Struggling retail stock Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) is trading up 1.2% to trade at $95.42, after the company announced plans to layoff 1,800 corporate employees, or 8% of its workforce. The company noted it hopes to rebuild its flagging customer base, as sales struggles persist.
TGT has been attempting to claw its way off an Oct. 10, five-year low of $85.36. Carrying a 30% year-to-date deficit amid resistance from the 126-day moving average, today's boost is well overdue for the shares.
Calls have been much more popular than usual over the last 10 weeks, per the stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 1.83 over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which ranks higher than 86% of readings from the past year.
Short interest has also been on the rise, up 27.6% during the past two reporting periods. This accounts for 4.5% of the stock's total available float, and it would take shorts nearly three days to buy back their bearish bets.
