Zacks.com Announces That Bernie Schaeffer Highlights Options for the Following Stocks: eBay, Motorola, and Sepracor.

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 4, 2004

Investors are holding their breath in worry of rising interest rates. But Bernie Schaeffer can help you to survive these changing times through his in-depth market evaluation and through profiles of three option trades from his aggressive portfolio. Read about eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), Motorola (NYSE:MOT), and Sepracor (NASDAQ:SEPR). Click here for the full story exclusively on Zacks.com: http://at.zacks.com/?id=84

Here are the highlights from the Featured Expert column:

The Market from the May edition, dated April 22nd

This environment of low interest rates and government spending has benefited equity and bond investors alike, but "the times they are a-changin'." Since the beginning of 2004, the Fed has been trying its best to prepare investors for a change in the interest rate climate like a nurse preparing a child for a shot in the arm. Yet despite the Fed's attempts to make the change as painless as possible, investors are kicking and screaming bloody murder in anticipation of the pinch in the arm. Along with the strong March non-farm payrolls, the March consumer core price index jumping to its highest rate since November 2001 hasn't helped investor perceptions of what's to come. The latest CPI jump clearly argues that there is a definite shift toward an inflationary environment rather than a deflationary one.

Aggressive Portfolio

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) - EXPECTATIONALANALYSIS(R): EBAY reported stellar earnings recently, as revenue soared 59 percent over year-ago levels and net income skyrocketed 92 percent. The firm raked in a profit of 31 cents per share, besting the consensus estimate of 26 cents per share. This was clearly a surprise, as pessimism was riding high ahead of the firm's earnings announcement. The equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.43 was higher than 90 percent of all those taken over the past year, while the number of EBAY shares sold short shot 12 percent higher in March to 29.7 million. At the stock's average daily trading volume, it would take more than four days to cover these bearish bets. This accumulation of short positions could easily fuel additional gains in the security.

Motorola (NYSE:MOT) - EXPECTATIONALANALYSIS(R): On April 20, MOT blew away investors with a 42-percent increase in revenue during the first quarter. The company posted a profit of 25 cents per share, crushing its seven-cent profit for the same period a year ago. Furthermore, the firm anticipates strong second-quarter sales. Despite this positive news, investors remain skeptical of the stock. Puts outnumber calls in the front three months of options and the current SOIR is at its highest level of the past year. In addition, short interest jumped six percent higher in April to 39.8 million shares. An unwinding of these bearish bets could spur a rally in the security.

Sepracor (NASDAQ:SEPR) - EXPECTATIONALANALYSIS(R): Skepticism is running high on SEPR. The equity's SOIR of 0.90 is currently higher than 98 percent of all those ratio readings taken over the past year. In addition, the number of SEPR shares sold short skyrocketed 62 percent in March to 13.8 million - marking a new multi-year high. An unwinding of this pessimistic sentiment could help spur further gains in the security. Given SEPR's technical performance, this rise in bearish sentiment is surprising. SEPR has been a stellar performer, rising 13 fold since September 2002 and outperforming its Nasdaq peers for the past year-and-a-half.

Get Bernie's specific recommendations on these companies, along with his complete market commentary and more option trades from the aggressive and put-selling portfolios by clicking: http://at.zacks.com/?id=85

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