Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI) is getting a boost this morning, following the company's strong fourth-quarter results. The apparel manufacturer reported earnings and revenue that exceeded analysts' expectations, citing solid growth for its Champion brand and its Innerwear unit in the U.S., adding that it's looking to continue expanding the latter to European markets. What's more, Hanesbrands' current-quarter forecast topped estimates.

At last check, HBI is up 20.4% to trade at a fresh two-year high of $19.22, breaking past overhead pressure at the $16 mark, which has acted as a ceiling on the charts since an early November bear gap. What's more, the security just closed said bear gap, and now sports a nine-month lead of over 119%, with support from its 160-day moving average.

The brokerage bunch is still approaching the security with caution. Just three of the eight analysts in coverage call HBI a "buy" or better, while five say "hold" or worse. Adding to this, the 12-month consensus price target of $15.31 is an 19.3% discount to the stock's current perch. This leaves Hanesbrands stock ripe for upgrades, should this positive price action continue. 

An unwinding of pessimism could propel HBI higher, too. For instance, short sellers have been building their positions. Now, the 28.68 million shares sold short make up 8.4% of the stock's available float, and would take over a week to cover, at HBI's average daily pace of trading. 

The options pits have been equally bearish. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the equity sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 2.20, which stands higher than 95% of readings from the past year. This means puts are being picked up at a much quicker-than-usual pace.

The tide seems to be shifting today, however. So far, over 4,500 calls have already crossed the tape, which is 16 times what is typically seen at this point. Most popular is the weekly 2/12 16-strike call, followed by the monthly March 20 call, with new positions being opened at the latter.

Today brings the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). In addition to that, there are is a solid roster of companies due to report earnings throughout the day today.

The following companies are slated to release quarterly earnings reports today, February 9:

Aramark (NYSE:ARMK -- $37.00) provides food, facilities, and uniform services. Aramark will report its first-quarter earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Arch Resources Inc. (NYSE:ARCH -- $52.21) produces and sells thermal and metallurgical coal from surface and underground mines. Arch Resources will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Avaya Holdings Corp. (NYSE:AVYA -- $25.83) provides digital communications products, solutions, and services. Avaya Holdings will report its first-quarter earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Avient Corp. (NYSE:AVNT -- $42.27) provides specialized polymer materials, services, and solutions. Avient will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Canopy Growth Corp. (NASDAQ:CGC -- $43.87) engages in the production, distribution, and sale of cannabis for recreational and medical purposes. Canopy Growth will report its third-quarter earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Carrier Global Corp. (NYSE:CARR -- $39.70) provides heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, fire, security, and building automation technologies. Carrier Global will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE -- $6.46) engages in gas and oil provisions. Cenovus Energy will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Centene Corp. (NYSE:CNC -- $58.24) operates as a multi-national healthcare enterprise. Centene will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Corsair Gaming Inc. (NYSE:CRSR -- $45.99) designs, markets, and distributes gaming and streaming peripherals, components and systems. Corsair Gaming will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY -- $7.94) engages in the manufacture, market, sale, and distribution of branded beauty products. Coty will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

CTS Corp. (NYSE:CTS -- $33.39) designs, manufactures, and sells sensors, electronic components, and actuators. CTS will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

DuPont de Nemours Inc. (NYSE:DD -- $75.76) provides technology-based materials, ingredients, and solutions. DuPont will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Edgewell Personal Care Co. (NYSE:EPC -- $34.25) manufactures and markets personal care products. Edgewell will report its first-quarter earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (NYSE:FIS -- $133.43) operates as a financial services technology company. Fidelity will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

FirstService Corp. (NASDAQ:FSV -- $144.36) provides residential property services to residential and commercial customers. FirstService will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Fox Corp. (NASDAQ:FOX -- $31.55) operates as a news, sports, and entertainment company. Fox will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Gartner Inc. (NYSE:IT -- $168.11) operates as a research and advisory company. Gartner will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NASDAQ:GT -- $12.73) develops, manufactures, distributes, and sells tires and related products and services. Goodyear will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

The Hain Celestial Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN -- $41.52) manufactures, markets, and sells organic and natural products. Hain Celestial will report its second-quarter earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI -- $15.98) is a consumer goods company. Hanesbrands will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

II-VI Inc. (NASDAQ:IIVI -- $88.73) develops, manufactures, and markets engineered materials, and optoelectronic components and devices. II-VI will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ:INCY -- $93.62) is a biopharmaceutical company. Incyte will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE:JLL -- $156.71) is a professional services company. Jones Lang LaSalle will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

