PCAR Moves Higher on Self-Driving Truck Deal

Truck manufacturer PACCAR Inc (NASDAQ:PCAR) just announced a partnership with self-driving car startup Aurora. The two firms plan on developing autonomous versions of PACCAR's Peterbilt and Kenworth trucks, with Amazon (AMZN)-backed Aurora providing its self-driving technology and PACCAR providing aftermarket parts distribution, as well as finance and transportation solutions. As a result, PCAR is up 3.5% at $92.35. 

Today's bump brings PCAR closer to its Nov. 9 record high of $95.05. In fact, the $92 level acted as a ceiling for the equity back in late October and early November. While the stock briefly overtook this region to hit that high, a near immediate pullback occurred. The $84 mark, which has acted as a floor since July, deftly captured this pullback, while the 140-day moving average also provided support on the charts. 

Despite its positive price action, analysts are still lukewarm on the security. Just four of the 15 in coverage call PCAR a "strong buy," while 11 say "hold" or worse. Meanwhile, the 12-month consensus price target of $94.48 is a slim 5.9% premium to current levels. 

Option bulls, on the other hand, are likely cheering today's positive price action. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), PACCAR stock sports a 50-day call/put volume ratio of 19.70, which stands higher than all other readings from the past year. This means calls have been picked up at an unusually fast pace compared to puts during the past 10 weeks.

Calls are king during today's trading, too. Within the first hour of trading, 163 calls have crossed the tape -- eight time the intraday average -- compared to 44 puts. Most popular is the March 92.50 call, where positions are being opened.