AAPL is continuing its impressive climb higher
Technology powerhouse Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) is enjoying a modest lift this morning, up 0.3% at $281.02 after receiving a price-target hike to $305 from $290 at Piper Jaffray. The firm's new price sports an 8.9% upside to last night's close of $280.02. From a wider perspective, 19 of 30 covering analysts sport a "buy" or better rating coming into today.
On the charts, AAPL has been on a steady climb higher in 2019, with a leg of support at the 20-day moving average since late August. In fact, the equity is up 77% year-to-date, and earlier touched a new record high of $282.65.
Digging deeper, the security's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 1.92 shows that calls are outnumbering puts on an absolute basis at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). What's more, this ratio sits higher than 82% of all other readings from the past year, indicating a healthier than usual appetite for these bullish bets over bearish of late.
For those looking to speculate on the FAANG stock's next move with options, now looks to be the perfect time. The security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 19% is in the 6th percentile of its annual range, meaning options players are pricing in incredibly low volatility expectations right now. Plus, AAPL's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at 99 (out of 100), indicating the equity has tended to exceed option trader's volatility expectations during the past year.