The FAANG name is brushing off a price-target hike from Wedbush to $200
FAANG concern Apple Inc (NYSE:SQ) is slipping, down 2.7% to trade at $160.32 at last check. This drop came after Bloomberg reported the company told some of its suppliers that demand for the iPhone 13 has weakened. Plus, the security is brushing a price-target hike from Wedbush to $200 from $185.
Apple stock is just now cooling off from yesterday's all-time high of $170.30. The $158 level, which acted as resistance back in September, looks ready to contain the equity's pullback, though. The 20-day moving average could also serve as a safety net for the shares, helping AAPL maintain its 31% year-over-year lead.
Analysts are already bullish towards Apple stock, with 19 of the 21 in coverage carrying a "buy" or better rating, while the remaining two say hold. Plus, the 12-month consensus target price of $168.95 is a 4.7% premium to current levels.
Options traders are much less optimistic. This is per the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.00, which stands higher than 98% of annual readings. This suggests short-term options traders have rarely been more put-biased towards AAPL.
Drilling down to today's options activity, 652,000 calls and 334,000 puts have crossed the tape, which is double what is typically seen at this point. Most popular is the 12/3 165-strike call, followed by the 162.50-strike call in the same weekly series, with new positions being opened at both.