Target CEO Brian Cornell cited impressive holiday sales
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) is higher in early trading, after the company reported an impressive fourth-quarter earnings report and raised its full-year outlook. In the earnings release, CEO Brian Cornell noted the company's traffic and comparable sales grew at the fastest rate in over a decade. In response, TGT is up 3.7% at $75,35, at last check.
Target stock has been struggling to break above the 320-day moving average, but after today's surge, is back above this trendline, putting it near the $77 level, home to its mid-November bear gap. Overall, TGT shares have added 10% year-to-date.
The security has been a favorite for call buyers, which is evident from the stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). The ratio of 2.96 stands in the 90th annual percentile, showing unusual interest in call buying versus put buying in recent weeks.
This sentiment is echoed with the retail giant's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.43, which lands in the 14th annual percentile. In other words, near-term options traders are more call-biased than usual right now.