Schaeffer's "Behind the Headlines" Highlights the Following Stocks: Citigroup, General Electric, Toll Brothers, and UnitedHealth Group.CINCINNATI -- Today's "Behind the Headlines" from Schaeffer's Investment Research focuses on Citigroup (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :C), General Electric (NYSE:GE), Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL), and UnitedHealth Group UnitedHealth Group Incorporated NYSE: UNH is a managed health care company. It is the parent of United Healthcare, one of the largest health insurers in the U.S. It was created in 1977, as UnitedHealthCare Corporation (it renamed itself in 1998), but traces its origin to a (NYSE:UNH Unh The symbol for the element unnilhexium. ). "Behind the Headlines" is a report that analyzes newsworthy news·wor·thy adj. news·wor·thi·er, news·wor·thi·est Of sufficient interest or importance to the public to warrant reporting in the media. news stocks that are generating a lot of attention on Wall Street. "Behind the Headlines" is published on www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. Take advantage of the timely Schaeffer commentaries by signing up for their free e-newsletters -- Opening View, Market Recap, and Monday Morning Outlook. Click here to have the Schaeffer's commentaries delivered to you free via email every day and get entered to win an iPod Nano A flash-based digital music player from Apple, introduced in 2005. Like larger iPod models, the nano has a color screen. Although the nano name suggests ultra-small "nanotechnology," the iPod shuffle is actually smaller. See iPod. . http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROAW13M&PAGE=1. Behind the Headlines: It's that time of the month again! Yes, October options are slated to expire at the end of the week. (What were you thinking?!?) One other interesting tidbit to keep in mind is a new rule that requires the automatic exercise of options that are slightly in-the-money when they expire. Specifically, stock options that are in-the-money by a mere nickel will be automatically exercised, down from the current threshold of 25 cents. As we approach expiration EXPIRATION. Cessation; end. As, the expiration of, a lease, of a contract, or statute. 2. In general, the expiration of a contract puts an end to all the engagements of the parties, except to those which arise from the non- fulfillment of obligations created , keep an eye out for a number of stocks that could find themselves pinned to strikes that are home to heavy accumulations of contracts. Citigroup: The shares of Citigroup (NYSE:C) have been pulled back to the 50 strike this afternoon, falling below support at their 20-day moving average. Since late July, the stock has logged only four daily closes below this trendline. The 50 strike is currently home to more than 37,500 calls in the October series, making it the site of peak front-month call open interest. What's more, another 27,400 contracts rest at the October 50 put. This hefty accumulation of puts and calls could act as a magnet to keep the shares stuck in this region until they expire. Click the following link to see a Daily Chart of C Since July 2006 with 20-Day Moving Average: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=17553 . General Electric: This morning, General Electric (NYSE:GE) was downgraded by Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER TYO: 8675 ), through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides capital markets services, investment banking and advisory services, wealth management, asset management, insurance, banking and related products and services on a global basis. (MER mer Among the Cheremi and Udmurt peoples of Russia, a sacred grove where people of several villages gathered periodically to hold religious festivals and sacrifice animals to nature gods. ) from "buy" to "neutral" on valuation concerns. Technically speaking, the stock has added 1.3 percent since the start of the year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average Dow Jones Industrial Average The best known U.S. index of stocks. A price-weighted average of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks, primarily industrials including stocks that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. (DJIA DJIA See Dow Jones Industrial Averager (DJIA). ) has gained an impressive 11.7 percent. In trading today, GE is down more than one percent and has broken through key support at its ascending ascending /as·cend·ing/ (ah-send´ing) having an upward course. ascending progressing to higher levels, usually used in reference to the nervous system. 20-day moving average. The stock has not finished a session below this short-term trendline since mid-August. Furthermore, today's breakdown could send the shares back to former resistance at the 35 level. This strike is also the site of both peak call and put open interest in the October series, with a total of more than 113,000 contracts. Like C, GE could find itself pinned to this strike during the near term. Click the following link to see a Daily Chart of GE Since July 2006 with 20-Day Moving Average: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=17553 . Toll Brothers: The housing sector received a bit of a boost this morning. BB&T upgraded a number of homebuilding stocks and raised price targets on others, believing a bottom is near in the housing sector. In fact, the firm boosted its price target on Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) from $29 to $36. Despite the positive news, the shares continue to languish under resistance at the 30 level as they consolidate into support at their ascending 10-day and 20-day moving averages. Meanwhile, on the options front, the 30 strike is home to more than 11,000 calls in the October series. This buildup build·up also build-up n. 1. The act or process of amassing or increasing: a military buildup; a buildup of tension during the strike. 2. of bullish Bullish Word used to describe an investor's attitude. Bullish refers to an optimistic outlook, while bearish means a pessimistic outlook. bullish bets could act as a roadblock during the next week. Click the following link to see a Daily Chart of TOL Since July 2006 with 10-Day and 20-Day Moving Averages: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=17553 . UnitedHealth Group: Before the open, UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) announced that Chief Executive William McGuire William McGuire may refer to:
Click the following link to see an Intraday Intraday Another way of saying "within the day." Notes: This term is often used for the new highs and lows of a security. For example, "a new intraday high" means a security reached a new all-time high throughout the trading day, but then fell by closing. Chart of UNH for October 16, 2006: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/wire?ID=17553 . The best way to take advantage of the timely Schaeffer commentaries is to sign up to receive their free e-newsletters -- Opening View, Market Recap and Monday Morning Outlook. Click here to have the Schaeffer's commentaries delivered to you free via email every day and get entered to win an iPod Nano. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROAW13M&PAGE=1 . About Schaeffer's Investment Research (www.SchaeffersResearch.com) Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com , is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method . |
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