Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) stock is up 3.8% to trade at $48.10, after the telecom giant reported adjusted first-quarter earnings of $1.28, topping estimates of $1.21. Although revenue fell short of expectations, Verizon lifted its full-year profit forecast and indicated at discussions with hyperscalers and cloud providers to integrate and support AI infrastructure efforts.
Verizon stock is now 17.3% higher on the year and up 14% in the last 12 months. A 4.8% drawdown in April off a March 24 peak of $51.67 tested the shares' ascending 100-day moving average.
A shift in analyst sentiment could help VZ make a run at that peak again. Of the 29 brokerages covering the equity, 17 maintain tepid "hold" ratings.
There's a bearish bias amongst short-term options traders too. VZ's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) ratio of 1.09 sits in the 6th percentile of its annual range, indicating short-term option traders have rarely been more put-biased.
Today the shift has moved toward calls. At last look, over 36,000 calls have changed hands, volume that's four times the average intraday amount and double the number of puts exchanged. The weekly 5/1 50-strike is the most popular, while new positions are opening at the 48-strike in the same weekly series.
