Barrick Gold announced a fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat
Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD) is up 4.3% to trade at $21.57 at last check, after the mining concern posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits of 35 cents per share, as well as a revenue beat of $3.31 billion. The positive results were attributed to strong production at its Nevada mines. Additionally, the company announced a share buyback plan of up to $1 billion, as well as an 11% dividend hike.
Barrick Gold stock hit its highest level since early August right out of the gate. The 20-day moving average has been providing a floor for the security this month, after the shares traded on both sides of this trendline in January. Year-to-date, GOLD is up 14.1%.
The options pits are firmly in the bullish camp. Over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), GOLD sports a 50-day call/put volume ratio of 9.03, which sits in the 91st percentile of its 12-month range. In other words, long calls have been picked up at a much quicker-than-usual clip.
Options bulls are doubling down on the mining stock today. Already, 33,000 calls have crossed the tape -- four times the intraday average -- as opposed to 3,294 puts. Most popular is the February 21 call, followed by the 22 call in the same monthly series.
It looks like an opportune time to take advantage of GOLD with options. The equity’s Schaeffer’s Volatility Index (SVI) of 36% sits in the 13th percentile of its annual range, meaning options traders are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations right now. What's more, the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) stands at 73 out of 100, implying Barrick Gold stock has outperformed traders’ volatility expectations of late.