President Donald Trump wants iPhones to be made in the U.S.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock is down 2.3% to trade at $196.80 at last glance, after President Donald Trump threatened to slap 25% tariffs on iPhones made outside of the U.S. Trump also noted he wants the tech behemoth to produce the devices nationally, which would raise prices substantially.
The shares are on track for their eighth-straight daily drop and longest losing streak since January 2022. The equity carries a 21.4% year-to-date deficit, and earlier gapped to its lowest level since late April, but a floor at the $190 level looks ready to contain today's pullback.
Options traders are responding, with 337,000 calls and 362,000 puts exchanged so far today, which is double the volume typically seen at this point. New positions are being sold to open at the most popular contract, which is the expiring, weekly 5/23 195-strike put.
Over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Apple stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 2.36 sits in the top percentile of annual readings. This means traders have never been more bullish in the past year.
It is also worth noting that the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at 84 out of 100. In other words, AAPL has exceeded option traders' volatility expectations during the last 12 months.