Unity Software's top-line beat is a breath of fresh air for a struggling tech sector
Unity Software Inc (NYSE:U) is one of the best names on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today, last seen up 9.6% to trade at $39.36, brushing off recent tech sector weakness. The video game software company reported adjusted third-quarter revenue of 20 cents per share on $470.60 million in revenue, both of which topped analyst estimates.
Unity stock is heading for its best single-session gain since Aug. 12. Despite taking a roughly 16% haircut off of its Sept. 16 annual highs of $46.93, support stepped up at the shares' 100-day moving average. Year to date, U is up 75%.
Despite the healthy gain, there's plenty of skepticism around the equity. Of the 21 brokerages covering Unity, 14 maintain "hold" or worse ratings, while the consensus 12-month price target of $37.35 is now a 5.2% discount to its current perch.
Puts have been much more popular than usual over the last 10 weeks, per the stock's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 1.70 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which ranks higher than 93% of readings from the past year. Echoing this, the equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.55 stands in the 92nd percentile of annual readings. A further unwinding of pessimism could keep tailwinds at U's back.
Today is more skewed toward calls. At last check, over 32,000 calls have changed hands, volume that's four times the average intraday amount and double the number of puts traded. The January 2026 30-strike call is the most popular, while there are new positions being bought to open at the weekly 11/7 37.50-strike call.