Bucking the tech sector slide is IBM Corp (NYSE:IBM), up 5.1% to trade at $264.75 this morning, after landing an upgrade from J.P. Morgan Securities to "overweight" from "neutral." The firm also hiked its price target to $291 from $270, citing the company's OpenShift platform demand.
Quantum computing stocks are also up across the board, after President Donald Trump signed an order to build a quantum computer. IonQ (IONQ) and Infleqtion (INFQ) are up 3% and 14%, respectively.
IBM Friday gapped below the 100-day moving average $260 level, but has reclaimed both today. The shares now sport a 14% year-to-date deficit, but are still 21% off their June 2 record high of $332.46.
Options traders are extremely bullish. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), Credo Technology stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 3.70 ranks in the highest possible annual percentile. This sentiment is echoed by the stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.56, which ranks higher than just 1% of readings from the past year.
Call traders are circling right out of the gate, with 37,000 contracts trading in the first 30 minutes. This comes in at four times the average daily rate, with the July 300 call and weekly 6/26 260-strike call seeing the most action.
Even further, the stock sports a Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 93 out of 100. This suggests the equity has consistently realized higher-than-expected volatility over the past 12 months.
