Price hikes helped Procter & Gamble offset higher raw material costs and a stronger U.S. dollar
The shares of Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) are up 2.5% to trade at $131.67 this morning, after the consumer goods giant announced better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue. While the company lowered its full-year revenue forecast, they also scored a 7% jump in organic sales, as price hikes helped offset higher raw material costs and strength in the U.S. dollar.
Today's pop has the shares eyeing their first close above overhead pressure at the 20-day moving average since August. The equity has been working to distance itself from its Oct.10, one-year low of $122.18, and is today eyeing a third-straight win. Year-to-date, though, PG remains down 19.1%.
Options traders are already chiming in on the results, with 5,711 calls and 2,644 puts across the tape so far, volume that's four times the average intraday volume. Most popular is the October 132 call, followed by the 122 put in that series, with both contracts expiring at the close this Friday.
This is reflective of the overall optimism among short-term options traders lately, per PG's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.60. This ratio sits higher than just 7% of readings from the last 12 months, indicating these traders have displayed a preference for calls.
It's also worth noting the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) ranks at a relatively high 72 out of 100. This suggests Procter & Gamble stock has exceeded option traders' volatility expectations during the last year.