Marvell Technology Stock Pops After Another Bull Note

BofA-Merrill Lynch placed Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL) on its "high conviction" list for the first quarter, and called the semiconductor stock a "buy" -- echoing a recent bullish call from Citigroup. The upbeat analyst note has MRVL stock brushing off broad-market headwinds to trade up 0.3% at $16.23.

Longer term, Marvell Technology shares have been sliding since their highs near $25 last March, and closed out the fourth quarter of 2018 down 16.1% -- their worst quarterly performance since September 2015. And while MRVL has recovered from its nearly two-year low of $14.34 on Dec. 26, it's run into stiff resistance at its descending 50-day moving average.

Nevertheless, optimism has been growing toward MRVL stock. In addition to positive analyst coverage, speculators at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) have bought to open 10.83 calls for each put in the last 10 days. This ratio ranks in the 72nd annual percentile, showing the rate of call buying relative to put buying has been quicker than usual.

Drilling down, the February 19 call has seen the biggest rise in open interest over this two-week time frame, with more than 4,000 new positions added. Data from Trade-Alert suggests a number of these calls were bought to open, meaning speculators expect MRVL stock to rally back above $19 by February options expiration.