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Bank of America Corp (BAC) Call, Stock Volume Soar After Trump Wins

Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) is trading higher -- with stock and options volume soaring -- following Trump's win at the polls

Nov 9, 2016 at 11:26 AM
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Stock and options volume are soaring on Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), as shares of financial firms trade higher -- while solar stocks tank -- in the wake of Donald Trump's shocking win at the U.S. presidential polls on Tuesday. At last check, BAC stock was up 4% at $17.67, with roughly 155 million shares traded, in the 100th percentile of its annual intraday range. Meanwhile, about 335,000 BAC calls have changed hands, compared to about 154,000 puts. This is five times what's typically seen in BAC's options pits at this point in the session.

Drilling down, a number of speculators have honed in on BAC's December and January series, although there's not enough data to currently speculate on how the action is unfolding at these strikes. More clear-cut activity is happening at BAC's weekly 11/11 18-strike call, though, where it seems safe to assume new positions are being purchased. In other words, call buyers expect the bank stock to rally north of $18 by this Friday's close, when the weekly series expires. BAC topped out at an intraday peak of $18 earlier.

Today's call-skewed session just echoes the withstanding trend seen in BAC's options pits. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), speculative players have bought to open 239,782 calls in the last two weeks, compared to 47,802 puts. The resultant call/put volume ratio of 5.02 ranks in the elevated 75th annual percentile.

This optimism isn't relegated to the options pits, either. Although short interest jumped 17% in the most recent reporting period, these bearish bets account for just 1.1% of BAC's available float. Plus, 72% of covering analysts maintain a "buy" or better rating on the bank stock, with not a single "sell" recommendation to be found.

Technically, today's upside continues the upward trajectory BAC stock has been on since bottoming at a post-Brexit low of $12.05 on June 27. Specifically, the shares are up 47%. What's more, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) is within striking distance of taking out its annual high of $18.08, tagged one year ago today.

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