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Schaeffer's Daily Market Blog Features Affymetrix, Amazon.com, Cal-Maine Foods, JetBlue Airways, and Sharper Image

Business Wire, Dec 27, 2004

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the December 27 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are Affymetrix (NASDAQ:AFFX), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM), JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU), and Sharper Image (NASDAQ:SHRP). Schaeffer's Market Blog are just one of the many free market commentaries written everyday 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. For additional information about this report or to have it delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PRMOU1M&PAGE=1 .

Schaeffer's Market Blog for Monday, December 27, 2004:

Below are just a few of today's Market Blog entries. Click here to read all of today's Market Blog. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB1C&PAGE=1

2:18 PM Sharper Image Dulls After Lowering Guidance

The Christmas season wasn't very happy for Sharper Image (NASDAQ:SHRP), as the shares are down more than 17 percent, The company trimmed its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings outlooks due to "disappointing" holiday sales. The shares had gained more than 20 percent over the past two weeks leading up to Christmas but have now fallen back to support near 19. On the sentiment front we find relatively neutral readings, as it has a Gold Score of 4.5. The one area the shares may find some weakness is from the analysts, as Zacks reports that out of seven recommendations not one is a "sell."

2:01 PM Puts Active on JetBlue

Options players are buying up put options on JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) today in hopes of profiting from a decline in the underlying shares. Put options on JBLU have become significantly more popular than call options recently, illustrating a high level of pessimism toward the security. Even before today's activity, which has included more than 13 times the average put volume for JBLU, the Schaeffer put/call open interest ratio of 1.32 was higher than three-fourths of the readings on the equity over the past year. This stock has had its share of troubles, but it is possible that the high level of pessimism could be signaling that the downside risk from these levels is rather limited.

1:03 AM Things are not so CALM for Cal-Maine Foods

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) reported a loss of 23 cents per share for the second quarter versus a profit of 73 cents per share one year ago. Pessimism had trended higher on CALM coming into the announcement. The Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio stands at 0.92, up from a recent low of 0.43 in mid-November. The short-interest ratio is at a whopping 12.93 and the number of shares sold short has risen to 8.5 million shares. Shares of CALM are down more than 12 percent today.

10:17 AM Amazon.com Reports Best Holiday Season Ever

In a press release earlier today, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced that it enjoyed its best holiday season ever and for the first time consumer electronics was the largest sales category on the Thanksgiving weekend, surpassing books. Pessimism has been on the rise for AMZN, at least from the options crowd. The Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio has risen from 0.80 to 1.06 since early November. In addition to the pessimistic options crowd, short interest on AMZN has gone up in each of the past three reporting periods with more than 29 million shares sold short. AMZN is not among Wall Street's favorite stocks, as there are only four "buy" ratings compared to seven "hold" ratings and four "sell" ratings

9:47 AM Affymetrix Gets FDA Approval for GeneChip System

Affymetrix (NASDAQ:AFFX) announced that its microarray system GeneChip was cleared by the FDA. Coming into this announcement pessimism was running high. The Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) is at 1.35, which is higher than 98 percent of the past year's readings. The equity's short-interest ratio rests at a lofty 10.81. AFFX has very little analyst coverage, with only four "buy" ratings, two "hold" ratings, and one "sell" rating. AFFX shares are up more than three percent in early trading this morning.

The above are just a few of today's Daily Market Blog entries. Click here to read all of today's Daily Market Blog. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB1C&PAGE=1

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About Schaeffer's Investment Research (www.SchaeffersResearch.com)

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.>