FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried revealed a 7.6% stake in the company
The shares of Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD) are skyrocketing today, last seen up 18.2% at $10.12 at last check. Today's massive bull gap came after founder of crypto exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried revealed a 7.6% stake in the company in a regulatory filing, making him HOOD's third largest shareholder. In response, message volume surrounding the equity on Stocktwits.com is up 71%, while positive sentiment logged a 6.6% jump.
Options traders are already blasting the security. So far, 38,000 calls and 22,000 puts have crossed the tape, which is four times the volume that is typically seen at this point. Most popular is the weekly 5/13 9.50-strike put, followed by the May 11 call, with new positions being opened at both.
The security has trended lower on the charts since the $16.50 level rejected its March rally. Should today's gains hold, Robinhood stock could erase this week's losses, as it bounces back from yesterday's record low of $7.71. Overhead pressure remains at the 30-day moving average, though, and year-to-date HOOD remains down 41.2%.
Additional tailwinds could come from a further unwinding of pessimism among short sellers. Short interest is down 4.4% in the two most recent reporting periods, yet the 59.54 million shares sold short still account for 8.2% of the stock's available float, or nearly three days' worth of pent-up buying power.