HOT TRADING STRATEGIES FOR A COLD MARKET
Daily Stock Market Equity and Options Trading Commentary

Saturday, August 1, 2009

3 Option Ideas for A Continued Summer Stock Market Rally: Large Upside & Limited Downside

Will the rally continue in August? Nobody knows for sure, but in this article are some option plays I have been/will be using to capture a potential large upside with a limited downside. This is a good strategy to use during this time, as the market could sell off slightly after that huge run in July, but could continue to rally through August with all the money still gathering almost nothing on the sidelines. At current share prices these ideas are currently profitable (assuming they expired at the current close price), and this strategy allows you to:
  • Get in these ETF's for less
  • Capture upside gains if the market continues to rally
  • Limit downside loss if the market sells off
In this article I'll be talking about Vertical Call Option Spreads, to understand this you must be familiar with stock options. To learn more about stock options visit my blog or check out my E-Books here.

All data as of market close July 31, 2009.

Option Spread Strategy #1: Buy the SPDR S&P 500 (ETF) (NYSE:SPY) August $95 Call and sell the August $100 Call. The $100 strike call option is factoring in a 41.7% chance it will expire at or above it at August expiration. If it happens to expire at or above $100, the return from this position would be 65% in 20 days. The maximum that can be lost if the SPY happens to close at or below $95 per share at August expiration is $303 per contract. The ETF is currently trading above the break even price of $98.03 per share, so as of now the position is profitable. This is a great strategy to look at if the market continues to rally, while it limits the risk to $3.03 per share.

Option Spread Strategy #2: Buy the Diamonds Trust, Series 1 (ETF) (NYSE:DIA) August $88 Call and sell the August $93 Call. The $93 strike call option is factoring in a 37.6% chance it will expire at or above it at August expiration. If it happens to expire at or above $93, the return from this position would be 65.6% in 20 days. The maximum that can be lost if the DIA happens to close at or below $88 per share at August expiration is $302 per contract. The ETF is currently trading above the break even price of $91.02 per share, so as of now the position is profitable. The Dow Jones Industrial Average needs to rally approximately 1.5% by August 21, 2009 in order for this strategy to reach maximum profitability. This position limits the risk to $3.02 per share. Which if shares of the DIA were purchased a sell off of 3.5% or more on the DJIA index by August expiration would result in a greater per share loss.

Option Spread Strategy #3: Buy the PowerShares QQQ Trust, Series 1 (ETF) (NASDAQ:QQQQ) August $38 Call and sell the August $40 Call. The $40 strike call option is factoring in a 41% chance it will expire at or above it at August expiration. If it happens to expire at or above $40, the return from this position would be 68.1% in 20 days. The maximum that can be lost if the QQQQ happens to close at or below $40 per share at August expiration is $119 per contract. The ETF is currently trading above the break even price of $39.19 per share, so as of now this strategy is also profitable. The NASDAQ needs to rally approximately 1.4% by August 21, 2009 in order for this strategy to reach maximum profitability. This position limits the risk to $1.19 per share.

All option spreads must close at or above higher end of the spread at expiration to receive the maximum profit from the strategy. It is possible to lose 100% of your investment if the underlying equity closes below the lower end of the spread. These spreads can be traded which I find works well in this volatile market.

With many stocks it is possible to find a strategy that offers a 40% chance of expiring at or above that returns 100% profits. By choosing different strike prices and expiration dates you can adjust the chances of expiring in the money, and the profitability from the spread. I use the 40% 100% rule as I never have to go out too much further than 3 months- keep in mind a lot can change with options pricing overnight.

Out of the three ideas outlined above I like the NASDAQ option spread idea the most. This market can continue to rally with all the money on the sidelines, but I wouldn't be surprised if it sold off either, as we had a massive rally through July. This is why I am being cautious and limiting my downside to the amounts paid to open these spreads. To learn more about these option spreads visit OptionMaestro.com.

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Friday, July 31, 2009

Most Active Stock Options July 31, 2009

Today the top ten most active stock option contracts were:
  1. Citigroup (NYSE:C) August 3 Call Option
  2. Citigroup August 4 Call Option
  3. PowerShares QQQ (NASDAQ:QQQQ) August 40 Put Option
  4. Target (NYSE:TGT) Januray 2011 35 Call Option
  5. Target January 2011 60 Call Option
  6. Ford (NYSE:F) August 8 Call Options
  7. SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) August 90 Put Options
  8. PowerShares QQQ August 40 Call Options
  9. PowerShares QQQ August 39 Put Options
  10. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) August 15 Call Options
Looks like someone is speculating heavy with the Leap 2011 Target (NYSE:TGT) options. I am guessing an option spread was open to buy the in the money Leap 11 35 calls and sell the Leap 11 60 Calls. The Target activity could be that someone is speculating that the consumer will behave differently by January 2011. Sphere: Related Content

Earnings Preview Friday July 31, 2009

Today is the lightest day for earnings this week, as only 63 companies are scheduled to report. The companies which I'm most interested in hearing from are:
  • Calpine Corporation (NYSE:CPN)
  • Dryships Inc (NASDAQ:DRYS)
  • United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR)
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Thursday, July 30, 2009

How to Profit & Protect the S&P 50 with Options in this Overbought Market

Thursday was another great day for the bulls on Wall Street, and another great opportunity to get short for me, as I believe this market is well overbought on the short term. The market sold off a bit going into the close, my guess is because some were taking profits before the GDP numbers. The stock market major indices are up huge since July 1, 2009; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 8.38%, NASDAQ up 8.13%, and the S&P 500 up 7.33% (click chart to enlarge).

However to reiterate myself from a previous blog post on OptionMaestro.com, this market could continue the rally with better than expected earnings, and a "less worse" economic outlook. There is still a ton of money on the sidelines gaining almost nothing, that could be put to work in the market. However I don't think a 5% short term correction is out of the picture. I am being extremely cautious committing new capital to the market at these levels, but one strategy I am using to get into this market is the Buy/Write option strategy. The buy/write option strategy allows me to get into the stocks for less than current levels, with provide me with a positive returns if the market continues to rally, and give me protection is the market sells off from the current level. In this post I will outline the top 50 companies (by market cap) in the S&P 500 index, and will provide a buy/write option strategy for each. Therefore, to understand this post you'll need some knowledge of stock options. To learn more about stock options check out my blog or book here.

For this analysis I used the S&P 500 list of stocks spreadsheet I created, to generate the top 50 stocks by market cap with the click of a button. To download this spreadsheet click here.

All data as of market close Thursday July 30, 2009.

The stocks are in order from greatest to least market cap. The first stock in the table below is Exxon Mobil (XOM) to understand how to read the table I'll give a worded example using Exxon Mobil. The example assumes the stock was being purchased and immediately written out for the August options expiration.

Purchase Exxon Mobil (XOM) stock, and sell the in the money August 70 strike call option. The premium received from the call option would give a downside protection of 2.47%. If the stock is assigned at options expiration on August 22, 2009 the total return from this position would be 1.46%. The August options expiration is 22 calendar days away, so it may be best to monitor the position and buy back the call option on weakness of the underlying stock, if the stock rallies after it is purchased back, write it back out for a higher premium.

