NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) is trading at all-time highs yet again
Option bulls are eyeing even more upside for outperforming semiconductor stock
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) amid today's
broad-market rally. Calls are trading at twice the intraday norm, with traders seemingly opening long positions at the July 50 call, as well as the September 48 and 44 calls. Said simply, these NVDA bulls are betting on the stock to continue to rise in the weeks and months ahead. Given NVDA's recent run, it's hard to blame them.
NVDA is trading 4.2% higher today at $50.95, topping the half-century mark to bring its year-to-date lead to almost 55%. What's more, NVDA shares earlier touched an
all-time high of $51.09. In the meantime, it's likely some shareholders have been trying to
protect paper profits with put options, given the stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.76 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) -- a reading that tops 93% of all others from the past 12 months.
Looking elsewhere, it appears NVDA's impressive run up the charts is scaring away short sellers. In fact,
short interest plummeted by over 17% during the past two reporting periods. However, 10% of the stock's float remains sold short, and it would take these bears almost six sessions to cover, at NVDA's average daily volumes. In other words, there's plenty of buying power sitting on the sidelines, which could give the shares a lift down the road.
Pessimists remain in the brokerage bunch, too. Nine of 20 analysts still say NVDA is a "hold" or "strong sell." Plus, the shares are now trading above their average 12-month price target of $46.19, meaning upgrades and price-target hikes are a future possibility.
Overall, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) would appear to be a prime
contrarian pick for bullish traders. For one, there's ample sideline cash to support a short-covering rally, while the stock also seems overdue for
bullish analyst attention. Making the stock that much more attractive for short-term options buyers is its
Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 26% -- an annual low -- and its Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 100. So, not only is the options market pricing in unusually low near-term volatility expectations right now, but NVDA has tended to make larger-than-expected moves during the past year, compared to what the options market has priced in.
Sign up now for Schaeffer's Market Recap to get all the day's big stock movers, must-know technical levels, and top economic stories straight to your inbox.