BlackRock CEO Commits to Increasing Black Workforce

The shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) are up 1.1% at $559.23, after the company's CEO Larry Fink announced that it was committed to increasing its Black workforce. Fink said the asset management firm plans to increase its Black workforce by 30% by 2024, and double its current Black senior leadership to at least 6%.

On the charts, BLK hit a Feb. 12, two-year peak of $576.81, before pulling back to a four-year low near the $300 region just over a month later. In the time since, however, BlackRock stock has come within a chip-shot of its previous highs, consolidating below the $570 level. The stock is up 10% year-to-date, and has additional support from its 10-day moving average in place during the past few weeks.

In the options pits, BlackRock stock's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 1.05 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits higher than 75% of readings in its annual range. In other words, long calls are being ordered up at a quicker-than-usual rate.Analysts are also approaching BLK with ample optimism. Of the 11 in coverage, nine sport a "buy" or better, compared to just two "hold" ratings. Meanwhile, the security's 12-month consensus price target of $564.79 is a slim 2.1% premium to current levels. 

Still, short sellers are piling on the stock, with short interest up 48.1% in the last two reporting periods. The 2.71 million shares sold short now make up 1.8% of the stock's available float. It's also worth noting that BlackRock stock’s Schaeffer’s Volatility Index (SVI) of 33% sits in the 15th percentile of its 12-month range, meaning options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.