Vuzix Shield smart glasses will be powered by Verizon's 5G and edge computing platform
The shares of Vuzix Corp (NASDAQ:VUZI) are up 1.7% at $9.42 this afternoon, after the company announced a partnership with Verizon (VZ) for its augmented reality (AR) device. More specifically, Vuzix Shield smart glasses will be powered by Verizon's 5G and edge computing platform. What's more, the tech concern announced last week it received an order from a well-known aerospace name for its head-mounted display system.
Options bulls are blasting the equity today. So far, 11,000 calls have crossed the tape, which is six times what is typically seen at this point. Most popular is the January 2022 10-strike call, where new positions are being opened, followed by the 12-strike call in the same series.
These options traders are in luck, too, as Vuzix stock sports attractively priced premiums at the moment. The equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 80% stands higher than just 8% of readings from the past 12 months. This means options traders are pricing in low volatility expectations for VUZI right now.
The equity has been trending lower on the charts since surging to an April 9, all-time high of $32.43, though the $9 level seems to have emerged as a new area of support. Still, the $16 mark rejected the stock's November rally, contributing to its 54.6% loss in the last nine months.
Short sellers have been piling on the security of late. Short interest is up 6.6% over the last two reporting periods, and the 13.44 million shares sold short make up a whopping 22.7% of the stock's available float, or nearly one week's worth of pent-up buying power.