Morning Stock Market Movers: Apollo Group, Panera Bread, Harris Corp

PNRA - Panera Bread Co. - The owner and franchiser of bakery-cafes in the U.S. reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings of 61 cents per share after the market closed on Tuesday. A 3.3% increase in same-store sales for the quarter and positive guidance for the fourth quarter lifted shares of PNRA 9.5% this morning to $60.38. Option traders are exchanging call options at the November 60 strike for an average of two dollars apiece. It appears some investors are purchasing the contracts while others may be banking gains on the now in-the-money call options. Panera’s option implied volatility fell sharply by about 25% to the current reading of 29% following earnings.

APOL - Apollo Group, Inc. - Shares of the largest for-profit higher education provider in the U.S. plummeted on news the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) instigated an “informal inquiry” into its revenue accounting practices. Shares are off 14.5% to $62.25 as of 10:10 am (EDT). Investors wary of further declines purchased approximately 2,500 puts at the February 2010 55 strike price for a premium of 3.30 apiece. Total options volume on APOL surpassed 34,000 contracts or 25% of existing open interest on the stock within the first 45 minutes of the trading session.

HRS - Harris Corp. - Option implied volatility on the international communications and information technology company slumped 28% to an intraday low of 30% following its better-than-expected first-quarter earnings report. Shares are trading higher by nearly 8% to $40.94 on news the firm’s earnings of 83 cents per share beat average forecasts by 6 pennies. Early-bird option traders are favoring the in-the-money November 40 strike call options as of 10:20 am (EDT).

Subscribe by RSS Subscribe by Email