CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the October 24 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR), Altria Group (NYSE:MO), and General Motors (NYSE:GM). Schaeffer's Market Blog is just one of the many free market commentaries written every day at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. The Market Blog is written throughout every trading day by Schaeffer's financial analysts and traders. They are quick insights to the day's most notable market activity from an options perspective. To have this report delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link and you'll also get an opportunity to win an iPod Nano. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB13M&PAGE=1 .
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9:55 AM Google Announces New Search Tool
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) hit a new all-time high yesterday, peaking at $484.64 and closing at $480.78, up 4.6 percent on the day. Understandably, there seems to be a little profit taking this morning, as the stack has settled back 0.9 percent in the first minutes of trading this morning. Yesterday, the creative company unveiled yet another new product, which offers you "a search engine on your blog or website tailored to the topics and areas you know and love the most." With existing products such as AdSense and Analytics, plus online word processors and spreadsheets, GOOG seems to be getting more and more buy-in from users. I think it's well worth paying attention to these new product announcements if you're interested in GOOG. They're easy to find. Just click "About Google" on the search giant's homepage, and then go to the Press Center.
10:00 AM Lockheed Martin Challenges Resistance
This morning, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) announced that its third-quarter net income increased 47 percent compared to a year earlier. The top-rated defense contractor posted earnings of $1.46 per share, 22 cents better than the consensus estimate. All the news wasn't great, as sales came in at $9.61 billion, short of the Street's expected $9.83 billion. LMT also upped its 2006 earnings forecast to $5.45 to $5.60 per share from $5.10 to $5.30 per share. The company also narrowed its sales range to $39 to $59 billion, attributing the income gains to the sale of land, a tax benefit, and improvements in its aeronautics unit.
The stock advanced this morning, but was turned away by the 89.25 level. There is little in the way of fuel for a short-covering rally, so let's see if the shares can gain enough momentum to break through the overhead resistance.
12:11 PM Whirlpool Beats Estimates
Bright and early this morning, Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) posted third-quarter net earnings from continuing operations of $1.68 per share. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.46 per share. Strong international performance was negatively impacted by higher material prices, acquisition integration related costs, and purchase accounting expense in the company's North American business. The company also announced that it continues to expect 2006 earnings from continuing operations between $6.00 and $6.25 per share and free cash flow in a range of $200 million to $300 million. WHR also continues to expect 2007 full-year earnings per diluted share of roughly $9.00 per share.
So, why the three-plus-percent drop this afternoon? It appears that investors aren't too thrilled that WHR's numbers were a bit inflated thanks to the purchase of Maytag. However, the stock still rests on support at its 10-week and 10-month moving averages. Watch for a bounce higher from this support.
1:25 PM Altria Upward Trend Stalls
Altria (NYSE:MO) continues to see more call option volume coming in today despite the shares pullback. MO is currently down 1.3 percent to $79.12. Both yesterday and today, call option volume on the stock has exceeded put option volume by a ratio of about five to one. Perhaps a little over-optimism is causing the shares to stall.
1:58 PM General Motors Ahead of Earnings
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is set to report earnings tomorrow morning before the opening bell, and the options market is currently giving a pretty strong indication of the way investors are feeling about the outlook. Put option open interest net of call open interest as a percentage of average daily trading volume on GM stock is over 2000 percent, which is good enough to be number one in the S&P 500 by that metric. This extreme level of pessimism toward the stock could be reason to believe the shares have plenty of room to continue to the upside.
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Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com , is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method .