AMAT options are incredibly popular today
The shares of Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT) are down 5.3% at $51.52 at last check, after the Apple supplier reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that both missed their marks. Following the report, analysts chimed in with mixed sentiment. Three analysts hiked up their price targets -- the highest coming from Stifel to $75 -- while another three cut theirs, UBS down to $56.
AMAT has been trading sideways recently, repeatedly turned away by the $54 region, although support has emerged at the upward-sloping 30-day moving average. Up 2.4% in the last month, the equity remains down 15.3% so far year-to-date.
Coming into today, analysts leaned bullish on the semiconductor stock, with 13 out of 18 in coverage sporting a "buy" or better and the remaining five at a tepid "hold" rating. Meanwhile, the 12-month consensus price target of $67.9 is a 31.5% premium to current levels.
At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), 2.17 calls have been bought for every put in the past 10 days. This ratio sits in the 72nd percentile of its annual range, suggesting the appetite for calls is higher than usual.
The options pits reveal a similar trend today. So far, 50,000 calls and 24,000 puts have crossed the tape-- four times the usual daily volume. Most popular is the June 50 put and the May 55 call, with new positions being opened at the former. There also appears to be sell-to-open activity at the June 41 put.