EA Stock Boosted After Beat-and-Raise

The shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) are up 2.9% at $143.60 this morning, following the video game company's fiscal second-quarter earnings report. The firm reported profits of $1.49 per share, topping analysts' estimates of $1.17 per share, while its revenue also beat forecasts. Additionally, Electronic Arts lifted its full-year outlook, citing strong sales in its sports-related games. In fact, EA's sales doubled for the quarter, also topping expectations.

No less than five analysts lifted their price targets after the earnings event.  The highest came from Raymond James, which hiked its estimate to $185 from $177. This is especially impressive considering the brokerage bunch was mostly bullish coming into today, with 14 of the 20 in coverage calling EA a "buy" or better, and a 12-month consensus price target of $173.67 -- a solid 21.2% premium to last night's close. 

It's been a choppy year for EA, which nosedived toward an annual low of $124.88 in late September. The stock managed a swift bounce off the area, while the $134 level helped contain a pullback in mid-October. Thanks to today's pop, the stock could be looking to topple recent pressure at its year-to-date breakeven, and log its biggest one-day jump since early October, should these gains hold. 

Options traders have been more bearish than usual. This is per the security's 50-day put/call volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which stands higher than 86% of readings from the past 12 months. In other words, long puts are being picked up at a much quicker clip than what's typically seen.