First Solar hit a 13-year high earlier this week, but puts remain popular
The shares of First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) are quiet this morning, last seen down 1.5% at $166. However, the solar energy stock's options pits have been anything but quiet during the past couple weeks. Below we'll dig into that activity, potential catalysts behind the trading frenzy, and what these options players might have been pricing in for First Solar stock's next move.
Earlier this week, FSLR landed on Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White's list of S&P 400 names with the most options volume during the past 10 days. In that time period, 78,138 calls and 289,587 puts exchanged hands. The most popular contract during this time period was the March 2023 150-strike put, followed by the weekly 12/2 160-strike put. Digging deeper, puts make up all but one of the 20 most popular contracts during the past 10 days.
This has been more than a one-week trend, per FSLR's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.29 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits in the 89th percentile of its 12-month range.
It's unclear what these options traders are targeting, because the stock has charged up the charts in the past few months. Since July lows around $65 -- a familiar bottom all 2022 -- FSLR has carved out a channel of higher highs, culminating in a 13-year high of $173.68 on Nov. 30, with support along the way from its 10-day moving average.