Stock Market Movers: UnitedHealth Group, Overstock.com, STEC

UNH - UnitedHealth Group, Inc. - More than 6,000 call options changed hands at the November 29 strike within the first 30 minutes of the trading session versus existing open interest at that strike of just 1,251 contracts. Perhaps option traders expect shares to rally above and beyond current gains of 5% to $28.28. We will be sure to keep an eye on options on UNH as well as activity on other health providers today.

OSTK - Overstock.com, Inc. - Shares of the online closeout retailer are trading 8.6% higher this morning to $15.78 following Tuesday’s earnings report. Overstock posted a narrower-than-expected loss of 3 cents per share for the third-quarter on 4% higher revenue of $195.1 million. Option implied volatility plunged 25% to 54%, a reading which is just 4% over OSTK’s two-year implied volatility low of approximately 50%. Approximately 1,000 option contracts traded on the stock as of 10:20 am (EDT).

STEC - STEC, Inc. - The maker of flash memory storage products suffered 35% declines in shares today to stand at the current price of $15.09. The stock plummeted on news EMC Corp., a key customer, will carry inventory from 2009 into 2010. Additional guidance from the firm revealed fourth-quarter revenue will likely come in below average analyst expectations of $106 million. Overall pessimism weighed heavily on shares and inspired a flurry of options activity in the November contract this morning.

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