Canopy Growth reported smaller-than-expected losses
The shares of cannabis producer Canopy Growth Corp (NYSE:CGC) are up 11.3% to trade at $18.50 this morning, one of the better stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) so far. This comes after the cannabis company reported smaller-than-expected fiscal first-quarter losses. Revenue came in better than expected, thanks to a restructuring that helped tackle expenses, while coronavirus-related lockdown orders boosted demand for the company's products.
Canopy Growth stock has had an interesting year on the charts. It bottomed out at a two-year low of $9 in mid-March, but has spent most of the summer trading sideways. In the last month CGC has traded in a tight range between $15 and $20, with its 100-day moving average siting below as support. Yet despite today's breakout, the equity is still down 11% in 2020.
Meanwhile, the options pits are full of bullish activity. This is per CGC's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 8.33 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits in the 97th percentile of its annual range. This suggests a healthier-than-usual appetite for bullish bets of late.
Today's option pits are on fire. In the first hour of trading, over 17,000 options have crossed the tape so far -- seven times the intraday average, with volume pacing in the 95th percentile of annual readings. The most popular is the weekly 8/14 20-strike call, followed by the 19-strike call from the same series.