Wayfair will report second-quarter results before the open on Thursday, Aug. 3
Wayfair Inc (NYSE:W) is up 3.9% to trade at $75.87 at last check, after Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "neutral," and raised its price target to $97 from $35. The firm noted a seemingly stabilizing furnishings industry and improving sales for the company. Plus, TD Cowen yesterday raise the equity's price target to $60 from $42.
These bull notes come ahead of Wayfair's second-quarter earnings report, which is due out before the open on Thursday, Aug. 3. The stock finished half of its last eight next-day sessions higher, including a 15.8% surge in May. Shares averaged a 11.5% move during the past two years, regardless of direction, but this time the options pits are pricing in a bigger-than-usual move of 14.8%.
More upgrades and/or price-target hikes could be on the way, too. Coming into today, 14 of the 23 analysts in question sport a tepid "hold" rating, while the 12-month consensus target price of $59.21 is a 22.2% discount to current levels. A short squeeze may also come into play, as the 24.87 million shares sold short account for 31.9% of the Wayfair stock's available float.
The security earlier hit its highest level since August 2022, with support from the 20-day moving average. Now pacing for its third-straight daily gain, W is up 129.7% this year.
Drilling down to today's options activity, 5,798 calls and 6604 puts have been traded, or double the volume that's typically seen at this point. The weekly 8/4 75-strike call is the most active contract, with positions opening there, followed by the August 55 put.
It's also worth noting the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at a 86 out of 100, meaning it has exceeded option traders' volatility expectations over the past year.