The U.S. and Canada were among the countries to approve the technology
The shares of Energous Corp (NASDAQ:WATT) are up 3.3% to trade at $12.74 this morning, after the company secured regulatory approval for its wireless charging technology, WattUp Near Field, in 100 countries, including the U.S. and Canada. Plus, CEO Stephen Rizzone said the technology will begin rolling out to consumers in the coming weeks.
Even with the positive price action today, WATT shares are still staring up at their 30-day moving average, a trendline that has guided the shares lower since late May. Since the start of the summer, the equity has carved out a channel of lower lows to the tune of a 40% deficit in the past six months. Looking back further, the shares traded as high as $33.50 back in December.
Even prior to today's news, short sellers had begun to head for the exits. Short interest fell by 12.6% in the two most recent reporting periods to 5.29 million shares. This still represents 29% of WATT's total available float, and nearly seven days of pent-up buying power. A capitulation by some of the weaker shorts in light of today's news could help fuel upside for the stock.
In the options pits, call buying has been prevalent, despite limited volume. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), 2,138 calls have been bought to open, compared to just 362 puts. The resultant 10-day call/put volume ratio of 5.91 ranks in the 80th percentile of its 12-month range, showing the rate of call buying relative to put buying has been quicker than usual.
Plus, traders currently purchasing premium on Energous stock's near-term options may be in luck, considering the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 64% ranks in the 7th annual percentile. In short, short-term options are pricing in lower-than-usual volatility expectations at the moment.