The FAANG concern is going to keep its iPhone levels steady
Shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) are 1.2% higher ahead of the opening bell, last seen trading at $145.47 following news that the FAANG concern will keep its iPhone production levels similar to what they were one year ago. A Bloomberg report showed Apple requested suppliers assemble about 220 million iPhones this year, which is consistent with levels seen in 2021. Meanwhile, Mizuho analyst Jordan Klein said the decision to hold production levels steady could be viewed as "a net positive for AAPL and their key suppliers" as it hedges against the risk of over-ordering and excess inventories.
Apple stock, along with the rest of Big Tech, has struggled on the charts in recent weeks, and last Friday touched a roughly 11-month low of $132.61. Yesterday, AAPL closed above the 10-day moving average for the first time in nearly three weeks, though year-to-date the shares remain down 19%.
At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the FAANG stock sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.94 that stands higher than all other readings from the past year. So, while calls outnumbered puts on an overall basis, the latter were picked up at a much quicker-than-usual clip.
Echoing this, Apple stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.04 sits higher than 84% of annual readings. In other words, short-term options traders have rarely been more put-biased.