Pre-Earnings Bulls Descend On Akamai Technologies, Inc. (AKAM)

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) is fresh off a decade-plus high of $76.93 this afternoon, ahead of the company's trip to the earnings confessional tomorrow night. At last check, shares of the cloud services provider were up 1.4% at $76.76, bringing their year-to-date advance to 22%. Meanwhile, intraday call volume is flowing at five times the norm.

Seeing the most activity by far is AKAM's weekly 5/29 81-strike call, where contracts are being bought to open, according to data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE). By initiating these out-of-the-money positions, speculators are rolling the dice on the stock to topple $81 -- something that hasn't been done since July 2000 -- by the close on Friday, May 29, when the series expires.

By no means is today's call buying unusual. During the past 10 sessions at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), AKAM has amassed a call/put volume ratio of 9.15. Not only does this mean more than nine calls have been bought to open for every put during the previous two weeks, but the ratio also rests in the bullishly skewed 94th percentile of its annual range. This optimism is also reflected among analysts.

As alluded to, Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) will report quarterly results tomorrow night. The stock tends to make big moves after these events. Specifically, in the session following the company's last eight trips to the confessional, AKAM has moved an average of 8.3%.