The European Commission is appealing a ruling that dismissed Apple from paying $15 billion in taxes in Ireland
The shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) are up 1.3% at $109.68 at last check, despite news that the European Commission is appealing a court ruling that dismissed the technology giant from paying $15 billion in taxes in Ireland. At the time, the Luxembourg-based General Court said competition enforcers had not met the requisite legal standard to show that the company had enjoyed an unfair advantage. In response, Apple officials reinforced earlier this morning that the company has always complied with Irish tax laws.
On the charts, the security has been cooling off from its all-time-high of $137.98 on Sept. 2. But before a massive tech selloff knocked AAPL off those levels, the stock had been carving out a channel of higher highs, more than doubling off its mid-March lows near the $53 level. Despite the 15% deficit in September so far, the ascending 80-day moving average has caught the damage and AAPL remains up 99% in the last 12 months.
Analysts are still overwhelmingly optimistic towards the stock, with 20 of the 26 in coverage sporting a "buy" or better rating. Meanwhile, the 12-month consensus target price of $119.25 is a 9.3% premium to current levels.
This upbeat sentiment is reflected in the options pits, where calls are popular. AAPL sports a 50-day call/put volume ratio of 2.15 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits in the 92nd percentile of its annual range. This suggests a healthier-than-usual appetite for bullish bets of late.
With that in mind, investors looking to get in on Apple stock's next move may want to consider options. The security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 50% sits in the relatively low 32nd percentile of its annual range. In other words, option traders are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment. What's more, the equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) ranks at 96 out of a possible 100, implying that AAPL has tended to exceed volatility expectations in the past year -- a boon for option buyers.