CompanyExchangeTickerStrikePremiumReturn%Protection %
Exxon Mobil Corporation NYSE XOM 701.751.462.47
Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ MSFT 231.111.264.66
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. NYSE WMT 47.52.640.325.28
Johnson & Johnson NYSE JNJ 602.220.703.59
The Procter & Gamble Company NYSE PG 552.11.553.73
International Business Machines Corp. NYSE IBM 11540.973.39
AT&T Inc. NYSE T 260.761.592.89
Apple Inc. NASDAQ AAPL 1606.052.003.72
JPMorgan Chase & Co. NYSE JPM 372.141.745.56
Google Inc. NASDAQ GOOG 43021.31.274.78
Chevron Corporation NYSE CVX 653.451.115.10
General Electric Company NYSE GE 121.281.309.76
Cisco Systems, Inc. NASDAQ CSCO 211.291.415.87
Bank of America Corporation NYSE BAC 131.211.728.66
Wells Fargo & Company NYSE WFC 241.42.135.63
The Coca-Cola Company NYSE KO 47.52.40.464.83
Oracle Corporation NASDAQ ORCL 211.330.866.01
Intel Corporation NASDAQ INTC 190.661.713.41
Pfizer Inc. NYSE PFE 150.990.316.21
Hewlett-Packard Company NYSE HPQ 42.51.553.143.63
Philip Morris International Inc. NYSE PM 461.551.563.31
Verizon Communications Inc. NYSE VZ 311.530.684.74
PepsiCo, Inc. NYSE PEP 552.171.013.83
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. NYSE GS 1605.952.173.66
QUALCOMM, Inc. NASDAQ QCOM 452.161.384.64
Abbott Laboratories NYSE ABT 442.150.984.70
ConocoPhillips NYSE COP 421.971.814.56
Schlumberger Limited NYSE SLB 504.251.537.95
Merck & Co., Inc. NYSE MRK 291.552.045.18
Amgen, Inc. NASDAQ AMGN 604.21.736.66
Wyeth NYSE WYE 452.030.734.35
McDonald's Corporation NYSE MCD 551.41.462.52
Occidental Petroleum Corporation NYSE OXY 702.72.993.82
United Parcel Service, Inc. NYSE UPS 550.733.941.36
CVS Caremark Corporation NYSE CVS 32.51.71.825.06
United Technologies Corporation NYSE UTX 550.983.231.81
The Walt Disney Company NYSE DIS 251.782.146.79
3M Company NYSE MMM 701.52.292.15
Monsanto Company NYSE MON 852.553.703.02
Gilead Sciences, Inc. NASDAQ GILD 491.551.963.13
The Home Depot, Inc. NYSE HD 251.372.015.30
Schering-Plough Corporation NYSE SGP 260.931.623.51
Comcast Corporation NASDAQ CMCSA 150.674.334.46
Bristol Myers Squibb Co. NYSE BMY 210.91.584.17
Kraft Foods Inc. NYSE KFT 281.152.034.03
Eli Lilly & Co. NYSE LLY 350.631.651.80
Medtronic, Inc. NYSE MDT 351.082.043.05
U.S. Bancorp NYSE USB 200.922.154.49
Colgate-Palmolive Company NYSE CL 702.71.213.76
Morgan Stanley NYSE MS 281.223.034.30

As the Volatility index is creeping back up, call option premiums should increase in value overall, protecting and giving an even higher return. I use this strategy to write my shares out on strength, and purchase them back on weakness (if I am profitable). For example: using this strategy has allowed me to cost average my position on Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) down to $4.88 a share. Patience is key to succeed with this strategy. If the stock gets called out, and you miss the upside, the position is still profitable and you can always do it again for the next options expiration. If the stock gets hammered and you're down on the position, this strategy will keep you in the game and allow you to cost average the shares down month after month.

All of these options expire on August 22; therefore the last trading day is Friday, August 21, 2009.

These are just examples and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security; if you're more bullish/bearish, you’ll want to adjust the strike price and expiration accordingly.

This strategy will give protection if the market sells off, as well as provide a return if the market continues to rally. If the stock is not assigned, this strategy is a great way to create additional income for your portfolio. The reason option volumes have surged in the last 5 years is because they are a great way to hedge your portfolio as well as create income off of your shares (see chart here). Keep in mind when using this strategy it is essential that broker commissions are low enough to profit from the position.

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Most Active Stock Options July 30, 2009

As of today the top ten most active stock option contracts traded are listed below (from most traded to least).
  1. Citigroup (C) August 3 Call Option
  2. Citigroup August 5 Put Option
  3. Citigroup December 3 Call Option
  4. Citigroup August 3 Put Option
  5. Citigroup August 5 Call Option
  6. Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (PAA) August 45 Call Options
  7. SPDR Financial (XLF) August 12 Call Options
  8. SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) August 100 Call Options
  9. Citigroup August 10 Call Options
  10. Citigroup September 4 Call Options
The reason Plains All America Pipeline 45 Call options were among the most active is most likely a dividend play, as they spin out $0.905 a share tomorrow. However I find it very strange that the Citigroup Inc. (C) 10 strike August call options were among the most active today. Sphere: Related Content

Earnings Preview Thursday July 30, 2009

Today is the busiest day for earnings this week. With over 300 companies (305 to be exact) reporting earnings. The companies I will be keeping a close eye on and listening to conference calls for are:
  • Apache Corp (NYSE:APA)
  • Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRO)
  • Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW)
  • Dresser Rand Group Inc (NYSE:DRC)
  • Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM)
  • First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR)
  • Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE:LVS)
  • Level 3 Communications Inc (NASDAQ:LVLT)
  • Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA)
  • Oshkosh Corp (NYSE:OSK)
  • Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN)
This doesn't account for the ones I have forgot. Sphere: Related Content

Early Indicator: Stock Market Futures Thursday July 30, 2009

As of now the stock market futures are modestly higher across the board.

The DOW futures are up 52 points, the S&P 500 futures are higher by 6.20 points, and the NASDAQ 100 futures are higher by 11.25 points. Sphere: Related Content

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

LaserCard Option Play Pays off BIG

As stated on my blog post Bullish Breakout Stocks on HUGE Volume Saturday, I was looking to get into some speculative options on LaserCard Corporation (LCRD). LaserCard, Like STEC Inc. (STEC), was another stock I found with some extensive homework, and the help of IBD. Today I swapped out of 80% of my option contracts for a 700+% gain in 2 days. I purchased these contracts for $35 per contract, and sold them today for $250 a piece. This is extremely risky, but is one example of how options can pay off in huge ways. This type of strategy should only be used if the person doing it is willing to lose 100% of the position.

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Most Active Stock Options July 29, 2009

The top ten most active stock option contracts that traded Wednesday July 29, 2009 are listed in order from greatest to least below.
  1. Citigroup (C) August 3 Call Option
  2. Citigroup September 4 Call Option
  3. United States Oil Fund (USO) January 55 Call Option
  4. Yahoo (YHOO) August 16 Call Option
  5. Citigroup August 3 Put Option
  6. Citigroup August 1 Call Options
  7. SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) August 81 Put Options
  8. Citigroup September 4 Put Options
  9. Citigroup September 3 Call Option
  10. PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ) January 38 Put Options
Looks like someone is speculating heavy with oil, as the USO had very unusual volume. Read my blog post here for some crude oil option plays. Sphere: Related Content

Oil Takes a Dive; is it Still Alive? 45 Oil & Gas Option Strategies

As oil sold off over 6% Tuesday, I was searching for some companies to buy on the dip. I decided to look at opening the position with the buy/write option strategy, as this would give me a return if oil rallies, as well as protect my position to the downside if oil continued to slide. As recently stated on OptionMaestro.com, I believed oil would peak in early to mid July. However if we keep hearing of these "green shoots" and the stock market continues to rally, I believe oil could continue to rally as well, and as late as October in my opinion. I don't think $75 a barrel oil is out of the question, especially on the back of a weak dollar.

