JBLU calls are crossing at three times the average intraday pace today
Some c-suite news and a solid technical setup has call traders excited about JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU). The company announced industry veteran Laurie Villa will begin serving as JetBlue's chief people officer beginning June 2021. In response, JBLU is trading 1% higher, last seen at $20.24 to extend its year-to-date lead to 39.2%. Nearly two months removed from a three-year peak of $21.96, JetBlue stock is once again trading above the 50-day moving average -- a trendline that's put pressure on the shares since late April -- and sports a 119.4% year-over-year lead.
So far today, 12,000 calls have exchanged hands, which is three times the intraday average and well above the 1,492 puts that have crossed the tape. Most popular is the monthly June 21 call, followed by the 20-strike call from the same series. This suggests options traders are speculating on a lot more upside for JetBlue stock by the time these contracts expire next month.
Puts have been more popular lately. More specifically, JetBlue stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.87 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) sits higher than 80% of all readings. So while calls still outnumber puts on an absolute basis, the high percentile reveals a stronger-than-usual preference for puts of late.
For those wanting to speculate on the stock's next move, options look like a prudent play at the moment. The equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 40% is higher than just 3% of readings from the past year. This indicates that the options market is pricing in relatively low volatility expectations right now -- a boon for premium buyers.