Costco Wholesale saw an 8% sales jump in the fiscal third quarter
Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) stock is up 3.4% to trade at $1,042.50 at last check, after the company reported an earnings and revenue beat for its fiscal third quarter, as well as an 8% sales jump.
The equity attracted no fewer than four price-target hikes in response, with Morgan Stanley raising its objective to $1,225 from $1,150. There is plenty of room for more bull notes, too, as COST's 12-month consensus target price of $1,067.88 is only a slim 2.5% premium to current level.
Shares are today pacing for their first gain in three sessions, and earlier surged to their highest level since March, though overhead pressure at the $1,050 level remains. Pacing for its fourth monthly win in five, the security also boasts a healthy 27.9% year-over-year lead.
Overall options volume is running at 5 times the intraday average amount, with 41,000 calls and 29,000 puts traded so far today. The most popular contract is the expiring weekly 5/30 1,050-strike call call, where positions are being opened.
Options traders were already firmly bullish prior to the upbeat quarterly results. Over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Costco Wholesale stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 1.51 sits in the top percentile of annual readings.