The company is in talks to merge with State Street Corp's asset-management business
The shares of investment management company Invesco Ltd (NYSE:IVZ) are surging this morning, up 7.6% to trade at $26.79 at last check. This upbeat price action comes after news that the company is in talks to merge with State Street Corporation's (STT) asset-management business.
On the charts, today's pop has IVZ breaking past pressure at the $26 level, which has kept a tight lid on gains since mid July, though long-term support at the 200-day moving average caught August's pullback to the $23 level. Year-to-date, the stock is up roughly 51%.
The brokerage bunch is split on Invesco stock, leaving plenty of room for upgrades. Of the nine analysts in coverage, four carry a "buy" or better rating, four a "hold," and one a "strong sell." Meanwhile, it would take nearly four days for shorts to buy back their bearish bets.
Tailwinds could come from an unwinding of pessimism in the options pits, per IVZ's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.97 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio stands higher than 95% of readings from the past year, indicating puts being picked up at a much faster-than-usual rate.
Today, the equity's typically muted options pits are bursting with activity. So far, 1,072 calls and 362 puts have crossed the tape, which is 11 times what's typically seen at this point. The September 27 call is the most popular, followed by the September 26 put, with both monthly contracts expiring at the end of the day today.