Morning Movers: Amazon Shares Highest Level In 5 Years; Microsoft Shares 52-Week High

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) - Shares of the e-tailer exploded to the highest level in five years following third-quarter earnings. Amazon reported a 28% increase in sales for the quarter and proffered fourth-quarter guidance that far exceeded previous analyst expectations. Shares of AMZN are trading higher by nearly 21% to $112.89 as of 9:50 am (EDT). Option traders exchanged upwards of 101,000 contracts within the first 20 minutes of the trading day. Implied volatility on the stock plummeted 23% this morning to approximately 36%. Today’s volatility reading is a scant 1% above the 52-week low of 35% for AMZN attained back on September 11, 2009.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) - Option traders are hard at work this morning, having traded more than 213,000 contracts on the software company by 10:00 am (EDT). Shares are flying higher by 8% to $28.81 - a new 52-week high for the stock. MSFT posted an 18% decline in earnings for the first-quarter with profits of 40 cents per share, which exceeded average forecasts of 32 cents per share. Call options at the November 30 strike are flying off the shelves like tickle-me-Elmo dolls. More than 70,000 contracts changed hands on previous existing open interest of just 11,542 lots.

Elan Corp. PLC (ELN) - Investor uncertainty over Elan Corp. is mounting while shares of the biotechnology company are falling. The stock fell off the deep end this morning with shares down nearly 20% to $5.17 as of 10:15 am (EDT). Shares are currently just 32 cents higher than the 52-week low of $4.85 realized on March 6, 2009. Implied volatility on the stock is soaring 42.26% higher to 73.84%.

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