LCI Industries (NYSE:LCII -- $150.88) manufactures and supplies components for the manufacturers of recreational vehicles (RVs) and adjacent industries. LCI Industries will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Malibu Boats Inc. (NASDAQ:MBUU -- $78.68) designs, manufactures, distributes, markets, and sells a range of recreational powerboats. Malibu Boats will report its second-quarter earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE:MLM -- $300.91) a natural resource-based building materials company. Martin Marietta will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Masco Corp. (NYSE:MAS -- $57.33) designs, manufactures, and distributes home improvement and building products. Masco will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

New Residential Investment Corp. (NYSE:NRZ -- $10.12) is a real estate investment trust. New Residential Investment will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

nVent Electric plc. (NYSE:NVT -- $24.12) designs, manufactures, markets, installs, and services electrical connection and protection products. nVent Electric will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI -- $325.44) provides ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets. S&P Global will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Sealed Air Corp. (NYSE:SEE -- $45.50) provides food safety and security, and product protection solutions and equipment. Sealed Air will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Transdigm Group Inc. (NYSE:TDG -- $600.17) designs, produces, and supplies aircraft components. Transdigm Group will report its first-quarter earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Vishay Intertechnology Inc. (NYSE:VSH -- $24.26) manufactures and supplies discrete semiconductors and passive components. Vishay will report its second-quarter earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA -- $61.21) produces and sells specialty chemicals and materials. W.R. Grace will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Wesco International Inc. (NYSE:WCC -- $89.33) distributes electrical, industrial, and communications maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) and original equipment manufacturers products and construction materials. Wesco will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Willis Towers Watson Public Ltd. Co. (NASDAQ:WLTW -- $225.70) operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company. Willis Towers Watson will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 before the bell today.

Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM -- $117.28) provides cloud services for delivering, optimizing, and securing content and business applications over the Internet. Akamai will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Alteryx Inc. (NYSE:AYX -- $135.99) provides end-to-end analytics platform for data analysts and scientists. Alteryx will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACGL -- $34.15) provides insurance, reinsurance, and mortgage insurance products. Arch Capital will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Assurant Inc. (NYSE:AIZ -- $135.44) provides lifestyle and housing solutions that support, protect, and connect consumer purchases. Assurant will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Black Hills Corp. (NYSE:BKH -- $61.68) operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. Black Hills will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. (NYSE:CDAY -- $102.00) operates as a human capital management (HCM) software company. Ceridian HCM will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO -- $48.94) engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of Internet Protocol based networking products and services. Cisco will report its second-quarter earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

CNO Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:CNO -- $23.54) develops, markets, and administers health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products. CNO Financial will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI -- $160.90) owns, operates and leases cell towers and fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions. Crown Castle will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Douglas Emmett Inc. (NYSE:DEI -- $29.60) is an asset management company. Douglas Emmett will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

EastGroup Properties Inc. (NYSE:EGP -- $146.06) is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust. EastGroup will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH -- $197.87) designs, develops, manufactures, and sells home energy solutions. Enphase Energy will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Fiserv Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV -- $113.40) provides financial services technology. Fiserv will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

FMC Corp. (NYSE:FMC -- $116.65) is an agricultural sciences company. FMC will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Genpact Ltd. (NYSE:G -- $42.04) provides business process outsourcing and information technology (IT) services. Genpact will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Healthpeak Properties Inc. (NYSE:PEAK -- $30.26) is a fully integrated real estate investment trust. Healthpeak will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE:HP -- $26.92) provides drilling services and solutions for exploration and production companies. Helmerich & Payne will report its first-quarter earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Highwoods Properties Inc. (NYSE:HIW -- $41.09) is a publicly-traded (NYSE:HIW) real estate investment trust. Highwoods will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT -- $53.41) operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ridesharing. Lyft will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

The Manitowoc Co. Inc. (NYSE:MTW -- $14.90) provides engineered lifting equipment for the construction industry. Manitowoc will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT -- $18.46) is a children's entertainment company. Mattel will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Mesa Air Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MESA -- $7.42) operates as the holding company for Mesa Airlines, Inc.. Mesa Air will report its first-quarter earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Model N Inc. (NYSE:MODN -- $39.75) provides revenue management cloud solutions for the life sciences and high tech industries. Model N will report its first-quarter earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

NCR Corp. (NYSE:NCR -- $37.68) provides software and services. NCR will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

NGL Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE:NGL -- $2.64) engages in the ownership and operation of a vertically integrated energy business. NGL Energy Partners will report its third-quarter earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