For this analysis I have gathered a list of the top fourty energy stocks (by market cap) from the S&P 500 index. I will outline an option idea on each stock which will provide a return (if crude oil/the market keep rallying and the stock is assigned at expiration), as well as downside protection on the stock (in case the market happens to sell off). I have also included 5 energy related ETF's. Therefore to understand this post, you'll need a general understanding of stock options. To learn more about options and, how options can help protect your portfolio, and allow you to speculate with less money up front; check out my book here.

All data as of market close Wednesday July 29, 2009.


The stocks are in order from greatest to least market cap. The first stock in the table below is Exxon Mobil (XOM) to understand how to read the table I'll give a worded example using XOM. The example assumes the stock was being purchased and immediately written out for the August options expiration.

Purchase Exxon Mobil (XOM) stock, and sell the in the money August 70 strike call option. The premium received from the call option would give a downside protection of 3.35%. If the stock is assigned at options expiration on August 22, 2009 the total return from this position would be 2.86%. The current options market is factoring in a 64.4% probability Exxon Mobil will be at or above 70 a share by the August options expiration.

Company Ticker Strike Return % Protection % Probability %
Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM 70 2.86 3.35 64.4
Chevron Corporation CVX 70 6.19 1.05 26.6
ConocoPhillips COP 45 6.14 1.14 26.1
Schlumberger Limited SLB 55 6.84 2.06 33.5
Occidental Petroleum Corporation OXY 75 8.78 0.83 18.8
Apache Corporation APA 80 5.30 2.63 40.9
Devon Energy Corporation DVN 60 9.87 1.39 25.9
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation APC 49 7.73 1.90 30.9
XTO Energy Inc. XTO 40 5.49 2.37 37.9
Marathon Oil Corporation MRO 32 6.12 2.43 40.4
Halliburton Company HAL 22 5.00 3.15 44.6
EOG Resources, Inc. EOG 75 7.38 1.59 28.8
Hess Corp. HES 55 7.95 1.60 27.9
National-Oilwell Varco, Inc. NOV 36 6.04 3.01 41.4
Southwestern Energy Company SWN 42 7.94 2.75 37.2
Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK 21 6.32 4.28 46.7
Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. DO 95 6.53 1.74 31.6
Baker Hughes Incorporated BHI 40 5.70 2.95 41.5
Spectra Energy Corp. SE 17.5 1.63 2.99 61.1
Murphy Oil Corporation MUR 60 7.46 1.85 30.9
Noble Energy, Inc. NBL 60 7.57 1.68 29.5
Williams Companies, Inc. WMB 17.5 9.10 1.54 24.6
Valero Energy Corporation VLO 18 6.26 2.87 44.6
Peabody Energy Corporation BTU 33 6.49 4.04 46.5
Range Resources Corp. RRC 47.5 7.29 1.71 30.4
El Paso Corporation EP 10 6.15 3.59 44.1
Cameron International Corporation CAM 30 4.90 4.84 52
CONSOL Energy Inc. CNX 35 8.36 3.88 40.9
Ensco International Incorporated ESV 40 9.28 1.35 24.3
Smith International, Inc. SII 25 7.98 2.94 36.7
FMC Technologies, Inc. FTI 45 8.72 1.50 26.3
Nabors Industries Ltd. NBR 17.5 10.39 2.16 29.1
BJ Services Company BJS 14 5.99 3.65 45
Denbury Resources Inc. DNR 15 3.36 8.24 67.1
Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation COG 35 5.60 3.50 44.8
Pioneer Natural Resources PXD 30 15.05 1.33 19.4
Sunoco, Inc. SUN 25 5.53 2.27 38.7
Rowan Companies, Inc. RDC 20 3.74 6.56 62.2
Massey Energy Company MEE 25 8.07 5.15 46.2
Tesoro Corporation TSO 14 12.34 2.97 33.3

ETF Ticker Strike Return % Protection % Probability %
Energy Select Sector SPDR (ETF) XLE 52 6.29 1.11 25.4
United States Natural Gas Fund, LP UNG 13 9.21 5.05 44.3
United States Oil Fund LP (ETF) USO 35 7.05 2.48 36.2
ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Crude Oil(ETF) UCO 11 12.66 4.71 38.4
ProShares Ultra Oil & Gas (ETF) DIG 29 7.44 3.23 39

All of these options expire on August 22; therefore the last trading day is Friday, August 21, 2009.

These are just examples and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security; if you're more bullish/bearish, you’ll want to adjust the strike price and expiration accordingly.

This strategy will give protection if the market sells off, as well as provide a return if the market continues to rally. If the stock is not assigned, this strategy is a great way to create additional income for your portfolio. The reason option volumes have surged in the last 5 years is because they are a great way to hedge your portfolio as well as create income off of your shares (see chart here). Keep in mind when using this strategy it is essential that broker commissions are low enough to profit from the position.



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Mid Day Most Active Stock Options July 29, 2009

As of now the top ten most active traded stock option contracts are listed below (from greatest to least).
  1. Citigroup (C) August 3 Call Option
  2. Yahoo (YHOO) August 16 Call Option
  3. PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ) January 38 Put Option
  4. Citigroup August 3 Put Option
  5. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM) September 31 Put Option
  6. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index December 31 Put Options
  7. Volatility Index (VIX) October 30 Put Options
  8. Citigroup September 3 Call Options
  9. Volatility Index October 42.50 Call Options
  10. SLM Corporation (SLM) January 2011 2.50 Put Options
Sphere: Related Content

Earnings Preview Wednesday July 29, 2009

Today is another huge earnings day with 257 companies expected to report earnings. The companies which I will be keeping a close eye on for today are:
  • ConocoPhillips (COP)
  • Hess Corp (HES)
  • O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY)
  • Sprint Nextel Corp (S)
  • Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC)
  • Time Warner Inc (TWX)
  • Visa Inc (V)
I'm interested in what both ConocoPhillips and Hess have to say about the future of the oil & gas industry, and if they believe the economy has bottomed. I believe Visa should have another great quarter, but really want to hear their outlook on the consumer. I'm also anxious to hear what sprint has to say about the impact the Palm (PALM) Pre has made if any. This could be very good news for Palm. Sphere: Related Content

Early Indicator: Stock Market Futures Wednesday July 29, 2009

As of now the stock market futures are down across the board. It seems to be the new trend that the futures are down very early, but snap back to finish the day green or flat. Can we keep the rally going?

Currently the DOW futures are down 27 points, S&P futures down 3.90 points, and the NASDAQ 100 futures are down 3.25 points. Sphere: Related Content

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Most Active Stock Options July 28, 2009

For July 28, 2009 the top ten most traded option contracts are listed in order below, from the greatest number of contracts traded to the least.
  1. Citigroup (C) August 3 Call Option
  2. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD) August 25 Call Option
  3. Citigroup September 3 Call Option
  4. ConocoPhillips (COP) August 38 Call Option
  5. ConocoPhillips August 40 Call Option
  6. E-Trade Financial (ETFC) January 1 Call Options
  7. Citigroup August 3 Put Options
  8. Bank of America (BAC) AUgust 16 Call Options
  9. General Electric (GE) December 11 Put Options
  10. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. September 25 Call Options
Both ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) are both spinning out dividends tomorrow. This is an option dividend play which caused the volume of these contracts to be traded today. Nothing unusual. Sphere: Related Content

Are we Overbought? 20 Option Ideas to Profit & Protect Financial Stocks

Another day in the books, but there still hasn't been too much selling pressure, with the S&P 500 down about a quarter of one percent. As I recently stated on my blog, I think there is a sell off ahead, or at least that is what the Volatility Index (VIX) is telling me.

