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Traders are targeting end-of-week upside for Apple Inc.
The 20 stocks listed in the table below are the names that have attracted the highest weekly options volume during the past 10 trading days. Those highlighted are new to the list since the last time the study was run, and data is courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. One name of notable interest today is Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), as speculators roll the dice on gains through week's end .
Apple Inc. has barely moved this morning, despite receiving a price-target hike to $125 from $115 at UBS (which also reiterated its "buy" rating), and several intriguing news items. Specifically, the company has reportedly created a sales team to pitch new products and special offers to business clients. Plus, it looks like Apple Pay may be headed to China, via a potential partnership with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA).
In AAPL's options pits, weekly calls are in high demand, led by the 11/14 110- and 111-strike calls, where a collective 25,656 contracts have been exchanged. The majority have crossed at the ask price, implied volatility has edged higher, and data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE) confirms some buy-to-open activity. In other words, these groups of speculators expect AAPL to topple the respective strikes by this Friday's close, when the weekly series expires.
It appears that may be easier said than done. Over the past couple of weeks, the shares have struggled to clear the $109-$110 area. This technical ceiling may be reinforced by options-related resistance, as high levels of call open interest can be found at Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) weekly 11/14 109, 110, and 111 strikes, which could continue to apply pressure through week's end. As such, delta on the 110-strike call is just 0.27, while delta on the 111-strike call is an even slimmer 0.14.