Judging by the data, now might not be a bad time to purchase Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) options
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is up 2.8% today at $266.92, extending its recent uptrend. Specifically, the shares have been gaining since touching an annual low of $181.40 on March 27, adding over 47%. It's also been a good time for the company's top car, the Model S, which joined Mattel, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:MAT) Hot Wheels family just last week. Today, the car is being credited for holding more resale value than its peers.
Obviously, that tweet comes from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, but he's citing a report from the National Automobiles Dealers Association (NADA). However, this isn't the first time Musk's tweets have lifted the stock.
Today, option activity on the equity is running roughly in line with the expected intraday amounts. However, TSLA's 30-day at-the-money implied volatility hit a 12-month low earlier. Moreover, the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) sits at 28% -- only 1 percentage point from an annual low. In other words, TSLA's short-term options are attractively priced, from a volatility standpoint.
Previously, it's been TSLA option bulls who have taken center stage, as the stock's 10-day International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) call/put volume ratio of 1.33 is higher than 76% of readings from the past year. Said simply, call buying has been more popular than normal.
Of course, more than one-fourth of Tesla Motors Inc's (NASDAQ:TSLA) float is sold short, which would take almost eight sessions to repurchase, at the stock's normal daily volumes. It could be the case, then, that some of the recent call buying is from shorts hedging against any additional upside.