Options traders have piled on RIOT over the last two weeks
The shares of cryptocurrency miner Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT) were last seen down 4.8% to trade at $39.84, sitting out the broader blockchain rally today. After an uneventful 2020, Riot Blockchain stock is up 81.6% year-to-date, and scored a nine-year high of $79.50 on Feb. 17. The rally quickly tapered off, however, and the security recently found a floor at the $39 level -- more than double its 2021 breakeven price. The 100-day moving average is also stepping in as support, while options traders are keeping the buzzy stock on their radars.
Given RIOT's wild ride one the charts of late, there's ample speculation from both sides of the aisle concerning the equity's movement. In fact, Riot Blockchain stock found itself on Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White's list of stocks that have attracted the highest weekly options volume within the past two weeks. According to this data, 477,301 calls and 287,618 puts were exchanged over this two-week period, with the most popular contract in this timeframe being the weekly 4/23 37-strike put, followed by the 38-strike call from the same series.
In the last 10 days, the top open interest positions are January 2022 5-strikes. Buyers of these LEAPS are setting a vastly in-the-money floor for the blockchain stock.
Today, Riot Blockchain stock is seeing less than average intraday call volume, with 99,000 crossing the tape versus 25,000 puts. The weekly 5/7 42-strike call is the most popular, closely followed by the 45-strike call from the same series. This shows options traders see plenty of upside for the equity by the time these contracts expire at the end of the week.
Though there's a limited sample size, analyst seem quite bullish on RIOT. In fact, the single brokerage covering the equity rates its a "buy." Plus, the brokerages' 12-month target price of $64 is a staggering 60.4% premium to current levels.