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Earnings Movers: Cirrus Logic, Inc., Mastercard Inc, and Whole Foods Market, Inc.

Cirrus Logic, Inc. (CRUS), Mastercard Inc (MA), and Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFM) are among the stocks moving sharply on earnings

Jul 28, 2016 at 10:19 AM
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Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is making a bold move on the back of earnings, and it's not the only one. Names like Cirrus Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS), Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA), and Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) are also swinging in the aftermath of their earnings reports. Below, we'll take a closer look at each stock, and consider how options traders may be reacting to the price action.

CRUS has rocketed 17.3% higher at $49, after its adjusted per-share earnings came in well above estimates. Earlier, in fact, the semiconductor stock hit an all-time high of $49.23, which may not sit well with a recent crop of put option buyers -- assuming they're not protective in nature. Specifically, during the past two weeks at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), traders have bought to open nearly twice as many puts as calls. Elsewhere on the sentiment front, Cirrus Logic, Inc. is benefiting from price-target hikes at Canaccord Genuity, Barclays, Doughterty, Needham, and Oppenheimer.

MA is also making an upside move, tacking on 2.1% at $95.72, following an earnings beat. That said, shares of the credit card concern remain in the red on a year-to-date basis. Today's swing higher comes as good news to options traders at the ISE, CBOE, and PHLX, who have bought to open 2.11 calls for every put during the last 10 sessions -- a ratio that ranks in the bullishly skewed 81st annual percentile. However, if Mastercard Inc stumbles around its 2016 breakeven mark -- as it did from April through June -- a capitulation among the weaker bullish hands could spark losses.

Lastly, WFM has tanked 8.9% on a poorly received earnings report, which included a sharper-than-expected slowdown in same-store sales. Nonetheless, J.P. Morgan Securities and Deutsche Bank both raised their price targets to $32 -- higher than the stock's current perch at $30.66. Bearish options traders, meanwhile, should be loving the grocer's price action. Whole Foods Market, Inc.'s 10-day ISE/CBOE/PHLX put/call volume ratio checks in at 0.92, outstripping nearly four in five readings taken over the prior 12 months.

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