QRVO options are on fire for the second straight day
The shares of Apple supplier
Qorvo Inc (NASDAQ:QRVO) have rocketed 3.1% higher to $73.74, and earlier touched a new annual high of $74.30. It's possible traders are responding to reports of a
new MacBook lineup set to be unveiled at Apple's highly anticipated Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 5, or perhaps they're inspired by a solid day from sector peer
AMD stock. Options speculators are certainly betting on higher highs for QRVO stock in the next month, with Qorvo options flying off the shelves today.
QRVO Options Hot for Second Straight Day
QRVO has seen roughly 5,800 calls cross the tape -- four times its average intraday call volume, and more than double the number or Qorvo put options traded so far. Total options volume is on pace for the 99th percentile of its annual range, after hitting an annual high just yesterday. The May 67.50 call is most active, with more than 2,600 contracts traded -- many likely bought to open, amid hopes for higher highs this week.
Runner-up is the June 75 call, with close to 1,600 contracts exchanged. Buyers of the soon-to-be front-month call expect QRVO stock to rally north of $75 by expiration on Friday, June 16, which encompasses the WWDC event. In fact, at the option's volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of $2.42, buyers of the call will profit if Qorvo shares surmount $77.42 (strike plus VWAP) within the option's lifetime. QRVO hasn't traded above $75 since mid-2015.
Shorts Could Be Buying Options Hedges Against Soaring QRVO Stock
Of course, it's also possible that the out-of-the-money call buyers are QRVO shorts seeking an
options hedge. Short interest represents nearly 10% of the stock's total available float, and would take two weeks to buy back, at Qorvo's average daily trading volume.
Whatever the motive, today's appetite for long calls is more of the same for Qorvo options traders. On the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 3.67 is in the 82nd percentile of its annual range. In other words, QRVO options buyers have been more bullish than usual during the past two weeks.