Bulls Rush to Tech Giant Despite Static Chart Performance

Analysts are overwhelmingly bullish on AMZN

Laura McCandless

Deputy Editor

Aug 17, 2020 at 3:44 PM

Thanks to data courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, we have a list below comprised of 20 stocks that have attracted the highest weekly options volume over the last 10 trading days, with new additions highlighted in yellow. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) has been a regular on this list. One of the heavy movers on the Nasdaq, Amazon, has been highlighted alongside Big Tech lately -- recedntly volatile after wading confidently through the pandemic for months.

So far today, 66,000 calls have crossed the tape, more than doubling the 32,000 puts. Most popular are the August 3,300- and 3,200-strike calls, with new positions being opened at both. This means quite a few options players are betting on more upside for AMZN by the time the contract expires at the end of this week.

Calls have been popular, though to a lesser degree, in the past 10 days as well. During the past two weeks, 537,426 calls were traded, along with 394,432 puts. The most popular position during this time was weekly 8/14 3200-strike call, where 17,502 were traded.

Most Active August 17

Furthermore, now looks to be an affordable time to weigh in on AMZN options, as the stock is seeing moderately-priced premiums. The security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 33% stands higher than 29% of all other readings in its annual range, implying that options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.

Last month, we noted that shares have started to cool off around the $3,200 region. Since then, AMZN has been trading sideways around that trendline, though with recent support from the 20-day moving average at the $3,100 mark. Year-to-date, the equity is up around 72%, currently up 1% to trade at $3,178.87.

AMZN August 17

Analyst sentiment is overwhelmingly bullish, with 33 out of 34 analysts sporting a "buy" or better rating, while the reaming firm sports a tepid "hold." Meanwhile, the stock's 12-month consensus target price of $3,630.41 is a 14% premium to current levels.

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