Schaeffer's Option Activity Watch:
1. According to Hoover's, Albertson's (NYSE:ABS) is the number two supermarket chain in the United States, operating approximately 2,300 stores in 31 states. This Fortune 500 company has been the site of growing pessimism recently. The equity's January 20 put added more than 4,100 contracts overnight, pushing open interest up to 6,072 contracts. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) checks in at 1.20, as puts outnumber calls in the front three months of options. This reading is now higher than 63 percent of those taken over the past year. In addition, the security's short-interest ratio sits at a hefty 10.3 days to cover, raising the chances of a covering rally boosting the shares. Of course, the equity's recent technical performance hasn't been setting any records. ABS has been trending sideways since March between resistance at the 22 level and support at 18. Additional overhead resistance rest at the stock's declining 20-month moving average. This trendline has capped all of the security's monthly closes since June 2002. Traders should key in on these levels. A break through overhead resistance could send the bears running for the exit.