52,000 calls have crossed the tape so far
The shares of FireEye Inc (NASDAQ:FEYE) are up 3.2% at $11.84 at last check. Steadily rising on the charts since a record low of $7.54 on March 17, the software company has gained support at the 30-day moving average as it struggles to topple the $12 region. In the last monthly period, FEYE sports an 11.4% gain.
Options players are betting on further upside today for FEYE as well, with 52,000 calls across the tape so far, compared to 1,700 puts -- two times the usual daily volume. Most popular by far is the weekly 5/29 12-strike call, where new positions are being opened, followed by the 11.5 call in the same series, which also happens to be the top open interest position.
Echoing this, in the past 10 days, 28.34 calls have been bought for every put at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits higher than 83% of readings from the past year.
Despite this, and the stock eyeing its second monthly win, short interest has spiked 52% in the last two reporting periods to 13.25 million shares. These pessimistic positions make up 6.2% of the stock's available float and would take nearly three days to cover at FEYE's average pace of trading.
Analyst sentiment is mixed, with eight out of 15 analysts in coverage sporting a "buy" or better, and the remaining seven at a lukewarm "hold" rating. Meanwhile, the 12-month consensus target price of $13.79 is a 16.2% premium to current levels.