Yesterday I chose to analyze 20 stocks from the NASDAQ (which is the index which has gained the most over the past 3 months), today I will perform the same analysis but by sector. If we do get a sell off I believe the stocks which will suffer the most are the financials, as they have had the best gains over the past 3 months. The chart below shows four major SPDR sector ETF's: Financial, Health Care, Technology, and Energy (click image to enlarge).

As you can see the Financials have outperformed the other three sectors.

The Volatility Index rose again Monday by 3.01%, which again is an indicator to me that many are betting on a short term correction or sell off ahead. To reiterate a previous yet again: with all the cash on the sidelines (getting dirt cheap returns), this market could keep rallying with better than estimated earnings reports, and outlooks of an improving economy, however it never hurt anyone to take profits and protect on the downside a bit.

For this analysis I have gathered a list of the top twenty financial stocks (by market cap) from the S&P 500 index. I will outline an option idea on each stock which will provide a return (if the market keeps rallying and the stock is assigned at expiration), as well as downside protection on the stock (in case the market happens to sell off). Therefore to understand this post, you'll need a general understanding of stock options. To learn more about options and, how options can help protect your portfolio, and allow you to speculate with less money up front; check out my book here.

All data as of market close Tuesday July 28, 2009.

The stocks are in order from greatest to least market cap. The first stock in the table below is JP Morgan (JPM) to understand how to read the table I'll give a worded example using JPM. The example assumes the stock was being purchased and immediately written out for the August options expiration.

Purchase JP Morgan (JPM) stock, and sell the August 39 strike call option. The premium received from the call option would give a downside protection of 2.49%. If the stock is assigned at options expiration on August 22, 2009 the total return from this position would be 4.91%. The current options market is factoring in a 41.2% probability JP Morgan will be at or above 39 a share by the August options expiration.

Company Symbol Strike Return % Protection % Probability %






JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM 39 4.91 2.49 41.2
Bank of America Corporation BAC 14 7.72 2.77 36.7
Wells Fargo & Company WFC 25 5.22 3.26 43.3
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS 165 4.78 2.01 37.7
U.S. Bancorp USB 20 3.61 3.36 50.6
Morgan Stanley MS 28 5.1 3.03 43.7
American Express Company AXP 29 7.41 2.64 35.7
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation BK 28 6.66 1.94 32.1
MetLife, Inc. MET 34 6.53 3.34 41.6
The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV 45 5.42 1.61 32.6
State Street Corporation STT 50 7.03 2.14 33.7
The Charles Schwab Corporation SCHW 17 3.47 3.41 50.6
Franklin Resources, Inc. BEN 80 0.77 1.43 27.8
Prudential Financial, Inc. PRU 44 7.74 4.91 45.7
CME Group Inc. CME 280 7.56 2.51 35.1
AFLAC Incorporated AFL 38 6.91 3.09 39.1
PNC Financial Services PNC 37.5 6.16 3.42 43
Citigroup Inc. C 3 7.41 6.4 51.4
The Chubb Corporation CB 45 2.41 2.77 51.8
BB&T Corporation BBT 23 7.01 2.28 34.4

All of these options expire on August 22; therefore the last trading day is Friday, August 21, 2009.

These are just examples and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security; if you're more bullish/bearish, you’ll want to adjust the strike price and expiration accordingly.

This strategy will give protection if the market sells off, as well as provide a return if the market continues to rally. If the stock is not assigned, this strategy is a great way to create additional income for your portfolio. The reason option volumes have surged in the last 5 years is because they are a great way to hedge your portfolio as well as create income off of your shares (see chart here). Keep in mind when using this strategy it is essential that broker commissions are low enough to profit from the position.

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The S&P 500 Index by Market Cap NYSE NASDAQ Stocks

I am going to do an analysis on the top 20 Financial stocks in the S&P 500. I will be analyzing these stocks by selling below the current share price put options to see which of them give the lowest adjusted share price. Below is a list of the S&P 500 stocks ranked in order from greatest to least market cap and their sectors. To download an excel spreadsheet that will refresh this data on a daily basis click here. Refresh sheet 1 and flip to sheet 2, there you'll be able to sort the companies alphabetically by company name, ticker, and by industry, and you'll also be able to rank them in order by their market cap by the minute with the click of a button. Use this blog post as a start to see which companies (stocks) have moved up and down the list of S&P 500.

