Susquehanna upgraded the shares to "positive"
Call traders are targeting Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU) after a bull note from Susquehanna.
Within the first hour of trading, 27,000 calls have crossed the tape, for volume that is six times the amount typically seen at this point. New positions are now being opened at the most popular contract, which is the weekly 3/31 67-strike call.
The brokerage upgraded Roku stock to "positive" from "neutral," and holds a price target of $75. Susquehanna cited multiple tailwinds ahead for the streaming concern, and said "long-term drivers remain in play, while near-term business fundamentals appear to be bottoming."
The shares are 8.6% higher this morning, last seen trading at $65.16 in response to the bull note. The 220-day moving average is keeping a lid on this early lead, but the equity maintains support at its 50-day trendline. Year-to-date, Roku stock is 59.2% higher.
Coming into today, just 11 of 25 covering brokerages rated ROKU a "buy" or better, leaving ample room for more analysts to jump aboard the bullish bandwagon. What's more, the 11.83 million shares sold short represent 9.7% of the stock's available float, meaning an unwinding of this pessimism could push it higher.
Circling back to options, Roku stock may also benefit from a continued shift in the options pits. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the security's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.65 ranks higher than 99% of annual readings.