ZEEV, TECHNICALS - up to ZEEV:357998, 02/13/05
02/07: (355533) (*COMMENT*)
One "odd" thing about today's EPC, Zeev, is that there were over 136K of the XOM 50 Calls traded today, thus pushing the ratio out of whack. XOM goes ex-dividend tomorrow, and apparently there's a play of capturing that dividend (and profits) with ITM options. This happened in December with a few dow stocks, too.
I don't know if this has gone on all the time, but it sure makes the EPC seem less exhuberent, as no one is buying 10% ITM calls out of speculation....
(*END*)
Do you know what was the open interest in those calls yesterday? The current open interest is very low, so that must have been a "closing" of a position, maybe to capture the dividend.