Company Symbol Sector Market Cap




Exxon Mobil Corp XOM Energy 350,802,348,922
Microsoft Corp MSFT Information Technology 209,070,753,883
Wal-Mart Stores WMT Consumer Staples 190,622,545,425
Johnson & Johnson JNJ Health Care 167,869,075,674
Procter & Gamble PG Consumer Staples 162,378,045,752
Intl Business Machines Corp IBM Information Technology 154,973,438,547
AT&T Inc T Telecommunications Services 150,568,002,701
Apple Inc. AAPL Information Technology 143,330,688,000
JP Morgan Chase & Co JPM Financials 143,148,819,683
Google Inc GOOG Information Technology 139,245,163,802
Chevron Corp CVX Energy 136,999,277,139
General Electric Co GE Industrials 132,581,546,448
Cisco Systems Inc CSCO Information Technology 126,489,610,160
Bank of America Corp BAC Financials 115,410,464,380
Wells Fargo & Co WFC Financials 114,462,991,097
Coca-Cola Co KO Consumer Staples 114,337,848,587
Oracle Corp ORCL Information Technology 111,360,794,054
Intel Corp INTC Information Technology 108,181,454,687
Pfizer Inc PFE Health Care 108,170,108,003
Hewlett-Packard Co HPQ Information Technology 100,175,277,668
Philip Morris International PM Consumer Staples 91,174,098,062
Verizon Communications Inc VZ Telecommunications Services 89,207,398,916
PepsiCo Inc PEP Consumer Staples 87,193,314,162
Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS Financials 80,819,203,960
QUALCOMM Inc QCOM Information Technology 77,064,692,615
Abbott Laboratories ABT Health Care 70,210,202,842
ConocoPhillips COP Energy 66,521,776,861
Schlumberger Ltd SLB Energy 65,323,820,374
Merck & Co Inc MRK Health Care 63,302,244,345
Amgen Inc AMGN Health Care 63,192,258,386
Wyeth WYE Health Care 62,410,560,183
McDonald's Corp MCD Consumer Discretionary 62,300,133,557
Occidental Petroleum OXY Energy 58,110,195,419
United Parcel Service Inc B UPS Industrials 53,214,701,309
CVS Caremark Corp. CVS Consumer Staples 49,616,427,146
United Technologies Corp UTX Industrials 49,360,375,803
Walt Disney Co DIS Consumer Discretionary 48,962,551,798
3M Co MMM Industrials 48,798,648,598
Monsanto Co. MON Materials 45,458,281,928
Gilead Sciences Inc GILD Health Care 45,075,052,773
Home Depot Inc HD Consumer Discretionary 43,249,198,010
Schering-Plough Corp SGP Health Care 42,988,934,217
Comcast Corp A CMCSA Consumer Discretionary 42,933,469,630
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY Health Care 41,955,992,105
Kraft Foods Inc A KFT Consumer Staples 41,928,992,199
Lilly Eli & Co LLY Health Care 40,295,990,769
Medtronic Inc MDT Health Care 38,642,678,541
US Bancorp USB Financials 38,144,401,459
Colgate-Palmolive Co CL Consumer Staples 37,652,200,348
Morgan Stanley MS Financials 37,282,966,135
Amazon.com Inc AMZN Consumer Discretionary 36,694,994,302
Altria Group Inc MO Consumer Staples 36,349,216,522
Unitedhealth Group Inc UNH Health Care 34,590,979,789
Exelon Corp EXC Utilities 34,268,430,200
Baxter Intl Inc BAX Health Care 33,379,184,006
American Express Co AXP Financials 32,911,520,363
Target Corp TGT Consumer Discretionary 32,506,000,827
Time Warner Inc TWX Consumer Discretionary 32,316,195,804
The Bank of New York Mellon Corp BK Financials 32,163,620,445
Lowe's Cos Inc LOW Consumer Discretionary 31,907,684,541
Boeing Co BA Industrials 31,418,196,975
EMC Corp EMC Information Technology 30,937,334,786
Texas Instruments Inc TXN Information Technology 30,513,847,234
Walgreen Co WAG Consumer Staples 30,019,498,025
Lockheed Martin LMT Industrials 28,853,537,240
Union Pacific Corp UNP Industrials 28,523,474,525
eBay Inc. EBAY Information Technology 28,099,169,476
Emerson Electric Co EMR Industrials 27,367,487,128
Dell Inc DELL Information Technology 27,297,184,942
DuPont E.I. de Nemours DD Materials 27,198,601,145
News Corporation A NWSA Consumer Discretionary 26,976,045,762
Metlife Inc MET Financials 26,969,901,829
Caterpillar Inc CAT Industrials 26,640,900,948
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Co BNI Industrials 26,409,640,156
WellPoint Inc WLP Health Care 26,354,680,214
Apache Corp APA Energy 26,332,187,774
Celgene Corp CELG Health Care 26,259,458,574
DIRECTV Group Inc DTV Consumer Discretionary 26,257,643,781
Corning Inc GLW Information Technology 26,148,501,301
Honeywell Intl Inc HON Industrials 25,682,648,663
NIKE Inc B NKE Consumer Discretionary 25,626,884,352
Travelers Cos Inc TRV Financials 25,378,367,932
Devon Energy Corp DVN Energy 25,240,154,271
Southern Co SO Utilities 25,037,878,400
Medco Health Solutions Inc MHS Health Care 24,789,040,257
Kimberly-Clark KMB Consumer Staples 24,373,269,759
Mastercard Inc A MA Information Technology 24,183,736,438
Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold FCX Materials 24,116,460,939
Yahoo Inc YHOO Information Technology 24,033,143,702
Carnival Corp CCL Consumer Discretionary 23,861,933,245
Anadarko Petroleum Corp APC Energy 23,661,687,342
State Street Corp STT Financials 23,547,630,035
Praxair Inc PX Materials 23,490,448,709
FPL Group Inc FPL Utilities 23,452,172,433
XTO Energy Inc XTO Energy 23,298,053,786
Marathon Oil Corp MRO Energy 22,875,261,928
Ford Motor Co F Consumer Discretionary 22,657,004,576
Costco Wholesale Corp COST Consumer Staples 21,239,539,266
General Dynamics GD Industrials 20,690,884,088
FedEx Corp FDX Industrials 20,492,247,053
Dominion Resources Inc D Utilities 20,141,223,798
Illinois Tool Works Inc ITW Industrials 20,097,569,625
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co ADM Consumer Staples 19,979,024,979
Halliburton Co HAL Energy 19,837,725,600
Newmont Mining Corp NEM Materials 19,766,511,327
Schwab Charles Corp SCHW Financials 19,697,050,415
Duke Energy Corp DUK Utilities 19,692,905,645
Danaher Corp DHR Industrials 19,395,325,229
General Mills Inc GIS Consumer Staples 19,225,577,876
Dow Chemical DOW Materials 18,711,086,103
Automatic Data Processing ADP Information Technology 18,681,156,370
Franklin Resources Inc BEN Financials 18,665,082,057
Thermo Fisher Scientific TMO Health Care 18,560,538,489
EOG Resources EOG Energy 18,380,468,339
Kellogg Co K Consumer Staples 18,292,785,327
Prudential Financial Inc PRU Financials 18,155,797,388
Raytheon Co RTN Industrials 18,028,710,403
Applied Materials Inc AMAT Information Technology 17,836,008,453
Deere & Co DE Industrials 17,814,769,022
Chicago Mercantile Exchange CME Financials 17,689,313,281
Express Scripts Inc ESRX Health Care 17,623,120,341
Hess Corp HES Energy 17,519,430,917
Becton Dickinson & Co BDX Health Care 17,258,411,021
AFLAC Inc AFL Financials 17,108,460,667
Adobe Systems Inc ADBE Information Technology 16,973,186,301
