5 Stocks Making Noise In the Auto World

Automakers are causing a stir today, as Wall Street watches contract negotiations, weighs a few partnerships, and eyes the latest from the International Auto Show in Frankfurt. Among the equities making noise in the auto arena are Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), Maxwell Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:MXWL), Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), and Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). 

FCAU is up 3% at $14.76, as the company continues to negotiate with the United Auto Workers (UAW). The union delayed calling for strikes at U.S. Fiat locations, and has extended its old agreement "on an hour-by-hour basis" (subscription required). Outside of Teamster Talk, FCAU led an 11.5% increase in overall European car registrations in August, according to a Brussels-based agency, with Fiat registrations surging 13.9%. 

Should FCAU ink a deal with the UAW, a mass exodus of short sellers could help the stock add to its year-to-date lead, which currently stands at 27.5%. Short interest represents 16 sessions' worth of pent-up buying demand, at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's average pace of trading. 

GM -- which is being pursued by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne -- is cautiously higher as traders await a union precedent from FCAU. The stock was last seen up 1.2% at $31.09, and option players are betting on even more short-term upside. GM calls are trading at 1.8 times the average intraday rate, with potential buy-to-open activity spotted at the September 31.50 strike. 

Assuming the traders are "vanilla," their goal is for GM to surmount the $31.50 level by Friday's close, when front-month options expire. If the contracts were bought at a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of $0.39, the buyers will reap a profit on a move north of $31.89 (strike plus VWAP). However, GM has struggled to surmount the $32 region in the third quarter, and could run into a wall in the form of its 40-month moving average. 

Energy storage concern MXWL is up 15.5% at $5.90 -- on track for its best day in more than a year -- after General Motors Company adopted its ultracapacitor-based voltage stabilization system (VSS), marking the first U.S. automaker to do so. A short squeeze could be helping MXWL's cause; short interest accounts for 15% of the stock's float, and would take more than 17 sessions to unwind, at the equity's average daily trading volume. 

Plus, short-term option bears could also hit the bricks. Maxwell Technologies Inc.'s Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 2.37 indicates that puts more than double calls among options expiring within three months. What's more, this ratio stands higher than 91% of all other readings from the past year, pointing to a bigger-than-usual put bias among near-term traders. 

F has advanced 2.7% to dock at $14.15, as speculators watch the FCAU/UAW negotiations and digest a deal with Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA). The stock is set to end atop its 20-day trendline for the first time since the August bloodbath, and an extended rebound could catch some recent option bears off guard. The security's 10-day put/call volume ratio on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits at 0.73 -- in the 97th percentile of its annual range. Simply put, option buyers have picked up Ford Motor Company puts over calls at a near-annual-high clip during the past two weeks. 

Finally, TSLA has been a wet blanket in the auto sector today. The stock has fluctuated between minor gains and losses, and was last seen fractionally higher at $253.52. Speculators might be spooked by the latest luxury electric vehicles unveiled in Frankfurt, with Porsche's Mission E car making a serious splash. In addition, Tesla Motors Inc shares are facing double-barreled resistance in the $250-$254 region, home to their 10-week and 20-week moving averages.