CROX earned a price-target hike from Piper Sandler to $246 from $215
Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) is up 5.2% to trade at $132.80 at last check, after the equity earned a price-target hike from Piper Sandler to $246 from $215. The analyst in question noted Crocs' Heydude acquisition, which is popular among Gen-Z, as well as strong holiday sales. The stock is already one of the brokerage's top ideas for the sector, which has highlighted CROX as an impressive consumer growth story.
On the charts, Crocs stock has pulled back from its Nov. 15, all-time high of $183.88, but the $115 level was able to contain further losses earlier this month and in late December. Today's pop has the stock toppling overhead pressure at the the 20-day moving average, which has been in place since November. Year-over-year, CROX sports a 71.1% lead.
A short squeeze could push the equity higher in the coming weeks. Short interest rose 8.9% over the most recent reporting period, and the 3.59 million shares sold short make up a substantial 6.3% of the stock's available float, or nearly three days' worth of pent-up buying power.
Drilling down to today's options activity, 1,222 calls have already crossed the tape, which is double the intraday average. Most popular is the January 140 call, followed by the 130 call in the same series.
It's also worth noting CROX's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at a high 85 out of 100. This means the stock has exceeded options traders' volatility expectations over the past year -- a good thing for buyers.