PNC Finl Services Group PNC Financials 16,826,500,000
Public Service Enterprise Grp PEG Utilities 16,651,989,310
Citigroup Inc C Financials 16,357,869,158
Boston Scientific Corp BSX Health Care 16,127,660,313
Norfolk Southern Corp NSC Industrials 16,013,859,606
Allergan Inc AGN Health Care 15,976,601,166
Yum! Brands Inc YUM Consumer Discretionary 15,858,307,203
Chubb Corp CB Financials 15,801,483,947
Motorola Inc MOT Information Technology 15,634,209,314
Entergy Corp ETR Utilities 15,598,040,754
CSX Corp CSX Industrials 15,566,028,499
Best Buy Co Inc BBY Consumer Discretionary 15,563,499,865
Stryker Corp SYK Health Care 15,488,846,100
Air Products & Chemicals Inc APD Materials 15,438,903,684
National Oilwell Varco Inc NOV Energy 15,283,374,871
Kohl's Corp KSS Consumer Discretionary 15,150,264,139
Staples Inc SPLS Consumer Discretionary 15,007,706,993
TJX Cos Inc TJX Consumer Discretionary 14,990,593,000
Johnson Controls Inc JCI Consumer Discretionary 14,904,749,546
Genzyme Corp GENZ Health Care 14,761,491,881
American Electric Power AEP Utilities 14,536,439,732
PG&E Corporation PCG Utilities 14,513,522,462
Waste Management Inc WMI Industrials 14,474,698,878
Nucor Corp NUE Materials 14,235,828,270
BB&T Corp BBT Financials 14,231,572,687
Southwestern Energy Co SWN Energy 14,171,582,209
Biogen Idec Inc BIIB Health Care 14,159,716,350
Allstate Corp ALL Financials 14,111,731,292
Symantec Corp SYMC Information Technology 14,066,695,544
Northern Trust Corp (IL) NTRS Financials 13,960,335,932
Northrop Grumman Corp NOC Industrials 13,945,850,385
Simon Property Group SPG Financials 13,927,251,639
Broadcom Corp A BRCM Information Technology 13,905,036,454
Kroger Co KR Consumer Staples 13,726,051,301
Sysco Corp SYY Consumer Staples 13,709,168,961
St Jude Medical Inc STJ Health Care 13,601,357,082
Juniper Networks Inc JNPR Information Technology 13,586,490,811
American Tower Corp A AMT Telecommunications Services 13,334,709,512
Capital One Financial COF Financials 13,329,288,137
Chesapeake Energy Corp CHK Energy 13,143,333,345
Aetna Inc AET Health Care 12,942,223,591
Diamond Offshore Drilling DO Energy 12,929,881,855
Western Union Co WU Information Technology 12,926,802,214
Sprint Nextel Corp S Telecommunications Services 12,835,724,287
Starbucks Corp SBUX Consumer Discretionary 12,775,224,449
Loews Corp L Financials 12,768,342,636
Avon Products AVP Consumer Staples 12,751,718,422
FirstEnergy Corp FE Utilities 12,699,442,717
Sempra Energy SRE Utilities 12,678,739,603
McKesson Corp MCK Health Care 12,581,357,658
PPL Corp PPL Utilities 12,526,199,368
Baker Hughes Inc BHI Energy 12,409,722,982
Reynolds American Inc RAI Consumer Staples 12,401,815,843
Heinz H.J. Co HNZ Consumer Staples 12,150,356,689
Lorillard Inc LO Consumer Staples 11,952,000,000
Time Warner Cable Inc TWC Consumer Discretionary 11,940,615,990
Public Storage PSA Financials 11,917,425,059
Cardinal Health Inc CAH Health Care 11,892,880,450
PACCAR Inc PCAR Industrials 11,879,637,093
T Rowe Price Group Inc TROW Financials 11,776,530,825
Spectra Energy Corp SE Energy 11,686,938,481
Gap Inc GPS Consumer Discretionary 11,176,982,210
Murphy Oil Corp MUR Energy 11,117,181,885
Precision Castparts Corp PCP Industrials 11,030,684,267
Alcoa Inc AA Materials 10,971,433,447
CA Inc CA Information Technology 10,936,937,296
Progress Energy Inc PGN Utilities 10,924,361,616
Consolidated Edison Inc ED Utilities 10,720,882,149
Campbell Soup Co CPB Consumer Staples 10,684,662,400
Progressive Corp PGR Financials 10,669,199,715
Edison Intl EIX Utilities 10,601,896,746
Aon Corp AOC Financials 10,543,437,739
Omnicom Group OMC Consumer Discretionary 10,484,801,708
McGraw-Hill Cos Inc MHP Consumer Discretionary 10,409,949,520
Apollo Group Inc APOL Consumer Discretionary 10,320,283,735
Marsh & McLennan Companies MMC Financials 10,241,715,599
Noble Energy Inc NBL Energy 10,158,169,095
Republic Services Inc RSG Industrials 10,072,292,058
Quest Diagnostics DGX Health Care 9,977,660,915
Zimmer Holdings Inc ZMH Health Care 9,974,066,208
Fluor Corp FLR Industrials 9,648,378,719
Williams Cos Inc WMB Energy 9,635,401,558
Paychex Inc PAYX Information Technology 9,615,959,547
Intuit Inc INTU Information Technology 9,565,937,081
Ecolab Inc ECL Materials 9,468,911,669
Valero Energy Corp VLO Energy 9,460,424,026
Hershey Foods Corp HSY Consumer Staples 9,337,608,413
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc CHRW Industrials 9,096,465,059
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc BBBY Consumer Discretionary 9,085,064,341
Peabody Energy Corp BTU Energy 9,007,223,273
Coca-Cola Enterprises CCE Consumer Staples 8,981,616,668
Xcel Energy Inc XEL Utilities 8,958,342,374
Coach Inc COH Consumer Discretionary 8,908,225,348
Cognizant Tech Solutions Corp CTSH Information Technology 8,836,639,075
ConAgra Foods Inc CAG Consumer Staples 8,797,646,551
Vornado Realty Trust VNO Financials 8,794,293,723
SunTrust Banks Inc (GA) STI Financials 8,648,949,316
PPG Industries Inc PPG Materials 8,644,653,544
ITT Corporation ITT Industrials 8,614,060,333
L-3 Communications Holdings LLL Industrials 8,579,473,762
Eaton Corp ETN Industrials 8,518,463,773
Intuitive Surgical Inc ISRG Health Care 8,482,948,484
Clorox Co CLX Consumer Staples 8,357,391,598
AES Corp AES Utilities 8,313,305,246
AutoZone Inc AZO Consumer Discretionary 8,256,199,579
Molson Coors Brewing Co B TAP Consumer Staples 8,178,293,410
Sears Holdings Corp SHLD Consumer Discretionary 8,164,268,114
Cummins Inc CMI Industrials 8,131,190,999
Analog Devices Inc ADI Information Technology 8,027,276,338
Agilent Technologies Inc A Information Technology 7,996,712,645
Intl Paper Co IP Materials 7,956,928,963
NetApp Inc NTAP Information Technology 7,905,404,681
Forest Laboratories FRX Health Care 7,891,857,194
Safeway Inc SWY Consumer Staples 7,855,190,254
Invesco Ltd IVZ Financials 7,851,276,084
CIGNA Corp CI Health Care 7,765,938,227
Fiserv Inc FISV Information Technology 7,706,714,267
Parker-Hannifin Corp PH Industrials 7,632,259,888
Life Technologies Corp LIFE Health Care 7,495,218,403
Sara Lee Corp SLE Consumer Staples 7,478,026,800
Marriott Intl A MAR Consumer Discretionary 7,456,202,253
Boston Properties Inc BXP Financials 7,370,790,946
Weyerhaeuser Co WY Materials 7,367,898,177
Pepsi Bottling Group Inc PBG Consumer Staples 7,298,154,955
Hudson City Bancorp HCBK Financials 7,262,200,664
VF Corp VFC Consumer Discretionary 7,261,719,311
Computer Sciences CSC Information Technology 7,232,701,073
Range Resources Corp RRC Energy 7,216,459,388
