Semiconductor giant Marvell Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MRVL) is charging 10% higher to trade at $84.05 this morning, after Morgan Stanley maintained the equity's "equal-weight" rating and hiked its price target to $80 from $73. Also contributing to today's price action is rising confidence in the company's partnership with Microsoft (MSFT) to build custom AI chips, after a Fubon researcher received word that the latter plans to remain working alongside Marvell.
In response, MRVL is trading at its highest mark since March and eyeing its best daily pop since April 9. The shares sport a 32% year-over-year gain, thanks to ongoing support from the 50-day moving average.
Despite recent uncertainty, call traders have been flocking to the equity. MRVL's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 3.04 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks higher than 80% of readings from the past year.
It's also worth noting that the stock has tended to outperform volatility expectations, per its Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 93 out of 100.
