It’s been a less-than-stellar session on Wall Street, as all-too-familiar anxieties about European debt have resurfaced ahead of tomorrow’s Italian bond auction. With the major market indexes sitting on notable losses, the number of stocks at new annual lows has swelled. The NYSE tallies 93 equities at 52-week highs, along with 37 names at new lows. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq reports just 19 annual highs, compared to 56 fresh lows. Fastenal Company (FAST – 43.81) is among the dozens of stocks hitting bullish technical landmarks today, while BMC Software, Inc. (BMC – 32.25) has backpedaled to an annual nadir.
First up, FAST touched an intraday peak of $44.28 — marking a new all-time best for the shares. The stock has gained an impressive 46.5% in 2011, and FAST’s rise has been underlined by support at its 10-week moving average since September.
With the stock exploring previously uncharted territory in today’s trading, it’s no surprise to find call volume ramping up on FAST. So far, more than 4,300 calls have crossed the tape, representing about eight times the equity’s expected volume. Most active is the January 2012 42.50 call, where 3,212 contracts have been exchanged. The majority of these contracts traded closer to the ask price, suggesting they were most likely purchased.
On the other hand, BMC bottomed out at $32.20, representing a new two-year low for the stock. The software specialist has shed roughly 30% of its value in 2011, with the most recent leg of BMC’s downtrend highlighted by resistance at its 10-day and 20-day moving averages.
On the sentiment front, short interest on BMC surged by 28.6% over the past month, but these bearish bets account for a fairly tame 1.9% of the equity’s float. If bears continue to pile on, the resulting selling pressure could send BMC to fresh multi-year lows during the near term.
Source:http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/commentary/content/highs+lows+fastenal+and+bmc+software/trading_floor_blog.aspx?single=true&blogid=109380