Lab Corp of America Hldgs LH Health Care 7,177,040,636
Expeditors Intl of WA Inc EXPD Industrials 7,153,919,603
Xerox Corp XRX Information Technology 7,143,846,052
Nvidia Corp NVDA Information Technology 7,122,447,979
NYSE Euronext NYX Financials 7,072,000,198
Bard C.R. Inc BCR Health Care 7,032,303,555
Estee Lauder Cos. EL Consumer Staples 7,031,692,525
El Paso Corp EP Energy 7,003,034,795
Qwest Communications Intl Inc Q Telecommunications Services 6,983,983,482
McAfee Inc MFE Information Technology 6,929,622,183
M&T Bank Corp MTB Financials 6,891,900,980
Penney J.C. Inc JCP Consumer Discretionary 6,876,394,524
Western Digital Corp WDC Information Technology 6,867,246,943
Sun Microsystems Inc JAVA Information Technology 6,865,522,858
Electronic Arts ERTS Information Technology 6,816,272,833
Fifth Third Bancorp (OH) FITB Financials 6,807,879,614
Ameriprise Financial Inc AMP Financials 6,805,950,136
Cameron International Corp CAM Energy 6,676,373,158
IntercontinentalExchange ICE Financials 6,633,302,796
Brown-Forman Corp B BF/B Consumer Staples 6,602,267,166
Sherwin-Williams Co SHW Consumer Discretionary 6,577,063,043
Grainger W.W. Inc GWW Industrials 6,511,234,219
Moody's Corp MCO Financials 6,510,034,198
Citrix Systems Inc CTXS Information Technology 6,491,304,032
Iron Mountain Inc IRM Industrials 6,352,406,732
Dover Corp DOV Industrials 6,332,322,991
HCP Inc HCP Financials 6,326,509,738
BMC Software Inc BMC Information Technology 6,313,565,592
Rockwell Collins COL Industrials 6,273,610,142
CONSOL Energy Inc CNX Energy 6,251,888,212
Mattel Inc MAT Consumer Discretionary 6,231,336,261
Goodrich Corp GR Industrials 6,217,747,639
Polo Ralph Lauren A RL Consumer Discretionary 6,131,442,843
Dr Pepper Snapple Group DPS Consumer Staples 6,128,223,697
Questar Corp STR Utilities 6,112,807,902
Equity Residential EQR Financials 6,079,337,009
Sigma-Aldrich Corp SIAL Materials 6,070,512,019
Unum Group UNM Financials 6,068,946,907
Smucker J.M. Co SJM Consumer Staples 6,019,027,129
Hospira Inc HSP Health Care 5,993,830,645
Xilinx Inc XLNX Information Technology 5,990,046,051
Linear Technology Corp LLTC Information Technology 5,947,808,775
Principal Financial Group PFG Financials 5,943,460,713
Vulcan Materials Co VMC Materials 5,908,769,669
Fortune Brands Inc FO Consumer Discretionary 5,860,722,127
Amphenol Corp A APH Information Technology 5,846,090,340
AmerisourceBergen Corp ABC Health Care 5,828,335,360
Constellation Energy Group CEG Utilities 5,784,535,862
Discover Financial Services DFS Financials 5,763,157,670
Leucadia National Corp (NY) LUK Financials 5,752,694,972
Wynn Resorts Ltd WYNN Consumer Discretionary 5,733,542,461
Intl Game Technology IGT Consumer Discretionary 5,715,627,271
DTE Energy Co DTE Utilities 5,675,050,296
United States Steel Corp X Materials 5,639,904,897
Genuine Parts Co GPC Consumer Discretionary 5,639,615,461
Rockwell Automation Inc ROK Industrials 5,619,229,171
ENSCO Intl Inc ESV Energy 5,612,317,457
Macy's Inc M Consumer Discretionary 5,606,148,747
People's United Financial Inc PBCT Financials 5,599,349,842
Humana Inc HUM Health Care 5,592,348,528
Nordstrom Inc JWN Consumer Discretionary 5,584,251,484
Southwest Airlines Co LUV Industrials 5,568,270,144
Altera Corp ALTR Information Technology 5,565,972,654
Block H & R Inc HRB Consumer Discretionary 5,543,389,287
O'Reilly Automotive ORLY Consumer Discretionary 5,541,588,243
Ameren Corp AEE Utilities 5,471,417,627
Cooper Industries Ltd (Bermuda) CBE Industrials 5,454,899,352
Lincoln National Corp LNC Financials 5,438,367,105
Expedia EXPE Consumer Discretionary 5,430,147,740
CBS Corp B CBS Consumer Discretionary 5,429,079,401
Smith Intl Inc SII Energy 5,421,256,529
Micron Technology Inc MU Information Technology 5,419,806,161
KLA-Tencor Corporation KLAC Information Technology 5,388,780,631
Salesforce.com CRM Information Technology 5,379,660,170
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc HST Financials 5,296,296,138
Fastenal Co FAST Industrials 5,256,501,382
Ventas Inc VTR Financials 5,218,030,088
Scripps Networks Interactive SNI Consumer Discretionary 5,213,984,580
Owens-Illinois Inc OI Materials 5,188,266,616
Autodesk Inc ADSK Information Technology 5,141,486,642
FMC Technologies Inc FTI Energy 5,138,701,948
Harley-Davidson Inc HOG Consumer Discretionary 5,106,408,281
Davita Inc DVA Health Care 5,090,381,953
Wisconsin Energy Corp WEC Utilities 4,996,904,556
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc JEC Industrials 4,970,217,573
Plum Creek Timber Co PCL Financials 4,965,616,550
Microchip Technology Inc MCHP Information Technology 4,951,890,681
Pitney Bowes Inc PBI Industrials 4,920,306,639
EQT Corporation EQT Utilities 4,909,961,254
Waters Corp WAT Health Care 4,905,056,484
Hormel Foods Corp HRL Consumer Staples 4,838,719,711
Hartford Finl Services Group HIG Financials 4,803,361,634
Nabors Industries Ltd NBR Energy 4,791,885,909
AvalonBay Communities Inc AVB Financials 4,757,965,142
Masco Corp MAS Industrials 4,731,981,027
Metropcs Communications Inc PCS Telecommunications Services 4,668,305,214
XL Capital Ltd A (Bermuda) XL Financials 4,649,111,872
Regions Financial Corp RF Financials 4,645,080,102
Ball Corp BLL Materials 4,619,349,623
Quanta Services Inc PWR Industrials 4,606,353,268
Darden Restaurants Inc DRI Consumer Discretionary 4,595,075,275
Affiliated Computer Services ACS Information Technology 4,585,028,089
Dentsply Intl XRAY Health Care 4,574,680,767
Varian Medical Systems Inc VAR Health Care 4,514,213,390
Stericycle Inc SRCL Industrials 4,513,981,710
Family Dollar Stores Inc FDO Consumer Discretionary 4,411,086,637
Cephalon Inc CEPH Health Care 4,387,826,868
Dun & Bradstreet Corp DNB Industrials 4,368,167,782
Health Care REIT Inc HCN Financials 4,357,367,988
Tyson Foods Inc A TSN Consumer Staples 4,353,518,053
Allegheny Energy Inc AYE Utilities 4,336,614,465
SCANA Corp SCG Utilities 4,308,868,769
McCormick & Co MKC Consumer Staples 4,290,375,657
Starwood Hotel & Resort World HOT Consumer Discretionary 4,266,897,307
Red Hat Inc RHT Information Technology 4,254,600,515
Harris Corp HRS Information Technology 4,192,819,813
KeyCorp KEY Financials 4,185,541,500
SLM Corp SLM Financials 4,148,623,126
BJ Services Co BJS Energy 4,144,494,462
Centerpoint Energy Inc CNP Utilities 4,135,012,309
Teradata Corp TDC Information Technology 4,127,529,934
MEMC Electronic Materials WFR Information Technology 4,125,603,043
Flowserve Corp FLS Industrials 4,095,052,693
Nasdaq OMX Group/The NDAQ Financials 4,093,079,850
