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Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) option buyers may be inspired by an FAA ruling on drones
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is trending higher today, up 1.5% at $378.65. The stock is attempting to settle atop its 10-day and 20-day moving averages for the first time since March 5, and eleventh-hour option players are rolling the dice on more upside this afternoon.
AMZN calls have been running hotter than usual all day. At last check, roughly 27,000 have changed hands, compared to about 17,000 on average at this point in the session. Nine of the 10 most active contracts expire at tonight's close, with potential buy-to-open action detected at the March 377.50 and 380 calls -- the two most popular options thus far.
Speculators buying the calls 377.50-strike calls to open are hoping AMZN extends its momentum north of the strike through the rest of the session. The more aggressive 380-strike call buyers hope AMZN topples the strike by the close. In afternoon action, AMZN peaked at $379.20, and hasn't been atop $380 since March 6.
Today's appetite for short-term calls marks a change of pace for Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) traders. The equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.31 stands higher than 84% of all other readings from the past year, suggesting near-term speculators are more put-heavy than usual right now. Perhaps today's bulls are inspired by the company's federal clearance to test drones, which could change the delivery landscape for the e-commerce world. Or maybe they're just betting on the recent broad-market pendulum to favor the bulls.