Tesla Motors, Inc. (TSLA) Bulls Bet On an End-of-Week Breakout

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) options are trading at a faster-than-usual clip this afternoon, with the front-month series in high demand. In fact, each of TSLA's 10 most active options expires at this Friday's close, with a number of speculators betting on a breakout to levels not seen since last November.

Drilling down, TSLA's May 250 call has received the most attention, with nearly 5,500 contracts on the tape at last check. It appears as if some of the action is of the buy-to-open kind, as traders roll the dice on a move above $250 by Friday's close, when the series expires. As touched upon, TSLA hasn't seen the north side of the strike since Nov. 21.

That isn't to say TSLA's been a technical dud of late. Since hitting its year-to-date low of $181.40 on March 27, the shares have popped 33%. Today alone, the security is up 2% to trade at $241.38, and is on pace to notch its loftiest daily close since Nov. 28. With nearly 28% of the equity's float sold short, though, it's possible some of today's call buying at the out-of-the-money strike is a result of short sellers hedging against any additional upside.

Elsewhere on the Street, analysts are becoming increasingly smitten with TSLA. Of the 17 brokerage firms covering the shares, 10 maintain a "buy" or better rating. Plus, Tesla Motors Inc's (NASDAQ:TSLA) consensus 12-month price target of $269.11 stands at a healthy 11.5% premium to current trading levels.