Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) Rally Has Option Bulls Biting

Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL) is soaring on a price-target revision to $18 from $16.50 at Nomura, which also underscored its "buy" opinion. At last check, the stock was 6.7% higher at $16.05 -- its first time north of $16 since early June. Not surprisingly, calls are flying off the shelves at 16 times the expected intraday rate, and short-term strikes are in focus, per MRVL's 30-day at-the-money implied volatility -- up 11.9% to 39.6%.

Speaking of which, buy-to-open activity can be detected at the stock's January 2015 15.50-strike and February 17 calls, where a collective 17,242 contracts have been exchanged. In other words, these speculators anticipate MRVL will continue rallying through the respective expiration dates.

If these expectations come to fruition, the semiconductor issue could benefit from potential upgrades and/or additional price-target hikes. Fifty-five percent of covering analysts rate Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL) a "hold" or worse, and its consensus 12-month price target of $16.10 is just a chip-shot away from current trading levels.