NetApp Stock Soars to 2023 Highs After Earnings

NetApp Inc (NYSE:NTAP) stock is soaring to 52-week highs today, after the cloud company posted strong fiscal second-quarter results and lifted its annual profit forecast. No fewer than 12 analysts raised their price targets after the event, though the stock also received a downgrade from Northland Capital to "market perform" from "outperform," with the analyst citing its current valuation as fair. 

At last glance, NTAP was up 14.5% to trade at $89.47, and earlier traded as high as $90.82 as the stock aims for its highest close since March 2022. Today's pop -- on track for its best single session gain since November 2017 -- has the shares gapping above the $80 mark, which provided a firm ceiling for rallies since July. Since the start of the year, the equity is now up 49.4%. 

Unsurprisingly, options traders have chimed in, with 5,540 calls and 2,689 puts changing hands already today, volume that's 2.6 times NTAP's average intraday amount. New positions are being bought to opened at the most active contract -- the weekly 12/1 90-strike call. 

Options traders have been overwhelmingly bearish toward the equity. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), NTAP sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio or 1.57 that stands in the 84th percentile of readings from the past year.

Echoing this, the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.02 ranks in the 88th percentile of reading from the past 12 months. In other words, an unwinding of pessimism in the options pits could generate tailwinds for NetApp stock moving forward.