When we checked in with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) on Monday, J.P. Morgan Securities was bullish on the company's iPhone 11 volume forecasts. Those predictions have now rang true, after Nikkei reported that Apple had asked suppliers to boost production up to eight million units. The news has Apple stock up 2%, to trade at $225.30.
AAPL is now pacing for its highest close in exactly one year, the same day the stock also nabbed an all-time high of $232.35. The shares are also heading toward their second straight weekly win, and today have reclaimed their year-over-year breakeven level.
Options traders have been targeting puts at an accelerated clip lately. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Apple stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.70 registers in the 73rd annual percentile. So while calls have outpaced puts on an absolute basis, the rate of put buying relative to call buying has been quicker than usual. Digging deeper, the October 210 put is home to peak front-month open interest.
Echoing this, the security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.30 ranks in the 95th percentile of its 12-month range. In other words, short-term speculators are more put-heavy than usual toward AAPL.