Retail stock Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE:ANF) is soaring today, up 19.8% at $78.60 at last glance, after better-than-expected third-quarter earnings of $2.36 per share on revenue of $1.29 billion. The company also raised the lower end of its full-year profit forecast, with sales picking up at its Hollister brand.
Today's pop has Abercrombie stock on track for its largest single-day percentage gain since May 2023. Though gapping to its highest levels since early October, the equity is still down 48.3% since the start of the year.
Some of today's gains could be attributed to a bout of short covering, as short interest represents 12.7% of the stock's available float. It would take shorts three days to cover at ANF's average pace of trading.
Options traders are targeting the equity straight out of the gate. So far, 11,000 calls and 5,388 puts have been exchanged, which is eight times the options volume typically seen at this point in the day. The December 60 call is the most popular, followed by the weekly 11/28 80-strike call, where new positions are being opened.
