No fewer than five price-target hikes were dished out for Coca-Cola stock
Analysts are chiming in on Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) this morning, after yesterday's strong earnings report. Specifically, Credit Suisse named the Dow component its new top stock pick, while no fewer than five other firms raised their price targets, including Independent Research, who also hit the beverage giant with a "buy" rating. J.P. Morgan Securities, meanwhile, cut its target price to $59 from $60.
The brokerage bunch is split on the beverage giant, leaving room for more bull notes. Coming into today, nine of the 15 analysts in coverage carried a "buy" or better rating, with six a tepid "hold."
Options traders have been much more bullish of late. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Coca-Cola stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 3.78 sits in the 76th percentile of its annual range. This suggests long calls have rarely been more popular than usual.
Now looks like a good time for those looking to bet on KO with options. This is per its Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 14%, which sits in the 13th percentile of its annual range. In simpler terms, options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations right now.
Last seen slightly higher, up 0.3% to trade at $55.70, Coca-Cola stock is pacing for an unremarkable 2021. The equity is up just over 1% year-to-date, and has shed 2.2% in the last three months, after battling a ceiling at the $57.50 mark. A bull gap following yesterday's earnings event put KO back above the 60-day moving average, after facing pressure from the trendline since mid-September.