The brokerage firm also set a $23 price target for MRVL stock
Goldman Sachs resumed coverage on Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL) with a "buy" rating and a $23 price target -- a nearly 25% premium to last night's close at $18.44. The brokerage firm thinks the data storage solutions firm will benefit from its recent Cavium acquisition, and that MRVL shares are reasonably priced at current levels.
In reaction, Marvell Technology stock is up 1.4% to trade at $18.70. It's been a dreary year for the equity, which entered 2018 trading near $21.50. MRVL rallied all the way up to $25.18 in early March before heading south. More recently, the shares broke support at the round $20 mark -- home to their Nov. 6 bull gap close -- and hit a 10-month low of $18.16 last Thursday, Sept. 13.
Nevertheless, options traders have been positioning for a big bounce from MRVL stock. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), speculators have bought to open 40,761 calls in the last 10 sessions, compared to 4,730 puts. The resultant call/put volume ratio of 8.62 ranks in the 74th annual percentile, meaning the rate of call buying relative to put buying has been quicker than usual.
Drilling down, the September 20 call has seen one of the biggest increases in open interest over this two-week time frame, with roughly 22,750 contracts added. Data from the major options exchanges confirms significant buy-to-open activity here, meaning call buyers expect Marvell Technology to swing back above $20 by this Friday's close, when front-month options expire.