MKM Partners upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral"
The shares of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) are up 4.3% to trade at $25.34 at last check, after MKM Partners upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral." The firm cited the stock's valuation, as OXY has been falling on the charts recently.
More specifically, Occidental Petroleum stock has been steadily moving lower since hitting a March 5 annual high of $32.52. However, before today's pop, the equity looked to be finding familiar support at the $24 level, as well as the 80-day moving average. In the past six months, the equity is still up 141.6%.
There is plenty of room for increased optimism amongst the brokerage bunch. Coming into today, 13 of the 18 in coverage carried a "hold" or worse rating on OXY.
The options pits, on the other hand, have been looking much more bullish. The security's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 4.68 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) stands higher than 72% of readings from the past year.
Plus, now looks like a good time to weigh in with these options. The stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 57% stands higher than 4% of readings in its annual range, implying that options players are pricing in low volatility expectations at the moment. What's more, the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at an 84 out of 100, indicating the equity has exceeded these volatility expectations during the past 12 months.