A big winner on Wall Street this morning is Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC), up 15.3% to trade at $25.49, and earlier nabbing a new annual high of $25.53. This comes after a Bloomberg report suggested semiconductor concern (AVGO) was in advanced talks to buy Symantec. An analyst at Wedbush called it a "golden time" for the cybersecurity firm to consider a sale.
This is on track to be Symantec stock's best day since July 2001, and could extend its winning streak to six. SYMC sold off sharply in May after a profit warning, but bounced from familiar support at the $17.50 level. And thanks to today, the security has filled that steep early May bear gap. For perspective, the equity is heading toward its fifth straight weekly win, and turned in only five negative sessions in all of June.
For a stock that even prior to today had gained 17% year-to-date, analysts sure are skeptical. Roughly 89% of the brokerages covering SYMC rate it a "hold" or "sell," while its average 12-month price target of $20.61 is a discount to last night's closing perch of $22.10.
Meanwhile, options are an intriguing avenue to bet on the red-hot cybersecurity stock. Its Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 26% stands higher than only 3% of all other readings from the past year, which means near-term options are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.