There's an unusual amount of bullish activity happening in Macy's options pits today
Even as the market deepens its losses, Macy's Inc (NYSE:M) is headed higher today. While the precise reason for the upbeat price action is unknown, M was last seen up 1.5% at $20.58. While it's shed 21.4% this year, Macy's stock has seen a decent performance compared to the wider market, as it clings to a 25% year-over-year lead. The $20 appears to be a safety net for the shares at the moment, as it's kept losses in check since August 2021 when the stock broke north of here. The level also sits just below several peaks from last year.
Options bulls are zeroing in on the security today, too. So far, 87,000 calls have been exchanged, which is five times the intraday average, compared to 16,000 puts. The most popular position is the weekly 5/13 22-strike call, followed by the 22.50-strike call in the same series, with positions being bought to open at both. This implies these traders are speculating on even more upside for the stock by the time these contracts expire tomorrow.
This is a break from the norm, as options bears have been circling the retail concern in recent weeks. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the equity sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.32, which sits higher than 96% of readings from the past year. In other words, long puts have rarely been more popular in this time period.
Short sellers have also been targeting Macy's, adding 12.3% in the last two reporting periods. The 35.71 million shares sold short make up a solid 12.6% of the stock's available float, which could lead to a short squeeze, should some of this positive price action continue and these bears jump ship.