O-I Glass Inc. (NYSE:OI -- $13.78) manufactures and sells glass containers to food and beverage manufacturers. O-I Glass will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Plains All American Pipeline L.P. (NASDAQ:PAA -- $9.27) engages in the transportation, storage, terminalling, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGL), and natural gas. Plains All American will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Primerica Inc. (NYSE:PRI -- $149.88) provides financial products to middle income households. Primerica will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Qiagen N.V. (NYSE:QGEN -- $55.78) provides sample to insight solutions that transform biological materials into molecular insights. Qiagen will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Rapid7 Inc. (NASDAQ:RPD -- $88.83) provides cyber security solutions. Rapid7 will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Red Rock Resorts Inc. (NASDAQ:RRR -- $27.96) engages in casino entertainment, and gaming and entertainment businesses. Red Rock Resorts will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Reynolds Consumer Products Inc. (NASDAQ:REYN -- $30.15) produces and sells products in cooking, waste and storage, and tableware product categories. Reynolds Consumer Products will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE:THC -- $52.31) operates as a diversified healthcare services company. Tenet Healthcare will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR -- $58.20) operates as a platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. Twitter will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE:TWO -- $6.44) operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT). Two Harbors Investment will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

UDR Corp. (NYSE:UDR -- $40.96) is an S&P 500 company. UDR will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

USANA Health Sciences Inc. (NYSE:USNA -- $85.19) develops, manufactures, and sells science-based nutritional and personal care products. USANA will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Voya Financial Inc. (NYSE:VOYA -- $58.38) operates as a retirement, investment, and employee benefits company. Voya Financial will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL -- $63.21) is an S&P 500 company. Welltower will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP -- $37.69) operates a platform that connects consumers with local businesses. Yelp will report its fourth-quarter earnings of 2020 after the market closes today.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, things pick up the pace with the consumer price index (CPI), the core CPI, and the Federal budget balance slated for release. All economic dates listed here are tentative and subject to change.

Every day for the next two weeks, we're going to highlight one of Schaeffer's top 14 picks for 2021. Up next is an alternative energy darling that has been a favorite in this space for a while now. To access the entirety of the 2021 report, click here.

While Plug Power stock is currently trading below record levels, the shares broke out above multi-year highs in August, when the security rallied past potential resistance at the $12 level – the site of its 2011 and 2014 peaks.

A short squeeze could fuel additional gains for the security going into 2021, too, as this year’s positive price action did very little to convince shorts about the company’s growth prospects. In fact, short interest hit a multi-year high halfway through November, and the 66.53 million shares sold short account for a whopping 28.9% of the stock’s available float.

Todd is the Senior Vice President of Research at Schaeffer's Investment Research and has been with the research firm since 1993. Mr. Salamone is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a double major in finance and insurance and risk management. He has over 25 years of options trading experience, emphasizing technical and sentiment analysis in his equity, broad market and sector research. Mr. Salamone is the author of Schaeffer's Monday Morning Outlook, and he has been interviewed on CNBC, Bloomberg Television, Fox Business Network and quoted in several national media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, the Associated Press and others. Todd has trained tens of thousands of traders to be successful options traders.

The shares of Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) are up 1.5% at $191.69 this morning, after the retail giant earned a bull note from Stifel. The analyst upgraded TGT to "buy" from "hold" and hiked its price target to $225 from $200, after praising the company's strong digital sales performance and the rising popularity of its same-day services. 

Today's pop has Target stock on pace for its third-straight win, and aiming for its highest close in over three weeks. Additionally, the equity is sitting well above its 20-day moving average after nine consecutive sessions under the trendline. Year-over-year, TGT has tacked on 65.9%.

Analysts were optimistic toward the equity coming into today, with 12 of the 18 in coverage sporting a "strong buy" rating, and the remaining six carrying a tepid "hold." Plus, the 12-month consensus price target of $200.59 is a 5% premium to current levels. 

Lastly, the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.41 sits in just the 4th percentile of its annual range, suggesting short-term option players have rarely been more call-heavy during the past 12 months. And now may not be a bad time to consider options either, per Target stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 25%, which stands higher than just 5% of all other readings from the past 12 months. This implies that options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment. 

The shares of Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE:PLTR) are skyrocketing this morning, last seen up over 11.5% to trade at $37.71, after the company announced a partnership with IBM (IBM) to create a new product: Palantir for IBM Cloud Pak for Data. Available as soon as March, the product will help businesses open and deploy powerful artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The tech name also announced it is employing Red Hat OpenShift, which will allow this new product to be run anywhere in the hybrid cloud. 

The equity, which went public in late-September with a reference price of $7.25, has been churning higher since its debut. And though its late-January spike toward the $45 level was short-lived, support from the 20-day moving average is keeping this recent pullback in check. In the last three months alone, PLTR has added a whopping 143%.

The brokerage bunch is still hesitant toward the security, though. Of the four in coverage, only one analyst calls it a "strong buy," while two say "hold," and one says "strong sell." What's more, the 12-month consensus price target of $17.83 is a 47.7% discount to its current perch, meaning more price-target hikes could be on the horizon for Palantir stock. 

Short sellers have been building their positions, too. In the last two-week reporting period, short interest rose 9.1%. The 98.95 million shares sold short make up a hefty 9.7% of the stock's available float, or 1.5 days of trading at PLTR's average pace.