Fidelity National Information FIS Information Technology 4,092,859,067
SanDisk Corp SNDK Information Technology 4,083,391,800
Whirlpool Corp WHR Consumer Discretionary 4,079,720,600
Denbury Resources Inc DNR Energy 4,043,910,000
Cincinnati Financial Corp CINF Financials 4,025,007,921
Limited Brands Inc LTD Consumer Discretionary 4,009,913,142
Northeast Utilities NU Utilities 3,991,196,907
Washington Post Co B WPO Consumer Discretionary 3,903,803,273
VeriSign Inc VRSN Information Technology 3,887,866,348
Legg Mason Inc LM Financials 3,886,435,488
Prologis PLD Financials 3,864,013,033
CF Industries Holdings CF Materials 3,840,718,464
Millipore Corp MIL Health Care 3,834,318,493
Mylan Inc. MYL Health Care 3,831,341,464
Robert Half Intl Inc RHI Industrials 3,788,132,771
Cintas Corp CTAS Industrials 3,760,166,915
GameStop Corp A GME Consumer Discretionary 3,753,495,474
Windstream Corp WIN Telecommunications Services 3,716,770,683
Cabot Oil & Gas A COG Energy 3,660,490,596
Watson Pharmaceuticals WPI Health Care 3,652,525,961
Hasbro Inc HAS Consumer Discretionary 3,638,509,366
Horton D.R. Inc DHI Consumer Discretionary 3,612,837,719
Nisource Inc NI Utilities 3,610,887,325
Tiffany & Co TIF Consumer Discretionary 3,596,902,333
Comerica Inc (MI) CMA Financials 3,552,708,983
Akamai Technologies Inc AKAM Information Technology 3,534,240,707
Eastman Chemical Co EMN Materials 3,515,772,044
Pall Corp PLL Industrials 3,507,270,887
AutoNation Inc AN Consumer Discretionary 3,483,692,737
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co GT Consumer Discretionary 3,477,439,214
Kimco Realty Corp KIM Financials 3,458,678,398
Whole Foods Market Inc WFMI Consumer Staples 3,422,444,934
Sealed Air Corp SEE Materials 3,406,908,359
Newell Rubbermaid Inc NWL Consumer Discretionary 3,406,152,127
National Semiconductor NSM Information Technology 3,400,602,689
DeVry Inc DV Consumer Discretionary 3,399,919,080
LSI Corporation LSI Information Technology 3,367,674,262
Coventry Health Care Inc CVH Health Care 3,353,108,270
Dean Foods Co DF Consumer Staples 3,340,642,536
Avery Dennison Corp AVY Industrials 3,335,893,765
Pactiv Corporation PTV Materials 3,319,446,840
Equifax Inc EFX Industrials 3,304,095,923
MeadWestvaco Corp MWV Materials 3,302,166,179
Torchmark Corp TMK Financials 3,301,117,050
Supervalu Inc SVU Consumer Staples 3,298,138,373
Pinnacle West Capital (AZ) PNW Utilities 3,265,995,100
Textron Inc TXT Industrials 3,211,763,754
FLIR Systems Inc FLIR Information Technology 3,194,234,246
Centurytel Inc CTL Telecommunications Services 3,154,393,373
Pioneer Natural Resources PXD Energy 3,150,509,398
Pepco Holdings Inc POM Utilities 3,150,258,165
Stanley Works SWK Consumer Discretionary 3,127,460,090
Molex Inc MOLX Information Technology 3,094,714,824
Assurant Inc AIZ Financials 3,047,457,893
Genworth Financial Inc GNW Financials 2,993,420,917
Patterson Cos Inc PDCO Health Care 2,982,945,919
Constellation Brands Inc A STZ Consumer Staples 2,958,524,276
Sunoco Inc SUN Energy 2,897,864,342
CMS Energy Corp CMS Utilities 2,864,870,504
Donnelley R.R. & Sons RRD Industrials 2,852,279,922
Pulte Homes Inc PHM Consumer Discretionary 2,787,399,623
CB Richard Ellis Group Inc A CBG Financials 2,760,527,898
Intl Flavors & Fragrances IFF Materials 2,714,896,080
Allegheny Technologies Inc ATI Materials 2,697,750,000
First Horizon National Corp FHN Financials 2,697,431,781
Total System Services Inc TSS Information Technology 2,695,190,885
TECO Energy Inc TE Utilities 2,695,034,182
Bemis Co Inc BMS Materials 2,638,240,666
Leggett & Platt LEG Consumer Discretionary 2,616,461,964
Federated Investors Inc B FII Financials 2,608,689,431
Interpublic Group Cos IPG Consumer Discretionary 2,588,089,827
Integrys Energy Group Inc TEG Utilities 2,554,897,134
Advanced Micro Devices AMD Information Technology 2,515,764,719
Abercrombie & Fitch Company A ANF Consumer Discretionary 2,467,588,961
Rowan Companies Inc RDC Energy 2,400,628,904
Janus Capital Group Inc JNS Financials 2,374,855,225
King Pharmaceuticals Inc KG Health Care 2,313,518,096
Tellabs Inc TLAB Information Technology 2,297,815,656
Huntington Bancshares (OH) HBAN Financials 2,280,652,743
Wyndham Worldwide Corp WYN Consumer Discretionary 2,256,247,007
Black & Decker Corp BDK Consumer Discretionary 2,248,595,056
IMS Health Inc RX Health Care 2,197,920,035
Frontier Communications Corp FTR Telecommunications Services 2,189,619,837
PerkinElmer Inc PKI Health Care 2,174,172,196
AK Steel Hldg Corp AKS Materials 2,079,424,083
Lennar Corp A LEN Consumer Discretionary 2,039,814,612
Tenet Healthcare THC Health Care 1,953,319,659
Massey Energy Co MEE Energy 1,943,870,666
Marshall & Ilsley Corp (WI) MI Financials 1,939,886,993
Novellus Systems Inc NVLS Information Technology 1,928,732,268
RadioShack Corp RSH Consumer Discretionary 1,927,684,172
Jabil Circuit Inc JBL Information Technology 1,920,607,369
Snap On Inc SNA Consumer Discretionary 1,900,997,340
Big Lots Inc BIG Consumer Discretionary 1,900,281,471
Ryder System Inc R Industrials 1,892,896,182
Tesoro Corp TSO Energy 1,811,112,786
American Intl Group Inc AIG Financials 1,796,820,606
Compuware Corp CPWR Information Technology 1,755,173,619
Monster Worldwide Inc MWW Industrials 1,739,452,764
Dynegy Inc A DYN Utilities 1,680,008,952
NICOR Inc GAS Utilities 1,659,373,285
Novell Inc NOVL Information Technology 1,632,747,288
E*TRADE Financial Corp ETFC Financials 1,617,373,553
Zions Bancorp (UT) ZION Financials 1,601,219,864
QLogic Corp QLGC Information Technology 1,564,328,017
Titanium Metals Corp TIE Materials 1,506,811,849
Gannett Co Inc GCI Consumer Discretionary 1,506,179,452
KB Home KBH Consumer Discretionary 1,476,102,327
Teradyne Inc TER Information Technology 1,416,017,767
Harman Intl Industries Inc HAR Consumer Discretionary 1,369,694,210
Meredith Corp MDP Consumer Discretionary 1,355,834,897
Centex Corp CTX Consumer Discretionary 1,295,873,216
Convergys Corp CVG Information Technology 1,274,599,526
JDS Uniphase Corp JDSU Information Technology 1,251,641,781
Office Depot Inc ODP Consumer Discretionary 1,203,194,353
Lexmark International Inc LXK Information Technology 1,152,479,711
New York Times Co A NYT Consumer Discretionary 1,088,401,852
Apartment Investment & Mgmt AIV Financials 1,067,990,291
CIENA Corp CIEN Information Technology 1,060,076,022
MBIA Inc MBI Financials 910,337,472
Eastman Kodak Co EK Consumer Discretionary 893,077,675
Manitowoc Co Inc MTW Industrials 768,897,075
Viacom Inc B (New) VIA Consumer Discretionary 0


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