Google-parent Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is soaring today, last seen up 9.2% at an all-time high of $3,030.93, after the FAANG name reported fourth-quarter earnings of $30.69 per share, as well as record revenues of $75.33 billion. The company attributed these upbeat results to its advertising business, as consumers used Google to shop online, while advertisers upped their marketing budgets.
This update is sitting well with analysts. The equity earned no fewer than 20 price-target hikes this morning, including one at Raymond James to $3,630 from $3,400. These bull notes are impressive, given 31 of the 33 analysts in question deem GOOGL a "buy" or better, and the stock's the 12-month consensus target price of $3,464.33 is already a 15.1% premium to current levels.
Now pacing for its fourth-straight win, Alphabet stock has staged a massive bounce off the $2,490 level, after pulling back to that area in January. The shares have also shot past recent pressure at the 20-day moving average, culminating in the equity's 53.7% year-over-year lead.
A shift in the options pits could create additional tailwinds for the security. This is per GOOGL's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.34, which stands in the 98th percentile of its annual range. This indicates short-tem options traders are picking up puts at a quicker-than-usual clip.
That shift seems to be well underway. So far, 77,000 calls and 34,000 puts have crossed the tape, which is seven times the volume that is typically seen at this point. Most popular is the 2/4 3,000-strike call, followed by the 3,100-strike call in the same weekly series, with positions being opened at both.
It is also worth noting the equity' Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at 88 out of 100. This means GOOGL has exceeded options traders' volatility expectations during the past year.