The analyst in coverage praised IBM's continued growth
Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of IBM (NYSE:IBM) with a "buy" rating, with the analyst in coverage noting that the company's artificial intelligence (AI) services will help it maintain its revenue and free cash-flow growth in the long run. IBM is up 2.9% to trade at $177.52 at last check.
Should these gains hold, shares could mark their first close above the $176 region and the 60-day moving average since April. A floor at the $162 level has been containing losses for the last several weeks, and while the equity only sports a 7.6% year-to-date gain, it boasts a 35.9% year-over-year lead.
Short-term options traders have been more bearish than usual. This is per the security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR), which is higher than all readings from the last 12 months.
Today's bull note seems to be causing a shift in sentiment amongst traders, however. So far, 12,000 calls have crossed the tape -- triple the intraday average volume -- compared to just 2,218 puts. Most popular is the weekly 6/28 180-strike call, followed by the 177.50-strike call in that series, with new positions being bought to open at both.