Citi upgraded TTWO to "buy" from "neutral"
Video game concern Take-Two Interactive Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO) is up 2.1% before the bell, after Citi upgraded the shares to "buy" from "neutral" and hiked its price target to $200 from $170. In its bull note, the analyst said the company's highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI bookings could bring in between $2.6 billion to $2.9 billion, and went on to praise Take-Two Interactive's mobile gaming portfolio.
Short interest is up 31.7% over the last two weeks, and the 9.04 million shares sold short account for 5.4% of TTWO's total available float. At the equity's average daily pace of trading, it would takes these traders more than a week to buy back their bearish bets.
Now looks like the perfect time to speculate on Take-Two Interactive stock's next move with options. This is because options traders are pricing in low volatility expectations, per the security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 25% that ranks in the low 10th percentile of annual readings.
On the charts, TTWO is set to open above the $154 level for the first time since mid-February. It's also slated to jump above long-term pressure at its 50-day moving average. Still looking to overcome its year-to-date breakeven mark, Take-Two Interactive stock is up nearly 27% over the last 12 months.