The 20 stocks listed in the table below have attracted the highest total options volume during the past 10 trading days. Stocks highlighted in yellow are new entries to the list. Data is courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. Two names to note are drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) and streaming giant Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). Below, we'll break dow...Read More

After an incredible rally during the first week of January, many people arrived in the office last Monday fully prepared for a market breather. Monday provided a slight pause in the action, but the break did not last long. By the end of the week, all the major U.S. equity indexes were higher, and the momentum from the first week of 2018 cruised along into the second week without so much as a hiccu...Read More

While there's certainly no sign yet of a breakdown in the record-setting rally that's been the dominant post-election storyline for U.S. stocks, bulls can be forgiven for feeling an increasingly urgent desire to hedge some (or all) of their long equity exposure. Geopolitical risk and uncertainty continue to dominate daily headlines; the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) remains unusually low, as discuss...Read More

U.S. stocks have done it again, extending their quest for record highs. Well-received bank earnings drove stocks higher, led by JPMorgan Chase (JPM). In addition, traders applauded solid retail sales data, with holiday spending surging by the most since 2005, according to the National Retail Federation. Against this backdrop, the Dow enjoyed a second straight gain of more than 200 points, and has...Read More

The U.S. stock market is looking to end the week strong, thanks to this morning's big bank earnings. Among other names making volatile moves are retail stocks Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY), and Kohl's Corporation (NYSE:KSS). Here's a quick roundup of what's moving the shares of AMZN, ETSY, and KSS.Amazon Stock Heads Toward Longest Win Streak Since MayIt's been a record-set...Read More

While the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) all got a taste of defeat this week, with the Dow suffering -- gasp! -- two losing sessions, U.S. stocks once again cruised to an impressive weekly win and fresh record highs, extending their historic start to the year. There was again some Trump-related turbulence, with reports suggesting the president...Read More

The iShares Transportation Average ETF (IYT) has been among the best exchange-traded funds (ETF) in the first quarter, historically. Over the past 10 years, the fund has ended the quarter higher 70% of the time, averaging a healthy gain of 5.02% -- the best of all ETFs we track. The IYT is exceeding its reputation so far in 2018, too, up 9% and just off a record highs, with help from a solid week...Read More

Although bitcoin (BTC)came to the surface nearly a decade ago, the digital currency really burst into the mainstream in late 2017. The fresh surge in demand was evident when bitcoin futures began trading on Cboe Global Markets (CBOE) and CME Group (CME) exchanges, the former of which experienced website outages amid crazy volume. Below we will take a deeper look into the volatile cryptocurrency w...Read More

Earnings season is upon us, and Dow component UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) is set to report fourth-quarter earnings next Tuesday before the open. Below, we will break down UnitedHealth's upbeat earnings history, as well as some other "buy" signals that have cropped up lately for the Dow stock.UNH stock has moved higher the day after seven of its last eight earnings releases, including a 5.5%...Read More

Bank earnings are in focus today, and financial institution Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) is expected to report its fourth-quarter earnings before the markets open on Tuesday, Jan. 16. Below, we will dig deeper into how the stock has been faring ahead of its highly anticipated report, and why C options can still be had at a bargain.C stock has had a stellar year, picking up more than 28% over the past...Read More

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is putting an exclamation point on its big week, with the index rallying over 200 points to fresh record highs. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) have surged to all-time peaks, too, despite weakness out of the tech sector, highlighted by Facebook (FB) stock's slide. Financial shares are picking up the slack, with Dow component JPMorgan Chase...Read More

Social media stocks are in the spotlight today, after Facebook (FB) said it is adjusting its News Feed strategy -- earning the FAANG stock a rare downgrade. FB rival Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) was also downgraded today, with Raymond James lowering its rating to "underperform" from "market perform," saying Snapchat user growth remains challenging, and that that the platform's young audience isn't as attr...Read More

News of a political breakthrough for German Chancellor Angela Merkel has the U.S. dollar cooling against the euro. In turn, February gold futures are flirting with four-month highs, while a fresh round of bullish brokerage notes is also drawing attention to gold stocks. Among those in focus are Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (NYSE:AEM), Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:ABX), and Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE:AUY). Here'...Read More

Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) has been a long-time punching bag for Wall Street, but the social media stock has been a technical outperformer since bottoming at $14.12 last April. In fact, it just surged 42.3% in the fourth quarter. This technical strength is continuing today, with the shares last seen trading at a two-year high of $25.70, as a bullish analyst note has lifted TWTR stock 5.8% this mornin...Read More

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) is down 0.8% to trade at $111.00 this morning, after Morgan Stanley downgraded the video game stock to "equal weight" from "overweight," while issuing a price-target cut to $120 from $126. Morgan Stanley cited weak digital revenue for its "Star Wars" game, as well as the company's conservative stance on upcoming titles, as reasons for the downgrade. SunTrust Robins...Read More

Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is falling in early trading, after CEO Mark Zuckerberg, announced that the social media platform will be filtering its News Feed to prioritize what's been shared by a user's family and friends, as opposed to non-advertising content produced by publishers and other businesses. Zuckerberg said he expects the shift to have a negative impact on user engagement and time spent...Read More

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are trading well above fair value, after the blue-chip index closed at a fresh record high on Thursday. Traders are cheering signs of political stabilization in Germany -- where Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party and Martin Schulz's Social Democratic party have reportedly agreed to an outline to begin formal coalition negotiations -- as well as d...Read More

Stocks resumed their 2018 rally today, with all three major indexes reaching a fresh record high. The impressive gains can be mostly accredited to the energy sector, with Chevron(CVX) stock leading the Dow's triple-digit rally. Traders also digested the latest inflation data, andWalmart (WMT) plans to boost wages and expand employee benefits following tax reform. Looking ahead, Wall Street will ha...Read More

The U.S. stock rally is back on, with the Dow up triple digits at last check amid a surge in energy shares. Among other names making volatile moves today are video game maker Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI), hospital operator Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH), and solar stock First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR). Here's a quick look at what's lifting shares of ATVI, CYH, and FSLR.Overwatch Le...Read More

Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) pulled back sharply in the latter half of 2017 following its June record high of $314.86, eventually bottoming at $187.96 in mid-October. But since then, the shares have been in a channel of higher highs and lows, last seen trading at $232.37. Part of the outperformance so far in 2018 has been due to bullish analyst attention, but historical data also shows ULTA stock...Read More