Dick's Sporting Goods also issued an upbeat 2024 forecast
Dick's Sporting Goods Inc (NYSE:DKS) stock is gapping to record highs today, up 13.2% to trade at $212.54 at last glance, earlier hitting a peak of $222.92. The athletic retailer said its fourth quarter was its largest sales quarter on record, and issued an upbeat 2024 forecast. Plus, the company raised its quarterly dividend to 10%.
Before today's surge, DKS had been moving steadily higher since late November, with support from its 20-day moving average snapping back into place in January. Since the start of 2024, the equity is up 44%.
In response, the heavy options activity today is leaning bullish. So far, 20,000 calls and 11,000 puts have been exchanged, which is already 16 times the stock's average daily options volume. The weekly 3/22 230-strike call, where positions are being opened, is also the most popular contract.
This indicates a sentiment shift, as the options pits have been firmly bearish over the past 10 weeks. This is per DKS' 50-day put/call volume ratio of 2.22 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which ranks higher than 92% of readings from the past year.
Part of today's surge could be a bout of short covering, too. Short interest represents 10.9% of the stock's available float, or nearly six days' worth of pent-up buying power.