Sony Group and Apollo Global Management may partner up to buy the media name
Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) stock was last seen up 10% to trade at $12.07, after The New York Times reported Sony Group (SONY) is discussing plans to acquire the media company with Apollo Global Management (APO). Today's pop has PARA is gapping above the 20-day moving average and eyeing a fourth-straight win, after slipping to an April 10, four-year low of $10.12. For 2024, the equity still carries an 18.7% deficit.
Calls have been much more popular than usual in the options pits in the past 10 weeks. This is per the equity's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 6.27 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits higher than 95% of readings from the past year.
Options bulls are doubling down today, with 35,000 calls exchanged so far -- double the intraday average volume -- compared to just 6,924 puts. The most active contract is the April 12 call.
Meanwhile, the 86.48 million shares sold short make up 16.9% of the equity's available float, or nearly a week's worth of pent-up buying power. An unwinding of this pessimism could generate additional tailwinds for Paramount Global stock.