Facebook is the fifth U.S. company to topple the $1 trillion market cap level
Yesterday, a federal court dismissed the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) antitrust complaint against Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), after the FTC failed to prove the social media titan maintains a monopoly. That court decision saw the stock tack on 4.2%, helping Facebook close above $1 trillion in market capitalization for the first time. The FAANG name becomes the fifth U.S. tech company to do so alongside Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon.com (AMZN), and Alphabet (GOOGL).
Facebook stock is marginally lower despite the news, last seen down 0.3% to trade at $355.53, cooling off from yesterday's record high of $358.14. Steadily carving out a channel of higher highs since early March, FB has added 30.2% year-to-date. The 50-day moving average contained pullbacks along the way, and the security boasts seven positive closes in 10 sessions.
The options pits are popping with optimism, per Facebook stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 3.29 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio stands higher than 92% of reading from the past year, indicating a ravenous appetite for calls of late.
And now is the perfect time to speculate on FB with options, as premiums are affordably priced. The equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 26% is higher than just 13% of readings from the last 12 months, indicating that the options market is pricing in relatively low volatility expectations right now.