An Attractive Apple Entry Point; Analysts, Options Traders Bullish on Oracle

Pandora's last breakout attempt was extinguished by its 50-day moving average

Josh Selway

Jul 5, 2017 at 10:03 AM

ORCL
P
AAPL

Analysts are weighing in on iPhone maker Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), streaming music service Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P), and software stock Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL). Here's a quick roundup of today's bullish brokerage notes on shares of AAPL, P, and ORCL.

Apple Stock Offers Attractive Entry Point

Apple stock is up 0.04% at $143.54, after Citi reportedly reiterated its "buy" rating and $160 price targeting, saying the shares are presenting an attractive entry point ahead of the company's next iPhone release. AAPL has been trading below its 50-day since after its June 9 pullback, but is still up almost 51% year-over-year. Meanwhile, call buying has remained the preferred strategy from options traders, but puts have actually been more popular than normal lately. For example, Apple's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.59 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks above 75% of readings from the past year.

Short Sellers Stay After Pandora Stock

Pandora stock has opened nearly 2% higher at $8.94, after Morgan Stanley resumed coverage with an "overweight" rating and $12 price target. P shares haven't topped the $12 mark since early April, with their most recent breakout attempt quickly thwarted by the descending 50-day moving average. Short sellers continue to target Pandora. During the past two reporting periods, short interest is up roughly 20%.

KeyBanc Upgrades Red-Hot Oracle Stock

KeyBanc upgraded its rating on Oracle to "overweight" from "sector weight," lifting ORCL 0.85% today to $49.77. It's been a great year for the stock, which recently gapped higher to hit a record high of $51.85 on June 22. In fact, Oracle stock is up almost 29% year-to-date. Near-term options traders certainly seem optimistic. This is according to ORCL's Schaeffer's put/call open interest (SOIR) of 0.49, which is only 5 percentage points from a 12-month low. Said differently, options traders targeting options expiring within three months are unusually call-skewed.

Follow @Schaeffers

The $25K Day Trading Barrier is Gone

The long-standing Pattern Day Trader (PDT) rule that required many traders to maintain a $25,000 account balance is no longer standing in the way.

That means more traders can actively pursue short-term opportunities without the barrier that kept so many on the sidelines.

Now it's all about having the right strategy.

Dynamite Day Trading Signals helps you hit the ground running with up 2 options trade alerts per week, built to capture fast-moving opportunities.

👉 Sign up now to receive the next trade