International (CQB), Evergreen Solar Inc (ESLR), RF Micro Devices (RFMD), Moody's Corp. (MCO), Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (OSIR), Netlogic Microsystems (NETL), Ambac Financial Group (ABK).

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If so, you can get it delivered to your inbox every day. To try it, simply click here and sign in with your Schaeffer's username and password. If you don't have a free membership, you can create one in just seconds. Once on the alerts page, select "phrase" from the first drop down box, select "intraday", and enter "Stocks Advancing Amid Heavy Short Interest" into the third box. You can repeat that process for other regular posts or change the setting to "author" and enter "Nick Perry" to get all the posts. Just remember, I make multiple posts a day so you will get numerous emails if you select intraday...

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Stocks Showing Unusually Heavy Volume - ResMed Inc, Fortress Investment Group LLC, MasterCard Inc, Monster Worldwide Inc

Here are the results for today's unusual stock volume scan. The scan looks at the previous day's volume and compares it to the recent average volume. It then sorts the stocks based on those that showed the biggest increase (the "unusual" part) in volume.

Companies included in today's scan are: Airgas (ARG), Phase Forward Incorporated (PFWD), NetSuite Inc. (N), Power-One (PWER), Air Products and Chemicals (APD), Star Gas Partners (SGU), bebe stores (BEBE), Shutterfly, Inc. (SFLY), Pilgrim's Pride (PPC), Baldor Electric (BEZ), Dun & Bradstreet (DNB), Kensey Nash (KNSY), Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OPTR), TTM Technologies (TTMI), Brooks Automation (BRKS), ResMed Inc (RMD), Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG), Kulicke and Soffa Industries (KLIC), Comverse Technology Inc (CMVT), MasterCard Incorporated (MA), Monster Worldwide Inc (MWW), American Axle & Manufact. Holdings Inc (AXL), Lululemon athletica (LULU), SolarWinds Inc (SWI), EarthLink (ELNK).

These are the top stocks from today's scan, which has some basic filters to eliminate stocks that don't trade frequently. A description of the column headings is below.

• Move Previous Day - yesterday's percent return.
• Volume Increase - looks at the previous day's volume and compares it to the recent average volume. It then sorts the stocks based on those that showed the biggest increase (the "unusual" part) in volume.
• Close - yesterday's closing price.
• Total Ratings - number of analysts who track the stock, according to Zacks.
• Buy Percent - percent of the analysts who rate the stock as a "buy". I use this to help gauge sentiment and potential buying demand. If everyone already loves a stock, that means a steady stream of new money will need to enter the stock to fuel a rally.

Note - sentiment data is current as of the previous trading day...

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Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average Suggest a 40-Point Loss

Good morning everyone - welcome to the beginning of a new trading week and a hearty congratulations to the New Orleans Saints. We start the day with stock futures showing a mild downside bias. The S&Ps are nearly 5 points below fair value. As they stand now, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are suggesting an opening drop of 40 points.

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