the fear merchant, brian stutling will break it down. >> it is a bird, a plane. >> it is actually theollar. you won't believe how high some traders see it going. >>> options action is sponsored by think or swim by t.d. ameritrade. >>> have no fear, the vix and stocks are down for the year. what does this mean? >> let's bring in brian stutland. what happened today in the vix? what could it mean for stocks? >> a lot of interesting action today. we saw puts trade three times that of the calls. february 14 put, over 230,000 contracts were purchased. certainly, vix traders betting that the stimulus will drive the vix lower. that's why we have seen the vix drop. it starts to get really interesting here. i think when the vix starts to trade below 16 in this year of 2015, i think that's an indication that the market is reaching a top. it is time to look for hedges and buy puts on your portfolio. the low range likely is 13 or 14, given all the volatility here and the oil markets and the high valuations in the stock market. i would be looking to hedge when the vix gets below 16. when you see it