Kellanova stock is brushing off the broad-market selloff on buyout talks
Kellanova (NYSE:K) stock is bucking the broad-market selloff today, up 14.4% at $17.03 at last glance, earlier hitting a nearly 8-year high of $75.40. This bull gap comes after news that Mars (MARX), the maker of M&M's, Snickers, etc., is in talks to acquire the company. The remaining Kellanova business, after Kellogg spun off its cereal business into WK Kellogg 10 months ago, is worth nearly $27 billion and contains Pringles, Cheez-its, and its North American frozen food unit.
Several analysts chimed in with bull notes after the reports, with upgrades from Stifel, RBC Capital, and BNP Paribas. Per Stifel, the bid would "further validate the power of the brands."
So far in the options pits today, K has seen 13,000 calls and nearly 5,000 puts traded, 7 times its average daily options volume. The August 75 call is the most popular, with new positions being sold to open there.
It's worth noting that K could be due for a short-term correction after today's surge, especially as its 14-day relative strength index (RSI) of 79.4 sits in "overbought" territory.